Secret Society of Joplin Democrats
A support group for progressive minded citizens in the Joplin, Missouri metro
New Oped to the Globe: please proof/comment before I send
I have been increasingly concerned about the intensity and tone of language about Hispanics in the media and in this community.
This is not about political correctness. You can say what you want and if I think it is inaccurate, so can I.
First, not all people with brown skin are Mexicans. A Joplin Globe on-line reader recently said in response to an article about Judge Sotomayor’s appointment to the Supreme Court: “Why wouldn’t we just as well welcome Mexico as the 52nd State?” Judge Sotomayor was born in America and her ancestors came from Puerto Rico.
Second, not all Hispanics are illegal immigrants or even recent immigrants. You might be fairly embarrassed if you assumed that someone with Hispanic heritage just came to America when their ancestor’s immigration predated your own families’.
Radio Host Michael Savage recently stated: “Illegal aliens are carriers of the new strain of Human Swine Avian Flu from Mexico. Is this a terrorist attack?” There has never been any evidence that illegal aliens were using swine flu for biological terrorism.
Americans who honor cultural traditions different from yours are not less American than you are. Ralph Linton once described this hypocritical sense of superiority effectively. Such an American, he stated "awakens in a bed built on a pattern which originated in the Near East but which was modified in Northern Europe before it was transmitted to America… reads the news of the day, imprinted in characters invented by the ancient Semites upon a material invented in China by a process invented in Germany. As he absorbs the accounts of foreign troubles, he will, if he is a good conservative citizen, thank a Hebrew deity in an Indo-European language that he is 100 percent American.”
Concern about illegal immigration and disease are justified; assumptions and hyperventilation based on a combination of ignorance and arrogance are not.
This is not about political correctness. You can say what you want and if I think it is inaccurate, so can I.
First, not all people with brown skin are Mexicans. A Joplin Globe on-line reader recently said in response to an article about Judge Sotomayor’s appointment to the Supreme Court: “Why wouldn’t we just as well welcome Mexico as the 52nd State?” Judge Sotomayor was born in America and her ancestors came from Puerto Rico.
Second, not all Hispanics are illegal immigrants or even recent immigrants. You might be fairly embarrassed if you assumed that someone with Hispanic heritage just came to America when their ancestor’s immigration predated your own families’.
Radio Host Michael Savage recently stated: “Illegal aliens are carriers of the new strain of Human Swine Avian Flu from Mexico. Is this a terrorist attack?” There has never been any evidence that illegal aliens were using swine flu for biological terrorism.
Americans who honor cultural traditions different from yours are not less American than you are. Ralph Linton once described this hypocritical sense of superiority effectively. Such an American, he stated "awakens in a bed built on a pattern which originated in the Near East but which was modified in Northern Europe before it was transmitted to America… reads the news of the day, imprinted in characters invented by the ancient Semites upon a material invented in China by a process invented in Germany. As he absorbs the accounts of foreign troubles, he will, if he is a good conservative citizen, thank a Hebrew deity in an Indo-European language that he is 100 percent American.”
Concern about illegal immigration and disease are justified; assumptions and hyperventilation based on a combination of ignorance and arrogance are not.
Add a Comment
2 Comments
-
Comment by Philip Wilson on August 25, 2009 at 5:35pm - I like it.
-
Comment by T Teeter on June 1, 2009 at 11:43pm - looks good to me
© 2009 Created by T Teeter on Ning. Create Your Own Social Network
You need to be a member of Secret Society of Joplin Democrats to add comments!
Join this social network