Thread: Black versus Mexican conflict has New York City worried

(Reuters) - A wave of attacks by black youths against Mexican immigrants has provoked a police show of force and swift action by politicians worried about racial conflict in the remote New York City borough of Staten Island.

Gravely concerned about racial conflict in the middle of a hot summer, city authorities, immigrant advocates and the Mexican consulate have announced a series of measures aimed at reducing the violence even as they disagree over the cause of the attacks and how to stop them.

The situation has combined two of America's most intractable social problems -- the plight of inner-city black youths who lack jobs and opportunity, and the world of the migrant workers who flee poverty or violence at home in search of low-paying jobs that Americans generally refuse to take.

Police are investigating at least 10 incidents of beatings or robberies since April as hate crimes and in recent days have flooded the Port Richmond neighborhood with highly visible patrol cars, street officers and "eye in the sky" mobile watch towers that can be staffed by police.

Experts say the incidents are likely under-reported because illegal immigrants fearful of deportation are reluctant to report crimes to police. On the streets, Mexican immigrants tell enough stories about how they or their compatriots have been targeted to suggest more than 10 cases.

The police build-up began last week after a July 23 incident in which several young men yelling anti-Mexican slurs attacked a 31-year-old Mexican, breaking his jaw and cutting his scalp while stealing his backpack. Then last weekend three men beat a 17-year-old Mexican, stealing $10.

The beatings are often accompanied by anti-Hispanic epithets, and in some cases little or no money has been taken.

"It's nothing more than racial hate," said Gerardo Garcia, 29, of Acapulco, one of the many immigrant day laborers who gather at different points, hoping to get hired for the day.

"We try to do things right. We work. We go home. We're not looking for fights. But we're always confronted by groups of four or five black kids who always want to fight. They're not looking for money, they just want to fight."

EASY TARGETS

The sight of Hispanic men concentrating on street corners has unsettled communities across the United States, particularly when associated with littering or public drunkenness.

Staten Island, which is less diverse than other New York City boroughs, is still getting used to them. Sometimes called the forgotten borough, Staten Island is geographically closer to New Jersey than to the rest of New York City and, with the smallest population of the five boroughs, it rarely receives as much attention.

The youths may been looking for easy targets for robberies of men who carry large amounts of cash on payday.

"It's a crime of opportunity, not just because they are Mexicans," said Debi Rose, the city council representative of the neighborhood and one of the officials who on Tuesday announced a $300,000 anti-bias program for high schools and fund-raising to buy more security cameras, among other steps.

"The young African American males involved are not exemplary of the community. We are working hard to ensure that we don't demonize young African American men," she said.

The poor economy has hit both minority groups hard. Jobs for teenagers are scarce and the city has cut funding for recreational programs that might keep them out of trouble.

Mexican day laborers who commanded $120 for a full day of work before the recession now say they are lucky to get $80.

"I just hope that at some point these young African Americans realize we are on the same side. We are both minorities. We are suffering from discrimination in various parts of the country," said Ruben Beltran, the Mexican consul.

Even before the most recent attacks, the Mexican consulate hired a counselor to roam Staten Island, advising Mexicans of their rights and encouraging them to report crimes.

"Across the country there is a wave of anti-immigrant violence. There are people who are particularly hateful of the undocumented who are seen as less than human," said Ana Maria Archila of Make the Road, an immigrant advocate group.

"Now it just seems so much more gratuitous and intense than ever before," she said. "I'm not sure anyone knows what the right solution is."

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6 ... mesticNews

""Now it just seems so much more gratuitous and intense than ever before," she said. "I'm not sure anyone knows what the right solution is."

Not rocket science

Take your illegals and get out

Problem solved.

blacks vs mexicans?

Oh this is a long time fight in California.

Never give up until America is protected with completely closed borders "and" this nation works for the benefit and profit of "we the people", and at the expense of all others who seek to destroy us.

No matter what Hollywood elites and their political counter parts say - quite buying their products and they won't have the voice that their money "and" celebrity has purchased for them.

Perhaps these kids KNOW what happened to black neighborhoods in LA after they became predominately Mexican.

It's not just black and Hispanic either. The media doesn't report a lot of the racial conflicts in this city. As the Chinese took over my neighborhood the white population just relocated elsewhere but when they entered bordering neighborhoods with Hispanic populations the conflicts started.

The local middle school was about 50/50 white and Spanish in 88 by 98 it was about 50% Spanish, 40% Chinese and 10% white. It was then I started hearing about fights between the Spanish kids and the Asian kids. Nothing about it in the media though.

