Racist Gringos

If this is a repost, well, the article is sooooo good (in my never humble opinion) it's worth posting again.

If it's a first-time post...... well, join me in sending friendly e-mails thanking the writer for not toeing the party line and supporting the invaders!!!!!

(re-posted on a not-for-profit public forum to encourage discussion about events having a profound impact upon the individual and society)
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http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune ... 20393.html

mailto: dvassilaros@tribweb.com

Filthy, racist gringos

TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, February 6, 2006

Rob Allyn, the public relations expert hired by the Republic of Mexico to improve its image in the states, believes that American animosity toward immigrants is rooted partly in racism.
"You can smell it. It's like bad art. You know it when you see it," Mr. Allyn told The San Diego Union-Tribune.

One mission is to "correct some of the myths and misperceptions that are out there." Allyn should start by correcting his misperception about supposedly racist Americans. Apparently his $72,000 fee (in published reports) does not buy much public relations acumen these days.

Allyn's office said he was traveling when I called on Friday. I was referred to Jennifer Ring, senior vice president at Allyn & Company Inc.

Are racist Americans part of the problem?

"It would be very easy to fall into the trap of focusing on the negative, but it's our task to let people know all the positive things and facts about Mexico," said Ms. Ring.

But what about Allyn's superhuman sense of smell and virtually X-ray vision that enables him to see racism in American the way a critic of Jackson Pollock would view his art?

"He is standing by that statement," Ring said. "Rob Allyn summed it up perfectly when he said that."

Um, could labeling Americans as racist impact Mexico's public relations campaign?

"I do not think it will have any effect in the campaign," she said. "What will, is telling people the facts about the nation of Mexico."

She declined to give an example of racist myths supposedly harbored by her fellow countrymen.

Allyn's message will include "the good things that are happening in Mexico." Americans will be told that Mexico is a nation on the move, with a flourishing democracy -- Ring says unemployment is down 30 percent -- and a growth-oriented economy joined at the hip with the USA.

Allyn will have to answer the painfully obvious question about all those good things. If things are so good, why are millions of Mexicans and other people from the Third World sometimes risking their life savings and their lives to cross the border into this republic? Ring says it's because the American economy is so much larger than Mexico's. But she could not say why we are not flooded by Canadian immigrants

If Allyn's PR efforts were aimed south of the border, surely the people in Mexico and the others passing through would be more likely to stay put.

Yes, Mexico is "on the move." Unfortunately for America, it is usually by foot to move to a new zip code north of the Rio Grande. What exactly is a "flourishing" democracy? And will America be happy if the winner of the July 2 Mexican presidential election is Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the very left-wing former mayor of Mexico City?

And as for that growth-oriented economy, you can thank the skyrocketing prices Americans are paying for gasoline and the roughly $20 billion that was sent to Mexico from immigrants in this country in 2005.

What kind of spin will Allyn put on that recently discovered half-mile-long tunnel from Mexico to the United States? Perhaps gullible Americans will believe it was created by Mexicans to alleviate the above-ground foot traffic of illegal aliens to lessen the workload of the understaffed Border Patrol.

Or to increase the flow of contraband, illegals and drug gangs -- if you think like a racist.

Dimitri Vassilaros is a Trib editorial page columnist. His column appears Sundays, Mondays and Fridays. Call him at 412-380-5637. E-mail him at dvassilaros@tribweb.com.