Who will Defend us?
If there was any question where Bush stands on defending Black Folk in America from ill conceived notions specifically those spoken by Vicente Fox, the answer is obvious to anyone that have paid attention to this debacle that has transpired over the last week or so. An even more interesting question is where is the head Diplomat Condoleezza Rice, a Black woman none the less when a head of state speaks out of his own ignorance about Black folk in America and our willingness to work. Mexican President Vicente Fox statements should have been addressed at the very least by his equal here in the U.S. but to the surprise of absolutely no one, Black folk in America are once again left to defending ourselves against ill conceived notions being perpetuated this time by a foreign Head of state.
Anyone living in a city or town where Mexican men and women have migrated to know without question that the vast majority of the work being done by them is not work Black men and women refuse to do. The only work that I am aware of that would be difficult to get Black folk to do is the migrant work, but the construction jobs, the janitorial jobs, the painting jobs etc are all jobs Black men and women would be more than willing to do. Furthermore many of these jobs pay more than jobs currently held by Black folk. The problem lies with the unwillingness of Black men and women to work outside employment guidelines and wanting overtime pay for work that meet state requirements of overtime and have all state employment mandated followed. We should also be mindful that Mexican men and women that do accept work under the table are abused by their employers in various ways that would be unacceptable to an American national.
In the absence of any defense of us coming from Washington our Brothers Al Sharpton and the Rev. Jessie Jackson; both of whom have been portrayed as race hustlers and instigators of racial tension by the American right have stepped up to the plate to meet with Vicente Fox.
Vicente Fox has agreed to meet with both of them to explain what he meant and to possibly apologize. He met with Jessie Jackson today and is scheduled to meet with Al Sharpton on Friday. Another interesting thing that has come out of this is how the pontificators Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reily have said they would be willing to travel with Al Sharpton to Mexico to meet with Vicente Fox; this is only interesting because these are the same two media pundits who accuse Sharpton and Jackson of race hustling when they respond to acts of racism in America, however in this instance where the ignorance is coming from a man whom they have a problem with the epithets that are usually used to describe Jackson and Sharpton responding to racist activity or behavior has disappeared and they are willing to travel with Sharpton to meet with Fox. It is clear from listening to them that the only reason they are willing to tag online is to further their own agenda that have more to do with immigration and little to nothing to do with Fox statements.
When it is all said and done, Black folk in America are left defending ourselves from ignorance in America and from abroad. Even as young Black men and women die in Iraq, the very man who orchestrated the war and his chief diplomat are silent when a foreign Head of State says something that is fundamentally false and can be easily proven to be false. The next time anyone wants to make disparaging remarks about Sharpton or Jackson we should all be reminded that these men do not create the realities they respond to, and in this instance where a President of another country spoke ignorantly about Black men and women in America it was and is them who responded to his words as the wicked President of this nation refused to comment as did his Negro chief Diplomat Condoleezza Rice.
posted by Faheem @ 5/18/2005 10:40:00 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Fox is an elitist and elitist are also usually racist. He, I believe, has no empathy or respect for the lower classes or a race of people treated as lower class (blacks). I kind of view his statement as saying that Mexicans are more willing to be exploited than are blacks, which he sees as making Mexican immigrants superior to their black counterparts, for the American economy. The bottom line is that blacks in America are not going to volunteer to be exploited after spending centuries exploited by force. Been there done that. However, like you noted Faheem, the vast majority of non agricultural jobs that Mexicans get are jobs that black folks were doing before the Mexicans started increasing in population. I don’t blame the Mexicans; it’s the white business owners who feel that Mexicans are better/harder workers than blacks. A white business owner who pays low wages would much rather hire a Hispanic than a black person or even a white person…however, not too many white folks are looking for those jobs because they disproportionately have the good paying jobs. The reason is that most Americans know when they are being exploited, but Hispanic immigrants see those wages from a different perspective of Mexico. 5 dollars an hours is good wages in Mexico and the fact that new arrivals have many working adults per household means that the money goes a lot further. An American cannot rise and family and live a modest American dreams on 5 dollars per hour.
You made some very good points Noah, when Mexicans come over here illegally they often don’t speak English and may be unskilled. Given the illegal status alone, it’s normal that someone in such a predicament might be willing to work for the bare minimum. It's amazing that, despite being American born and educated, blacks are expected to be in a worse position then immigrants just because they are black. A clear indication that this country is a color based cast system more then anything.
Mexicans and other ‘minorities’ born and or educated here are not limited to those low paying jobs but often surpass blacks in the workplace. Also, look at all the businesses and restaurants Mexicans, Asian, and Indians own all over the place compared to blacks, who have historically been denied loans and benefits extended to others on the down low.
Another growing problem for blacks is that they must also compete with the influx of immigrants from nations like India, etc. who come here with at a four year college degree. Although these countries are often poor, I heard that everyone is afforded a four year college education free of charge by the government. While in this country, obtaining a college education is very expensive
shemika
Post a Comment
<< Home