I heard something particularly ludicrous on the radio today.
Before I give you my spin, here's what I heard. I heard a complaint that people who are protesting these new, draconic, immigration laws are showing the Mexican flag too much. This guy on the radio said that people (and I'm assuming he meant "white" people) feel threatened by the Mexican flag.
And I couldn't believe it.
Though it came as no surprise.
Hey, I live in Southern California, where it's always been fashionable to hate Mexicans. People complain that they're "taking our jobs" or "using our services", assuming that they'd want to pick strawberries or clean hotel rooms or that there's no benefit to treating sick children of any ethnicity or - most importantly at the moment - that all immigrants are Mexicans.
Listen, I don't think that illegal immigrants are without fault, if you'll pardon the double negative. But I also think that this issue is far too complex to reduce down to a catchphrase. Also, I tend to worry more about my job being outsourced oversees than about an illegal immigrant coming in and doing it. I'm also one of those pinko commies who thinks that corporate welfare costs far more than educating a child.
And when we get down to the issue of people waving the Mexican flag, let's keep in mind that we are all immigrants or descended from immigrants. Even the American Indians were immigrants! And there's nothing wrong with people saying, "This is my group and you're treating my group like shit."
Threatened by the Mexican flag? I feel more threatened by anyone who says that people shouldn't be free to fly it.
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