News Analysis: Obama, Jimmy Carter, Racial Politics and Immigration Reform

[pampango]

Source: Feet in 2 Worlds

Obama’s election as the first black president of the United States was an historic event of immense significance. But the idea of a post-racial presidency was a fantasy. Comments this week by former President Jimmy Carter reminded us that racial politics and prejudice are alive and well in America.

The issue of immigration was directly implicated in Carter’s remarks. The now infamous shout of “You lie” by Representative Joe Wilson (R-South Carolina) during President Obama’s address to Congress last week came after the president asserted in his speech that undocumented immigrants would not be covered under the proposed health care overhaul.

If President Carter is right about the racial subtext of opposition to the president than the angry exchanges we’ve seen in the health care debate may seem mild when, and if, Congress gets around to considering an immigration bill. The question of what to do about the estimated 12-million, mostly Hispanic, immigrants who are not authorized to be in this country could prove to more incendiary and divisive than anything this country has seen in a long time.

The entire episode — Wilson’s shout, Carter’s critique, and all the various charges and counter charges, accusations and denials flying around Washington and in the media – suggest a very rocky future for immigration reform. (I)f the former president is correct in his assessment, the country could reach a racial boiling point in a debate over the fate of millions of brown people, led by a black president, and fueled by the fury of conservative whites as well as disillusioned Latinos and Asians who voted for Obama believing he would champion their cause.



Read more: http://feetin2worlds.wordpress.com/2009/09/17/news-analysis-obama-jimmy-carter-racial-politics-and-immigration-reform/

[pampango]

1. Another article that focuses on the nexus of racial politics and immigration reform

"Wilson's outburst has racist undercurrent" (The East Valley Tribune - Phoenix area)

"Is it more than coincidence that what sparked a congressman to yell at a black president were his feelings about brown immigrants?"

"Wilson’s explosion foreshadows the combustible nature of our nation’s ongoing culture war. He and his ilk don’t want to pay for health care for those who can’t afford it, nor for illegal immigrants not paying taxes. Really, they just don’t want immigrants, period. They won’t admit the real reasons behind their stance because they know racist sentiment is political suicide. They’ll try to claim justification in the rule of law, but in moments like Wilson’s accusation, their true motivations are revealed.

Veins throbbing, skin flushed red, finger pointed in judgment, Wilson flashed his true colors. Publicly calling our president a liar, his actions exposed the nexus of opposition to both health care and immigration reform as a force motivated by fear, anger and hatred. His finger was really aimed squarely at people of color, who comprise nearly all of the immigrants in question and a disproportionate segment of the uninsured, not to mention those swept up in the current, including our president."

"I can speak to this first-hand because when I’ve advocated for immigration reform, I’ve received comments like: “You’re lucky we let you stay in the country.”

Well, I should hope so since I was born and raised here and am an American citizen. However, the feedback illustrates the current I’m talking about. Anti-immigrant fervor fosters a general anti-Latino climate because beneath the surface lurks the same fear of cultural change. Tragically, it all swirls with the potential for a continuing rise in menacing hate crimes."

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/144445

[AlphaCentauri]

3. K & R

[AlphaCentauri]

2. Racism mask it self with many odd arguments

Like:
-they are destroying our culture and our national language-
-They are invading our country-
-Mexicans are taking back what was their land-
-Those immigrants are socialist-
-They are using our resources-

and the one that I think is the more subtle and dangerous, is the universal mask for a right wing or left wing racist:
-They are taking our jobs and suppressing our wages-