SignOnSanDiego > News > North County > Logan Jenkins -- Common theme of discord plays in conflicting arenas
Logan Jenkins talks about his attendance of the Carlsbad Immigration Rally:
"..., I arrived at Carlsbad High School two hours before show time. At the corner of Chestnut Avenue and Lancer Way, two cruisers and six motorcycle cops were standing by.
By the end of the night, 150 officers would be called to the scene. Carlsbad's superintendent panicked, but it also looked like a police panic attack.
Fearing violence on campus, Superintendent John Roach had revoked the scheduled forum's permit on Aug. 5, hoping the organizers of the illegal immigration forum would make other plans.
No naif in the publicity game, state Sen. Bill Morrow, R-Carlsbad, the organizer (and chief beneficiary) of the forum, slapped Roach with a lawsuit. In short order, Roach caved and opened the doors to the plush, air-conditioned community theater.
Morrow had himself a priceless media coup, an event radioactive with the specter of violence.
Across Lancer Way, groups of blue-collar Latinos gathered in front of their modest apartments to watch the TV trucks and the long line of Anglos, most of whom were retirement age. Roger Hedgecock, the forum's moderator, had pumped up his listeners, encouraging them to arrive early and fill the seats.
During the forum, Hedgecock and others profusely thanked the police for protecting them from the pro-immigrant forces gathered outside.
The border advocates harbor as profound a grievance as the Latino residents of Vista's Townsite, but not against police or the military, forces they admire enormously.
Rather, they blame the political power structure - the Democrats, turncoat Republicans like President Bush and Sen. John McCain of Arizona, Big Business - for what they see as a human plague. "
I think Logan is getting at something. The focus is on brown people and their existence. I'm sorry, but that isn't going away. Enacting laws and policies based on skin color isn't going to stop the problem. This may not be what Morrow, Hedgecock, and Gilchrist are talking on - yet they pay no caution to it. If anything they USE it. They are choosing this as an issue and the connection it creates with racism. The parties and politicians are aware. Some step in and use the issue. Some refuse to do anything.
It confuses the issue - Morrow, Hedgecock, and Gilchrist know it. If you look at the facts on; drugs, health-care, and public education - you'll see that American utilize these resources MORE than illegal immigration. illegal immigration is infused with these issues - but is NOT the sole cause of these problems. Look at health-care cost trends in our state. Look at the underfunded school systems that have become a battle ground for politicos. Look at the number of Americans that abuse drugs, legal and illegal.
And you tell me, little brown men are the BIGGEST problem in America.
"..., I arrived at Carlsbad High School two hours before show time. At the corner of Chestnut Avenue and Lancer Way, two cruisers and six motorcycle cops were standing by.
By the end of the night, 150 officers would be called to the scene. Carlsbad's superintendent panicked, but it also looked like a police panic attack.
Fearing violence on campus, Superintendent John Roach had revoked the scheduled forum's permit on Aug. 5, hoping the organizers of the illegal immigration forum would make other plans.
No naif in the publicity game, state Sen. Bill Morrow, R-Carlsbad, the organizer (and chief beneficiary) of the forum, slapped Roach with a lawsuit. In short order, Roach caved and opened the doors to the plush, air-conditioned community theater.
Morrow had himself a priceless media coup, an event radioactive with the specter of violence.
Across Lancer Way, groups of blue-collar Latinos gathered in front of their modest apartments to watch the TV trucks and the long line of Anglos, most of whom were retirement age. Roger Hedgecock, the forum's moderator, had pumped up his listeners, encouraging them to arrive early and fill the seats.
During the forum, Hedgecock and others profusely thanked the police for protecting them from the pro-immigrant forces gathered outside.
The border advocates harbor as profound a grievance as the Latino residents of Vista's Townsite, but not against police or the military, forces they admire enormously.
Rather, they blame the political power structure - the Democrats, turncoat Republicans like President Bush and Sen. John McCain of Arizona, Big Business - for what they see as a human plague. "
I think Logan is getting at something. The focus is on brown people and their existence. I'm sorry, but that isn't going away. Enacting laws and policies based on skin color isn't going to stop the problem. This may not be what Morrow, Hedgecock, and Gilchrist are talking on - yet they pay no caution to it. If anything they USE it. They are choosing this as an issue and the connection it creates with racism. The parties and politicians are aware. Some step in and use the issue. Some refuse to do anything.
It confuses the issue - Morrow, Hedgecock, and Gilchrist know it. If you look at the facts on; drugs, health-care, and public education - you'll see that American utilize these resources MORE than illegal immigration. illegal immigration is infused with these issues - but is NOT the sole cause of these problems. Look at health-care cost trends in our state. Look at the underfunded school systems that have become a battle ground for politicos. Look at the number of Americans that abuse drugs, legal and illegal.
And you tell me, little brown men are the BIGGEST problem in America.
posted by macromayhem at
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
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