Friday, March 24, 2006
Jim Crow Goes Fishing
March 23, 2006
from ZNet.
Speaking in Cleveland, President Bush called on Congress to end “catch and release” practices on the border with Mexico. He wasn’t referring to recreational fishing enthusiasts who catch large mouth bass, snap a picture and then release them back into the water. He was talking about INS (now Homeland Security) agents who round up undocumented workers trying to cross the border, harass and threaten them, and then issue them summons to appear in American court. President Bush and Congress are preparing legislation that makes it clear that they have as much (or little) respect for immigrant workers as they have for freshwater fish.
In typical fashion, the House Republicans have passed bill HR 4427 (the Sensenbrenner bill) that only a Klansman could love. It makes simply being an undocumented worker in the United States a felony, and it makes it illegal for anyone (teachers, social workers, firefighters, anyone) to help that person in any way. HR 4437 dismantles forty years of civil rights legislation and officially reintroduces Jim Crow into American law.
Now that the Congressional brutes have staked out the Fascist Right, President Bush and Republican Senate “moderate” Alan Specter are sanding off a few of the rough edges and presenting their ideas as “mainstream.” Not to be outdone, the “me too” Senate Democrats are putting their own lipstick on the Sensenbrenner pig and asking immigrants rights activists to take it to the dance. Sen. Edward Kennedy has teamed up with that champion of civil rights Sen. John McCain to push his own version of a “guest worker” program. Here the word “guest” is used the sense of: “The United States is keeping over 500 guests in Guantanamo Bay.”
Kennedy’s bill will bring back the Bracero Program, which was used during World War II. Then, hundreds of thousands of Mexican workers were shipped into the US to fill labor shortages as indentured servants, legally bound to the will of the US government and private employers. When the war ended, they were rounded up and herded back to Mexico, having been cheated out of a good portion of their poverty level wages.
Not wanting to be left too far behind, Sen. Dianne Feinstein has waded into the debate. Of course, she won’t put forward any clear proposal of her own other than to endlessly repeat the nonsense that Mexican immigrants pose a “security threat” to American citizens.
Unfortunately, Service Employees International Union president Andy Stern has signed on, along with the American Chamber of Commerce, to a version of the new “guest worker” program as well. Given that SEUI has pioneered organizing undocumented workers and leading the fight for immigrants rights within the labor movement, this is a big step backwards and another tragic example of excepting the logic of subordinating the interests of workers to what Democratic Party leaders deem “acceptable.”
The one thing we can be sure of is that ALL of the proposals that are on the table now are bad news for immigrant workers and their families. That’s why 300,000 immigrants and their supporters marched in Chicago a couple weeks ago. That’s why tens of thousands will march in Los Angeles this weekend. That’s why hunger strikers are camped out in front of the Federal Building in San Francisco and plan to take their protest to Sen. Feinstein’s office on Monday, the day the Judiciary Committee is set to make its recommendations to the full Senate.
The protesters have simple solutions to simple problems.
First problem: there are 12,000,000 undocumented workers in the United States today. The American economy cannot function without them. They do some of the hardest jobs for the lowest pay. They pay some of the highest taxes as a percentage of their income and they get almost nothing back from the government. They are treated like criminals and face racist abuse at the hands of police, federal agents and employers.
First Solution: just like in 1986, a general amnesty should be declared so that these workers and their families can come up out of the underground and join American society as citizens or legal residents, whichever they choose.
Second Problem: 4,000 people have died crossing the Mexican-American border in the past half-decade, more than died in the 911 attacks.
Second Solution: demilitarize the border. If American corporations can run all over the world, why can’t hard-working people from Mexico come here to do jobs that American citizens don’t want so that they can feed their families?
Third Problem: All workers wages and benefits, be they immigrant or native born, are on a race to the bottom. Often, corporations pit one group against another.
Third Solution: As the old saying goes, we need one big union, on both sides of the border. It’s time to put the “international” in the union’s names back into practice. Important and determined efforts have already been made in this direction, especially by SEIU and the United Electrical Workers union. However, as long as the union leadership puts coalition (meaning handing over tens of million of dollars in members’ dues money) with the Democratic Party leadership over and above coalition with Mexican workers, those efforts will continue to be only a symbol of the potential power of cross-border organizing.
Of course, none of these solutions are “realistic” in today’s political climate, which is precisely why we need a new movement to change it. In the meantime, Congress should be told in no uncertain terms to stop arguing over what color hat Jim Crow should wear. Instead, they should shut their mouths and listen to the marchers and hunger strikers.
For more information and a comparison of the current legislation, go to the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights: http://www.nnirr.org/.
Todd Chretien is running for US Senate as a Green Party member against Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
Todd Chretien will not be elected. But, suppose he were. What would he do, change the very basis which has marked existence of the Untied Slates of America since inception? It is nice to see him agitating for what is right but might be nicer to see him working with others around the world to bring down the nation in its whole rather than opting to continue its existence by futile feigning to improve what has already been ruined.
