Thread: Is racism against Hispanics growing in East Tennessee?

PART ONE: Is racism against Hispanics growing in East Tennessee?

by Yvette Martinez

The census estimates half of Tennessee's population growth this decade will be Hispanic. Some Hispanics believe racial tension is also growing.

Five years ago, American citizen Tom Mares moved his wife and three kids to East Tennessee.

"My kids had been in Texas their whole lives. I was ready to go out and do something different and experience a little more, give my kids a little more rounded idea of what's out there."

Tom's son, Tomas says moving to Tennessee was definitely an eye-opening experience.

"I thought it was a little different because in Texas, it was mostly Hispanic, but once we came to Tennessee, it was different cultures."

But once, when the family went out to eat, they felt different wasn't welcome. Tom says there were four waitresses and three tables with people to serve. However, he and his family waited 30 minutes without ever being approached. It made a lasting impression on Tomas, who was only 10 years old at the time.

"We sat there for a while. We ended up leaving, but they never came and served us," Tomas recalls.

Now 15 years old, Tomas says his time at school includes lessons in racial tension. He says non-Hispanic students tell his friends who don't speak English as well that they need to "go back."

Tomas is so frustrated with the incidents he has faced in local high school hallways that he asked his dad to move their family away from East Tennessee.

"I just want to feel accepted, so I want to graduate from a school where I feel like I'm liked by a lot of people."

This is a hard pill to swallow for Tom, an Air Force veteran and former Texas law enforcement officer. He says he would like to promote tolerance in Tennessee.

"If we leave, and I don't do what I can, I won't be able to sleep at night knowing I might have been able to do something for someone here in Tennessee," Tom said.

Tom is a translator for businesses, police and emergency personnel. He became a liason after a Blount County Mexican restaurant was vandalized with racial slurs.

"I thought it was time to go ahead and step in," Tom says.

But he says his efforts led to death threats against him and his family.

"I had one gentleman tell me that trying to make this a better place was the wrong place to do it," Tom says.

On the other hand, Tom's efforts made him a friend to immigrants, including Marlen*, a naturalized American citizen.

Marlen came to America illegally, determined to climb out of poverty.

"That's the reason everybody comes here, to find a new life."

Once in East Tennessee, Marlen applied for resident alien status, started working and paying taxes, and two years ago, became an American citizen.

"I think this is the land of opportunities. I really think it's the land of opportunities," says Marlen. "Doors are open. We just have to walk through them."

Marlen is now the co-owner of a local restaurant.
She loves East Tennessee, but worries racial tension is getting worse, fueled by language barriers.

"I think speaking English has helped. I feel that people who don't speak very much English experience (racism) a little bit more."

Marlen and Tom hope to bridge gaps and set an example for the next generation.

Although young Tomas feels rejected by some in East Tennessee, he doesn't believe that's a reflection on all Americans and the country he loves.

"I'm 100% percent American and proud of it," Tomas says.

*"Marlen" is an alias.


PART TWO: Hamblen County's large Hispanic population presents law enforcement challenge

by Anthony Welsch

Immigration is a hot topic, and for one Hamblen County family, it's become a highly personal issue.

In March, a pick-up truck driven by an undocumented driver ran a stop sign and pulled onto the Davy Crockett Parkway, smashing into a car carrying Debbie Phillips, her daughter, granddaughter, and two friends.

Today Debbie Phillips suffers memory loss and has ongoing eye problems.

The other driver went home with a ticket for running a stop sign and failure to have a driver's license.

Roger Phillips was shocked. He couldn't believe the illegal immigrant who hit his family wasn't taken to jail.

Hamblen County Sheriff Esco Jarnigan understands Roger Phillips frustration.

"America is like a ship," says Jarnigan. "You can only get so many on board and it's going to sink. We are filling up the ship."

Jarnigan says his community, with a large and growing Hispanic population is being "flooded by aliens."

The U.S. Census doesn't ask about citizenship status, so the agency's numbers combine both legal and illegal Hispanics. Data shows that the percentage of Hispanic residents in Hamblen County is now 27 times higher than it was in 1990. Today. 9.3% of the people living in Hamblen County are Hispanic -- three times the Tennessee average.

"It's very frustrating and I put blame where the blame is due. I blame the federal government," says Jarnagan.

