A few thoughts on immigration

With all the immigration talks going on lately, I thought I'd weigh in my $.02 on the issue.

See, us black folks have a whole different type of struggle when it comes to the immigration debate which makes it hard to take a stand either way. The way a person (any person) feels about the immigration issue is a pretty good indicator about what type of cultural value system they have. So I'm not saying I really HAVE a strong position on the issue, but here are some of the thoughts that go into my thinking on this.

First, there is this misconception that permeates the immigration debate that I have a problem with and that is the belief that all immigrants are very hard working, and blacks are lazy and won't work. I'm not saying there aren't any lazy niggas in this world, but what I AM saying is that there are both a lot of hard working black, and a bunch of lazy Latinos too.

One of the arguments I hear a lot is that these are "non-American citizens" taking jobs away from "american citizens". Well, who has the authority to define what an "american citizen" is? Please tell me because people are coming here in the same way that our forefathers came here: without a dinner invite. So we're no more of an American citizen by right to land than they are... Now, if you want to introduce cultural issues into the debate that is a different issue. I can tell you from first hand experience.. Me personally, I don't have much in common with Mexicans. I've been there, done that and really tried hard to make the link, but culturally our backgrounds are very different and rooted in two completely different histories for me to find a common ground with the Mexican chicks. (of course it's all about the chicks.)

I read in an Economist article that nearly 1/2 of blacks in urban areas are unemployed. No fucking wonder every time I go house shopping in "up and coming areas" there ain't nothing but niggas hanging out washing their cars!! I'm thinking to myself, damn, my car needs a car wash too!!! It's that and folks sitting on steps braiding hair.... I shouldn't judge, because maybe she was trying to get herself looking right for a job interview.... BUT the fact remains that we as a people are struggling economically in many respects, so I find the urge to be against the free importation of people with lower job set skills that would increase the pool of applicants that my lower skill set brethen are competing over. Lastly on this note, Cosby is right. We aren't doing enough at home, and we've pointed the finger at a racist and unequal educational system for too long. We have to start solving our own problems and quit complaining about the 4 million (or whatever the number is) immigrants that are coming across our borders every year.

Also, there is a long history of Blacks and Latinos working together in the struggle for equal rights in this country. I recently read in one of my MLK books where he was praying for Coretta to have a safe flight to California as she was on her way to go visit Cesar Chavez in prison. But this current movement does not feel unified in the least bit. Besides random press releases from Jesse Jackson (who always takes the opportunity to be in front of the cameras), it has a "we don't need the Negroes this time" feel to it. It could be a self-empowering move, which I would understand, but I've heard in a number of different ways "You had your movement, and now we're going to have ours." But that does nothing to rally blacks behind the cause, if anything it makes us say, "well, cool, go do your thing then, because we still have a lot of work to do ourselves."

I think its important to realize that this isn't JUST a Mexican issue either. This country has huge discrepencies in it's imigration tactics, mainly based on politics that it has enacted for years. For example, we let every Cuban that arrives in our waters stay, yet we send every Hatian home. The "anti-" rhetoric which begins as "Go back to Mexico." can quickly become "Go back to Asia or Africa." I don't know much about the minutemen, but their practices of taking up arms against the "brown others" and goverment empowering them to use force if necessary is eerily reminiscent of the KKK of the 60's.

Ultimately, like so many other things in this country, it all comes down to money. As long as companies are allowed to exploit immigrants, bring them into our restaurants, homes, & construction sites at rates 10 times better than what they would receive in their country of origin, they will continue to find ways to come. It's clear that they want the same things we want: a good job, a good home, be able to take kids to a movie and out to Red Lobster at the end of the day, and is there anything so wrong with that?

~C