Comments of intentionally disruptive nature, those serving as no more than cyber gaming and ego massage, ones focusing on personal user put downs, or others contrary to Forum purpose are ordinarily rejected out of hand. We are not here for meaningless debate with social dummies.
Today we received a comment which, with exception of this prologue, is published in entirety only as an example of ignorance based bigotry which serves so well to support the divide and conquer mode of US society and by doing so allows the havoc wreaked by that nation. That comment follows.
Here's the problem, Bush is deep in the pocket of his 'Big Business' co-horts, and in his last State Of The Union address clearly stated that we "need" the undocumented immigrants to keep our economy going. What a lot of CRAP!
The truth is that illegal invaders are draining the system dry. American taxpayers are forced to finance their bi-lingual education instead of them acclimating and learning English. As a consequence the American public schools are nearly broke. They suck up free medical care and have driven our hospitals to the brink of collapse, especially in border states like Texas and Arizona. Our prisons are teeming with illegals that their countries refuse to accept when we try to deport them. Yes, we get cheap labor but the hidden costs are steep. Our compassion is literally killing us.
My solution is to deport the illegals and provide a job for the physically capable American welfare recipients. Why should they continue to sit around procreating and not be expected to contribute back to society? They need to earn their government cheese. F.D.R did not envision familial generations enslaved to the idea of free government money. No, his plan had people working for their hand out, why should it be any different today? F.D.R stated that it crushes the soul of a man to not be able to provide for himself. A plan like mine will never happen because Bush is bent on globalism, as evidenced by his approval of a Chinese company to check out nuclear devices en route to the U.S. through Bahaman ports owned by Chinese Nationalist, Li Ka-Shing. Crazy conspiracy theories coming to life all around me!
Immigrant workers are the life blood of any affluent nation. They do the kind of work that the local people do not want to do. The same debate is happening in England at the moment with the influx of East Europeans and Russians. What should be clear is that the national identity of both England and the US are built on immigration.
The Bank of England; tweed; the British Navy (to name but a few things) would not exist were it not for immigrants into England. The USA would not exist were it not for immigration. Speak to any US citizen and they will tell you of their ancestry. Go to London and you will hear just about every language spoken.
Globalisation? Forget globalisation - embrace multi- culturalism.
The best I can offer is advice to read the Keep On Crossin' Manifesto. May they keep on crossin' una persona por la vez porque es mejor morir de pie que vivir de rodillas. Bienvenidos a mi pais de los estados unidos mis amigos como me dieron cuando llegó hace 19 años para vivir aqui en su mexico y encontrar mi corazón.
Its sad in a place made from killing the locals made into a county with so called free laws now even thay think thay where allways here im glad to know so many native americans whos ansetors go back milliong of years have made this couldtry so great and so caring that people from around the world can come here to be told go back the land of the free the land of the poor the land of dreams is all a farce land of the sick a farce all who came here 100s of years ago and killed the locals and killed the rich who fought for slavery have won its just legal forced by needs and if you dont buy into it thay want you gone , locked up or dead o wow what a land of the free BUY SOME AMERICA NOW ITS FOR SELL TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER PARKS FOR SELL WE NEED MORE HOUSES AND LESS FREE RANGE LAND BULL BUT THIS IS USA NOT free america
The American vigilante looks at immigrant hunting like their scoring points for their heaven. It is a dirty game and most don't even know why they play, except it seems like sport. They are either sending their jobs off elsewhere or complaining about the ones they don't want. The result being it makes for a heartless person full of fear that they someday might be the hunted.
I have nothing new to add, just the same old and much reknown stuff, which inexplicably some people never will get... But then again what would the world be without the morally inhibited.
After all, the U.S. is an immigration country. Without people coming there, it would be pretty scarce and the buffalos would still be able to roam free. Its always astonishing to see the mentality of the xenophobes, though.
soeren your right if forners had never come here us natives would be happly hunting buffalo in out idea of the perfect world but thay came and came and we got put on areas the people with guns and no care forsed us so we could live and in time some mixed into with the forners and now thay run just about this whole place but thay found where thay stuck so many thay hoped to slowly kill out that thay are strong.Now with eminate domain not even the first illages who make this country strong there homes are not safe because thay have peoples minds else where and are passing so called laws faster than you can keep up with tv.Why are we afread of forners coming in illagly its cause the first ones who killed for this land slaughtered them are now being hunted by people who look like mexicans look indian but from a foren land .Sad when one country goes and fights a war for stuff the comon man has no idea the idea is the oil corporations and the first illages are getting so rich soon thay can sell this illagy clamed land to someone else.But dont take me wrong i think there are good and bad points in all this the bad we have become a corporat country the good is humans are still human and not machines well i think we are still human why not go play on the games on xbox or one them see how loving and caring you are after it .Loook around at all the family killings the kids kicked out or run away taken and no one cares. O yes thay have tv shows milk cartons but do you walk out side when a child screems or a gun is shot o nope not till all is quite or the police comes do people peak out. when asked do you know what happened of corse you dont know we live in tv land no neborhoods no more no caring for each other unless its for a gain sad huh???? just my thoughts and i have over 10 so called nationalalitys in me .So how can a country made on the first illage goverment say no more people can come o and yes many do want others dead not because so much there diffrent is thay dont care.