In recent years the student population at this school reached about a 70/30 point of Asian/Hispanic. This school is dead-center of a Chinese neighborhood and the Hispanic kids are all from the outer edges of the district. Apparently the Hispanics that once intimidated the Asians found this to be an uncomfortable situation. So what do you think happened?

The school district was gerrymandered! Starting this September Asian kids who live as close as two blocks away will have to go to a school twenty blocks away while Hispanic kids that were once outside the district will now travel twenty blocks to attend this school. I'm guessing the student population once again approaches 50/50.

This situation won't last more than a few years though because this Asian community is expanding rapidly and the Hispanics now being catered too will eventually be displaced and the school district will be returned to what it was.

The Mexican consul is a spy ! He's engaging in subversion ! Did you see what be wrote about blacks and mexican being on the same side ! I call bluff ! Everyone knows that the mexicans (illegal) are only here for the Mexicans , if they were on our side they would go back to their home country and free up jobs for OUR people !

I feel no pity when crminals get robbed.

wouldn't it be proper for the Mexican Consul to not condone
illegal activity, like I don't know, not come here without documentation!

You mean I've been told wrong all these years that only white Christians could be racist.

Originally Posted by oldguy

You mean I've been told wrong all these years that only white Christians could be racist.

Guess the black children I saw playing with white children didn't get the memo from the racist mafias, because they all looked like they were having fun in spite of what "their own kind" dictated.

Same was true when I was brought up - blacks and whites playing very happily together.

No one called me racist back then, but as an adult a whole lot of young folks think they know best and throw their race around in ways that would embarrass the children I played with as a child.

Wonder what the black and hispanic race baiting racists will do when they face God, and if He turns out to be any race, but theirs.

Talk about a FINALIZED WAKE UP CALL!

Guess they better start practicing now while they have some time in a life to correct their racist conduct.

Oh and, "using racist" as a way of "doing anything" against other races - well, to coin mexico's, and too many others in high positions and low, maybe they should be the good neighbors they "say" that America is not, which is a total lie.

America has OVER DONE more for mexico & their citizens than any other country around the world has done for any of their neighbors.

Put THAT in your mexico flag and burn it.

Originally Posted by GR

Originally Posted by oldguy

You mean I've been told wrong all these years that only white Christians could be racist.

Guess the black children I saw playing with white children didn't get the memo from the racist mafias, because they all looked like they were having fun in spite of what "their own kind" dictated.

Same was true when I was brought up - blacks and whites playing very happily together.

No one called me racist back then, but as an adult a whole lot of young folks think they know best and throw their race around in ways that would embarrass the children I played with as a child.

Wonder what the black and hispanic race baiting racists will do when they face God, and if He turns out to be any race, but theirs.

Talk about a FINALIZED WAKE UP CALL!

Guess they better start practicing now while they have some time in a life to correct their racist conduct.

Oh and, "using racist" as a way of "doing anything" against other races - well, to coin mexico's, and too many others in high positions and low, maybe they should be the good neighbors they "say" that America is not, which is a total lie.

America has OVER DONE more for mexico & their citizens than any other country around the world has done for any of their neighbors.

Put THAT in your mexico flag and burn it.

Agreed! While we as a nation have come very far, the illegal immigration battle for the majority of Americans has never been about race. As a black American I have friends of all races and I am totally against this invasion. The fact that the majority of illegal aliens happen to be hispanic is their fault not ours. The race card has long outlived its usefulness. Apparently, the media continues to ignore the memo.

The sight of Hispanic men concentrating on street corners has unsettled communities across the United States, particularly when associated with littering or public drunkenness.

Staten Island, which is less diverse than other New York City boroughs, is still getting used to them. Sometimes called the forgotten borough, Staten Island is geographically closer to New Jersey than to the rest of New York City and, with the smallest population of the five boroughs, it rarely receives as much attention.

Why should any community have to "get used" to illegal invaders loitering on street corners, some of whom are drunk and engaged in other illegal acts in violation of the law!!!

WHY! This is the biased slant that most MSM use when writting these stories.

"I just hope that at some point these young African Americans realize we are on the same side. We are both minorities. We are suffering from discrimination in various parts of the country," said Ruben Beltran, the Mexican consul.

This has been the strategy of the illegal invaders and their government from day one! To get the minority community to believe the issue of illegal invasion is a “racialâ€