What's with all the Mexican (and cat) hate on DU lately?

I am a Mexican-American woman, a Latina, who lives in AZ, at the heart of the Minuteman issue. All these anti-immigrant threads are so disheartening.

Some have ask me, "why should you be worried about it, you are an American citizen". Yes, I am a 5th generation Mexican-American but most people dont want to take the time to see whether people are "illegal" or not.

I am not all that dark but I look Latina. My sister looks like the stereotype you see---dark skin, dark eyes. She gets so much grief.

Now, I feel that ALL Latinos will be lumped into one category. Immigration is a touchy issue for all and my Mexican brothers and sisters need help. I was in Mexico last week and it is so sad.

I swear, I have stepped into Bizarro World!

I thought we were better than that.


P.S. My cats, Diego and Frida, dont like you either!

;)

Agreed on all counts! :hug:

Where in Arizona do you live? I spent pretty much my entire childhood in Cottonwood, then moved to California when I was 18.

Thanks for posting, and I'm with you!

Born and raised. All that's on the news right now is the damn Minuteman! ARGH

I loved it up in the mountains of Northern Arizona though :).

I can understand your upset about the "Minuteman" BS though. It's just wrong on so many levels.

the cats. I hate cats.

I have four cats.

I hate them all!

:D

after Pearl Harbor. And we know what happened to them. Why is it that white people who hate others because of their skin color go to tanning salons to get brown?

Why try to be brown skinned if you hate the people who are naturally brown?

They are just jealous.

It's an attitude that has gone back to the birth of our country, the old, they're going to "steal our jobs" and "They don't speak the language" and that crap.

Every generation of immigrants has managed to produce another generation of hard-working Americans who have assimilated into our society, and have even beenn elected president.

I spent four years in Arizona and there is definitely a huge anti-Latino sentiment over there. Funny thing is, most of the people who feel that way are midwestern transplants who have lived in Arizona less time than most of the illegal immigrants.

They want Iowa without snow and Mexicans.

These are also the same people who were drawn to Arizona because of affordable housing. Well guess what, the housing is so affordable over there because they were built by illegal immigrants who worked for nearly nothing.

The anti-Latino sentiment use to be in other parts of the state but now Tucson seems to be infected.

I feel like I am not wanted here, all because I am not white.

But a few years before that, I lived in Tucson.

Tucson was always more laid-back than the Phoenix area in that regard. It's one of the oldest Latino settlements in the country. The Old Pueblo.

It's become a battle in Arizona, with Prop 200 and all that stuff, but from I've seen, it's motivating the Latinos to organize politically, something that has always been lacking in Arizona.

Latinos make up more than 20 percent of the population over there. They're not going anywhere. They're just going to get stronger. This anti-immigrant sentiment is going to backfire on the white people.

All it does is marginalize people even further. Something like 66% of the voters in this state approved it.

But you are right, it is motivating the peeps in a big way.

I'm a dog person, cats are just weird.

thought your doggy sure is cute.

and I am with you on the rest of your post also!! Many of us know what these Mintutemen are all about. It's disheartening to see fellow DUers jumping on their bandwagon! :hug:

here is an article I posted yesterday on one of "those" threads from the Southern Poverty Law Center website:

<snip>
Numerous white supremacists have claimed in online postings to be registered as Minuteman volunteers. One who posted to the Minuteman Project forum on the major white power website Stormfront wrote: "While this project is not a White racialist event, per se, it's a project that deserves backing from the White Nationalist community in general."

A self-professed member of the white supremacist organization National Alliance posted to the same forum: "While Minuteman is not affiliated with 'Hate Groups' (like the ones you or I belong to), most of the volunteers smell smoke and know there's a fire that needs putting out. This is a good opportunity to reach out to people who are 'half awake' and help them the rest of the way. I'm a missionary for racism and I see fertile recruiting ground!"

On Monday morning, three days before the Minutemen were scheduled to mass at the border, residents of the town awoke to find National Alliance fliers had been tossed in their driveways during the night.

"Immigration or Invasion?" the fliers read. "Non-Whites are turning America into a Third World slum. They come for welfare or to take our jobs. They bring crime. Let's send them home now!"

One Minuteman on the Stormfront forum made his preference clear: "Personally, I'd like to send 'em back in body bags!"
<snip>

http://www.splcenter.org/intel/news/item.jsp?aid=12

though the cat ones have flooded the lounge lately.

Seriously, there are people who are woefully undereducated on the issues along the border. They are operating from a position of ignorance. Hopefully we can educate them.

:hug: i have love for both feline and latino alike.

i don't understand the selfishness of the "immigrants are destroying america" viewpoint. aren't immigrants what made america great? :crazy:

I LOATHE the minutemen project...and thanks for this post. I deplore bigotry and scapegoating.

You should have stopped by! I would have showed you my lovely town!

I would have loved to meet you...no worries...we'll be back..I love Az.

Let me know. I'll show you a real great Mexican dinner and some sightseeing!

that whole Minuteman thing just really disgusts me. I hope it blows up in their collective face somehow.

How embarassing that this kinda stuff goes on in this day and age.

(I'm 1/2 Mexican btw - 3rd generation)

david

Hahaha!!!

angry reactionaries in one place

mexicans and immigrants (yeah believe or not folks the terms aren't completely interchangeable!) aren't the only ones who get steamrolled by some folks on here...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=258x1337

it's frustrating, but to be fair it seems to be just a handful of the same individuals...though it still sucks regardless; just goes to show that we still have a lot of work to do when it comes to things like race relations in america

that being said, i agree with you 110%

i bet they spit it out like pleghm.

Or something to that effect.

i posted about this issue yesterday.

Everyone who wants to know what they're about already knows, they're Birchers by another name.

As far as immigration, I'm for fair and equitable immigration laws. If Mexicans can move freely into the U.S. and I'm inclined to say, why not, a strong American Union along the lines of the European Union might be a good thing, then Americans should be able to freely move into Mexico and hold jobs. This is not the case. If I want to move to Mexico, I have to prove I have an outside income of $1,200-2,000 a month depending on where I try to relocate. There is a fairness issue. Both of our governments feel they have reasons for restricting immigration. If we want to change that, change it legally.

We aren't helping anyone when we support the efforts of coyotes (organized crime) and corporations to smuggle poor people into the United States to work for slave wages. People get killed like this. And the competition for jobs drives wages to the bottom.

I don't consider myself anti-Mexican or anti-Mexico at all. But I don't want to see anyone working as a slave or indentured servant either.

So it's a labor and fairness thing.

As far as cats, I have no problem with any cats kept inside. When the cat is killing native wildlife, big big problem.

I don't expect you to change your mind, and that's fine. We can agree to disagree. I think the main point of airing our thoughts on these matters is a better understanding of how people think. I doubt I'm right all the time on every issue. But I do my feeble best. I think most people here -- with the exception of a few suspected trolls -- are people of goodwill struggling to do the best to protect our laborers and our environment.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

I'm about to leave the house to go meet my new English language students. Married couple, both from Mexico.

wish me fun.