My dear elasticwaistbandlady :
The problem exists. Your solution is a rather Stalinist one: no man, no problem. Let us see:
1."American taxpayers are forced to finance their bi-lingual education instead of them acclimating and learning English."
Them Mexicans: the language you oppose so much happens to be Spanish, a language spoken by around 500 million people and that number will increase considerably. Those who have the opportunity to learn English, learn it. Go and live in a ghetto, then come back and enlighten me about the benefits of ghetto education.
"As a consequence the American public schools are nearly broke"
Blame it on the aliens, but before that: please explain, and help us with statistics, polls, etc.
"They suck up free medical care"
I'm glad to hear that after all healthcare is free in the USA.
"Our prisons are teeming with illegals that their countries refuse to accept when we try to deport them."
1. Explain please, and give me an example: I am curious. They are Mexican (or other) citizens, aren't they? Tell me please: which countries have refused to take them back? (What happens to them when deported, another issue you don't seem to care about.)
2. You don't seem to have a problem with the rest of the criminals either. So not criminality is the problem for you but the citizenship of the evil-doer? You gladly pay if the criminal happens to be a US citizen or legal immigrant?
"Yes, we get cheap labor but the hidden costs are steep".
So you don't oppose cheap labor? A "legal immigrant" also means cheap labor, too often, but you obviously don't have a problem with that.
"...and provide a job for the physically capable American welfare recipients"
Weren't they unemployed, those welfare recipients, them Mexicans and other evil aliens couldn't take those jobs. You don't blame either the government or yourself for the situation you complain about, do you?
"Our compassion is literally killing us."
Deportation isa very compassionate approach, isn't it? So are wars.
"Why should they continue to sit around procreating and not be expected to contribute back to society?"
Cheap labor is not contribution? Has it ever occured to you that had they a choice and an opportunity, they wouldn't be "aliens"? That they would gladly "contribute" with other than cheap labor? Very cheap, I would say.
"A plan like mine will never happen because Bush is bent on globalism, as evidenced by his approval of a Chinese company to check out nuclear devices en route to the U.S. through Bahaman ports owned by Chinese Nationalist, Li Ka-Shing. Crazy conspiracy theories coming to life all around me!"
1.Explain, please: Spanish is widely spoken in the US, and American healthcare and education are in ruins because of the Chinese nationalists? Them Chinese Nationalists, tricky people, damn.
2. Bush is bent on globalism. (here you mean globalization). It is a market-free orientation, and so far I haven't seen you opposing it; you are a pro-globalist yourself when it suits you. But it also means "world - citizen" and in that case you aren't such a pro-globalist, because bilingual education is such a burden, aliens suck up healthcare, etc. But again: for a word citizen a term like "alien" or "illegal" should make no sense. Or you see the causes of decay in illegals. Otherwise the system is perfect, isn't it?
While you obviously don't identify yourself with the US government and its policy(when it doesn't fit your own views), you keep talking about "we" "us", i.e. when the policy suits you the whole regime is fine, when it doesn't, it is wicked. A plan like yours has never been a solution to anything, on the other hand (forced sterilization - they "do sit and procreate", deportation) it does have a name. Why not ethnic cleansing? Why not gass them? Why not the Gulags or new death camps in the heart of the US?
That would stop the decay of the US educational and healthcare system, wouldn't it?
What if you wrote about "integration" instead of forced assimilation or deportation? The whole thread would look different.
Regards,
Redwine
Elasticwastebandlady submitted another comment in response. A consensus of Contributors is it should not be posted. Her blog is linked here. For any so inclined, she may or may not be open to continuing a back and forth there.
I would like to add this wikipedia article
"Official language(s): None at federal level; English de facto"
For more about arguments pro and contra see this article
Redwine
US farms are subsidized by the government taxpayer funds. For the most part, those are large corporate farming industries. Of the few that are family farmed, almost all do so on corporate contract. The subsidies allow corporations to produce huge surpluses at low cost. Those surpluses are dumped in so called developing nations and sold below local production cost. Allowing, promoting, and enforcing that is what free trade agreements are about. Local farmers in the receiving nations cannot compete, are driven from farming and move to cities, where employment is limited. With no other recourse and not by desire, they migrate to where there is work. The US is the natural destination for those from Mexico. Many are hired by the same corporate farms that forced them there and become a part of the economic slavery system financed by US taxpayers. Those in turn are ripped off by paying for the problem in taxes and lose income through loss of work they can't afford to take. But, they let it continue because they can buy a head of lettuce for $1 instead of $20. It is time for US unions to recall spirits of their birthing concepts, join with their immigrant brothers and sisters, and cut the viscious circle by striking at its corporate cause.
