SPECIAL HOLIDAY EDITION

Let's play a game. I ask a question, and no matter the facts, the
answer is: The Mexicans. For example, who is responsible for ushering
in the era of robber baron government in which the top one percent is
raking in the trillions while spreading misery to the middle class and
the working poor? The Mexicans. That one was too easy. How about: Who
stole or who has declared War on Christmas? You got it. We could blame
illegal aliens, but why beat around the bush? We all know it is but
code for brown Spanish-speaking people. So let's begin with the
nation's 21 most pressing problems. Who is responsible for:

1) the U.S. dependence on Middle East oil and the price of gas going
through the roof?
2) there being lots of money for the nation's roads and bridges in
Iraq, but not the U.S.?
3) skyrocketing tuition which is making college unaffordable for the
children of working families?
4) Iraq War Veterans being intentionally cheated out of their health &
education benefits & bonuses?
5) the never-ending Iraq war costing (including hidden costs) more
than a trillion dollars thus far?
6) torture, killings and other rights abuses being up worldwide as a
result of "the war on terror?"
7) U.S. intelligence "failures" on maters of war and peace,
particularly in regards to Iraq and Iran?
8) the president being the most distrusted and despised leader on the planet?
9) leaders of both parties and the media unable to see through the
president's war propaganda?
10) the Army & Marines being stretched beyond their limits, unable to
invade any more countries?
11) converting the EPA into the Environmental Pollution &
Toxics-licensing Agency?
12) more Black & Brown men being subject to the U.S. penal system than
being in college?
13) the mortgage crisis in which millions of Americans are losing their homes?
14) U.S. mercenaries & war-profiteering companies operating outside of
the law in Iraq?
15) the U.S. rejecting most treaties related to war, land mines,
cluster bombs and nuclear weapons?
16) rising poverty, homelessness and close to 50 million Americans
being without health insurance?
17) corporations continuing to outsource jobs overseas while the
dollar hits new lows?
18) food, health and safety laws being ignored and product recalls
becoming routine?
19) cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, asthma, autism and
insomnia rates all being on the rise?
20) Social Security and Medicare being on the brink of bankruptcy?
21) the drought in the United States and the global water crisis?

If you don't know the answer, Lou Dobbs, Tom Tancredo, Pat Buchanan,
"Curveball" and "Screwball" are all waiting to take your call.

When in history have we seen a similar game played out in which
Americans come to believe that some peoples are less than human and
not entitled to the same basic human rights and protections as
everyone else? Since 9-11 Arabs/Muslims are now equated with
Islamo-fascist terrorists… and since most Mexicans are brown, they're
also being taken on the same vicious ride. Blacks have always known
this story. Jews, Chinese and Japanese Americans have also lived this
reality. And since 1492, who better than Indigenous peoples can tell
this story of demonization and dehumanization?

In the 2008 presidential race, if a candidate accuses another
candidate of either party of not hating or scapegoating illegal aliens
enough, that is considered mudslinging; not the dehumanization, the
accusation. Where did the idea come from that human beings could ever
be illegal? The Bible? The Law? The Border? The Media? Most people are
repulsed by brazen bigots in whose minds illegal aliens and Mexicans
have become one and the same thing. But what about the Jay Lenos of
the world (and their writers) who continually demean "illegal aliens"
for a cheap laugh? That's actually how dehumanization becomes
normalized and acceptable.

The Republican Party is nowadays being identified worldwide as the
American anti-immigrant party. Yet, Democrats, akin to their role in
the war, cannot be counted on to counter this fast-spreading cancer.
An agreement to regulate the flow of labor, without remanding Mexicans
to permanent illegality or subserviency, can easily fix this problem.
But then again, who would be left to dehumanize? Mormons? Mitt Romney,
who himself has turned to scapegoating immigrants, is about to become
a victim of this brand of politics that stress purity and
authenticity. He has been "Mexicanized" to the point that he is now
unelectable. What group is next? Divorcees?

By the way, if your kids don't find the gifts they're expecting under
the Christmas tree, blame the Mexicans. It will prepare you in the
event you lose your job, health insurance, home or your sanity. You
might not get your job or home back, but you will feel better.

COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS
DECEMBER 4, 2007MACEHUAL: BY ROBERTO RODRIGUEZ
 

(c) Column of the Americas 2007

Rodriguez can be reached at Esta dirección de correo electrónico está protegida contra los robots de spam, necesitas tener Javascript activado para poder verla