Thread: Column of the Americas: They're taking our jobs

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Column of the Americas: They're taking our jobs
(1 comments; last comment posted Today 03:53 pm)


By Roberto Rodriguez | CooA
May 31, 2005

web. ed: freenewmexican.com is very pleased to present on the web "Column of the Americas", the highly acclaimed national column by Roberto Rodriguez and Patrisia Gonzales. The writers offer a unique indigenous perspective of the Americas -- on issues of general interest as well as highlighting issues that specifically affect peoples of both, North and South America. Former residents of El Paso, Texas, and Albuquerque, N.M., they were inducted into El Paso's 1997 Writers of the Pass Hall of Fame and received the 1998 human rights award from the Albuquerque Human Rights office. In 2005, they received New Mexico's prestigious Walking the Talk award for their contributions to the field of journalism and social justice.

A complete bio and background on the writers can be found here.

Bienvenidos, Roberto y Patrisia!

Column of the Americas: They're taking our jobs

Washington D.C.-- After presenting on the new language of exclusion during a recent Black Issues in Higher Education conference, the first question posed is: "Many Blacks feel that illegal aliens are taking jobs from African Americans. Can you comment?"

The question is tension-laden and comes on the heels of Mexican President Vicente Fox's fumbling statement about "Mexicans taking jobs that even Blacks won't do."

"In anti-immigrant rhetoric, "illegal aliens" translates into Mexicans and Central Americans. Yet, this is not an anti-immigrant group. Quite the opposite as many here in the packed ballroom are civil rights veterans.

As such, the question needs to be answered, not danced around. And so here, the same question is posed -- stripped of its niceties: Are Mexicans taking jobs from Blacks?

The truth is, it's employers who have the power to give or take jobs, not other workers. Yet, the idea of Mexicans taking jobs from Americans (and of draining social services) began during the early 20th century, resulting in periodic mass deportations. In the 1980s, someone within the anti-immigrant movement decided that these jobs - "the ones no one else would do" -- belonged to Blacks. While this became an unquestioned political mantra, no one questioned why Blacks had been remanded to these worst jobs. In the 1990s, these jobs also came to belong to "native born Hispanics." And thus, we can see the evolution of this divisive discourse. Fox's answer was but a bumbling variation on this theme.

During good times, anti-immigrant rhetoric doesn't work. That's why this movement historically has turned to scapegoat politics to get people to accept their "the Mexicans are invading and want their land back" scenarios. This actually is why Mexican migration is unique; most are indigenous or indigenous-based mestizos, coming across but a few miles … to lands that were formerly Mexico's. Previously, it was (and is) indigenous land (despite Spain's colonial claims to it). European immigration of course involves the crossing of an entire ocean.

Unable to successfully argue against Mexican indigeneity (some bigots claim that Mexicans are actually Spaniards), anti-immigrants found it easier to resort to divide and conquer tactics: Get Blacks to blame Mexicans and you prevent a powerful coalition and divert attention from the fact that U.S. corporate culture -- in cahoots with government -- is engaging in the super-exploitation of all human beings worldwide, particularly these two peoples at home.

African Americans thoroughly understand dehumanization and the politics of blame. Yet, it's another story during hard times. For some, it's easy to be diverted and easier to lash out and blame those different from us. It's easier to blame Mexicans than it is to recognize that it is America's rapacious corporate culture that is causing instability throughout the world -- creating high unemployment at home (due to outsourcing) and super-exploitation abroad. This is what causes peoples to migrate. Meanwhile, Mexicans are also taught by U.S. culture to view African Americans, Asians and American Indians in a dehumanized manner (and vice versa). These attitudes are easily assimilated.

Couple this with a demonstrably illegal war - which diverts hundreds of billions from critical domestic needs - and it becomes fodder for such politics. In this context, Mexicans are easy to blame, this while others blame Arabs (which justifies these insane permanent wars). American Indians are accused of not paying taxes and being casino-rich. And the subtext to all this is America's unresolved racial problems. People of color, and African Americans in particular, continue to be imprisoned, warehoused and criminalized at unprecedented rates, this while unemployment and murder rates remain sky high.

In this climate, scapegoat politics (among people of all colors) becomes seductive. That's why "foreigners" always come in handy. Jews too, and nowadays, abortion and gay marriage also make for good distractions.

The presence of millions of Mexicans/Central Americans - living a dehumanized existence as "illegal human beings" -- is a testament that there's something wrong with nation-states (United States and sending nations) that facilitate their exploitation. These migrants are not the problem, but the symptom of a problem.

In this climate, war, drastic cuts in social services, high unemployment and super-exploitation -- becomes justifiable and probable -- as long as we're all busily distracted and entertained by the politics of blame.

… After my response, a woman comments: "In South Carolina, when these workers come to work in the fields, we simply say, 'The Indians are coming home.' "

Perhaps the days of divide and conquer are numbered. It begins by rejecting the notion of legal and illegal human beings.

Feel Free to post your comments

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Thanks, JP, I always feel free to spout off!

This is my favorite bone-head comment:

The presence of millions of Mexicans/Central Americans - living a dehumanized existence as "illegal human beings" -- is a testament that there's something wrong with nation-states (United States and sending nations) that facilitate their exploitation. These migrants are not the problem, but the symptom of a problem.

Does this pathetic excuse for a circus clown not have the vaguest concept of national sovereignty? Dredging up circumstances from the dim past after centuries of development and legal oversight by an elected and sovereign government is disengenuous at best, and blindly stupid at worst. I'm going with blindly stupid.

They just don't get it, or they are good at pretending that they don't. I'm going with the latter.

This barf bag needs to get a clue. If he thinks people like us are going away, he's got another think coming and it's gonna hurt.

I sent an email.

Thanks for the post and the opportunity. I couldn't copy it back to post here.

These migrants are not the problem, but the symptom of a problem.

Actually, this part is absolutely FACT. MEXICO has a SERIOUS PROBLEM!!!

So, we're back to the RACE CARD with a more "intellectual" explanation? How quaint.

Dont forget to mention ALIPAC in your post, but be nice.