The Sheriff says his department has a good relationship with federal immigration agents, but it's not enough; his officers are seeing crimes they haven't seen in years.

"(Illegal immigrants) can't furnish ID, so they can't buy alcohol or cigarettes," explains Jarnagan. "So we actually have a regression back to bootlegging."

Jarnagan wants more power for his officers to investigate and enforce immigration law. However, neither Morristown or Hamblen County have been accepted into the federal program that does out that authority.

So Hamblen County is trying a different approach, hoping to make three deputies into U.S. Marshals. Jarnagan says that would give those three deputies similar powers to immigration agents.

"It's unique in that it's something that has never been tried before," says Jarnagan.

Roger Phillips says he would support any steps to cut down on the number of people living illegally in Tennessee.

"It won't always be somebody like me that's coming in here saying we've had an accident and my wife got hurt," says Phillips. "Someday that's going to be yours; what are you going to do then?"


http://www.wbir.com/news/regional/story ... ryid=51231

Comment section at link. No registration.

I agree, get out and go back especially if you refuse to learn and speak English.

W

census estimates half of Tennessee's population

Wrong


About 75% of this artical Is totaly 100% BUll Beeep !!!

Legal hispanics should be angry at illegal hispanic aliens and their activist organizations for putting us in this position. Since this article deals with hispanics, I will keep that thread. Keep in mind that many Italians, Greeks, Arabs, etc may also look hispanic.

If the aliens that are here were actually supporting themselves, without sucking up taxpayer paid benefits it would not have gotten to this point. Americans are angry that they can barely scrape by, while our money is going to people who cannot support themselves because they lack skills. These people were never invited into this country, they invaded and are screaming GIMME GIMME!

When the hispanic illegal was let go after causing that accident, I call it racism against the citizen who was hurt. The hispanic was let go, whereas if it had been reversed, the citizen would have been fined. Apparently hispanic activists think there should be a separate set of laws for hispanics. That in itself is racist and has no room in the USA.

If you cannot abide by the nation's laws, you do not belong here, we do not want you here, get out.

Good example of what parents are doing to their children. For what? Greed. Pure greed and what they can get. Everything you do comes back to you.

Dixie

Having lived in Southern Calif my entire life I have always known many Mexicans. Those that are my close friends feel the same way I do. They don't want illegals here any more than we do. The media and special interest groups try to make this a "race" thing and it is not. Just so happens most of these people are from Mexico. Just so happens this is the poverty class that Mexico does not want and our business/corporate people do. I believe Americans are the most generous people around and the politicians better quit spinning this as "xenophobic."

Many legal Hispanics are fed up with illegals here in Florida. They write on blogs and tells others in person that they are being discriminated by others due to illegals and are fed up with it. In fact the legal Hispanics have a website for others who are against illegals. The group is called Don't Speak for Me. In Miami it is us non Hispanics who get discriminated against. They come up to us speaking Spanish and expect us to speak their language. This happens all the time in restaurants and other service industry places. I had one woman ask me for directions in Spanish. She spoke no English. Also there are police officers out there who do discriminate against legal Americans for example in the area of South Miami Dade in the agricultural areas some police officers will not pull over an illegal alien for driving with burnt out brake lights or expired registration as they feel sorry for them. In reality they don't want to pull them over becuase they darn well that the person does not have a valid driver's license and they would have to arrest them. Once they take them to jail ICE would be notified and the person would be deported. If it were a black or white person they would be pulled over and ticketed and if they were driving with a suspended driver's license they would go to jail. I did training in 2005 with one police department and that is what I learned from some officers. In fact I still have those comments in my notes which I have kept.

Swatchick, I appreciated your above comments regarding non Hispanics being the target of discrimination by Hispanics in large parts of South Florida. It is completely true that there is a climate of intolerance towards non Hispanics in parts of SF, and it's time we start talking about it. If you look remotely like you may be Hispanic, it is immediately expected that you are Hispanic and that you speak Spanish. And, if you say "No Hablo Espanol," often times you have to hear a verbal diatribe about the fact that you look Hispanic and, thus, are expected, to speak Spanish. To my thinking, that's prejudiced and discriminatory thinking. We need to be asking, "Is racism against non Hispanics Growing in the United States?" I think the answer, regardless of where you reside in the U.S., is "yes."

The second article explains the first article!