Posted on 05/03/2010 7:38:22 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The just passed Arizona immigration act has increased the racial tensions in America to new heights and further widened the already widening racial divide in America. A vast majority of the white people support the act whereas almost all the minorities oppose the act. This is why the opinion polls show that about 60% favor the act and about 40% oppose it; these numbers are close to the percentage of the white and the minority people in the country. The republicans are claiming that about 70% of the population is on the center right and about 20% population is on the left. However, even in the political leanings the difference between the whites and the minorities is growing. A majority of the white population is moving to the right whereas the majority of the minority population is moving to the left.
I feel that if we had racial breakdown on the basis of political leaning among the minorities then it will probably show that about 90% of the blacks, about 70% of the Hispanics and about 60% of the Asians generally favor the left leaning policies whereas the vast majority of the whites favor the right leaning policies. I feel that in the last 30 years, the biggest shift among the minorities was in the Hispanics who are steadily moving to the left of the center. This immigration act will only enhance this trend.
After the Cuban revolution, the anti communist and the extreme rightist Cubans moved to Florida. This group remained a very powerful and influential group among the Hispanics. The group was primarily responsible for giving Presidency to Bush. Even in Florida, this group is losing its influence. The biggest setback came for the group when they were unable to stop Elian Gonzalez from going back to Cuba. However, with the election of President Bush, the group got some of its lost power back. The Arizona Immigration Act will sway the Hispanic community away from the republicans completely marginalizing this extreme right group.
President Obama has strongly opposed the act. He called it misguided and also worried that it can strain the relations between the people and the police thereby adversely affecting the ability of the police to enforce law and order. Obama has also advised the democrats to encourage the blacks, Latinos and youth to vote in coming elections. The blacks are solidly on the side of the Hispanics in opposing the immigration act. This will forge unity between the two largest minority groups, thereby making the minorities much stronger.
Can this growing racial divide lead to a racial confrontation or a race war in America? In 1996 two very well known writers, Carl Rowan a black and Richard Delgado a Mexican wrote the books with almost same title, warning about the coming race war in America.
Carl Rowan wrote “The coming race war in America” and Richard Delgado wrote “The coming race war”. Even though these books became very popular but very few people believed that the race war was really coming. However, these books have become more relevant now.
We can clearly see the opposite trends in the whites and the Hispanics who are the largest minority group. The populist and extreme rightist leaders such as Sarah Palin and Jan Brewer, the Governor of Arizona, are becoming very popular among the whites. Similarly the extreme rightist and populist movement, the tea party is gaining influence among the whites. Such movements can easily turn fascists.
In the Hispanic community we see a completely opposite trend. Not only in America but in the both American continents, there is a shift toward left in the Hispanics. Hugo Chavez is becoming a hero for many Hispanics. He represents a new awareness and consciousness in the Hispanics that they are the leading people in the Americas.
There were many radical movements among the blacks such as the Black Panthers, Malcolm X and Louis Farrakhan. However, these movements never posed a serious threat of a race war in America because the black population was only about 10% of the total population at that time. However, the rise of Hispanic radicalism poses a real danger of a race war. The reasons for this are demographic trends, geographical and historical. The Hispanic population is growing the fastest and is expected to continue to grow. Unlike the blacks, the Hispanics have a geographical contiguity with the U.S.A. Among the 27 countries of the organization of America States, almost all countries except America and Canada have Hispanic majority. Historically, the whole west coast and a big part of the south west U.S.A. belonged to Mexico at one time. One can also feel a Pan Latino sentiment rising among the Hispanics. The Arizona Immigration Act has been criticized by many Hispanic leaders outside the U.S.A.
My personal experiences are also running parallel to the prevailing trends in the country. Being a minority physician in an overwhelming white community, I faced racial discrimination from the very beginning but the level of discrimination has risen in the changed situation. In spite of the racial discrimination, I was able to advocate the concepts of multiculturalism and diversity in the community. Many whites supported these concepts but that support has dwindled. The words “Multiculturalism” and “Diversity” have become less and less popular among the whites. Many white people see these words as code words for cultural invasion by the minorities. This fear of losing their way of life is primarily responsible for the support of the toughest immigration law. Many white people feel that this act will reduce the number of Hispanics who are illegally crossing the border and keep their numbers controlled. However, the Arizona Immigration Act will be unable to change the demographic trends and will only increase racial profiling, racial discrimination and will increase tension among the different races. All non white people, even those who are lawful citizens, can become victims of racial profiling and harassment by the police. They can be asked to prove their legal status anytime. Many of us have the unfortunate experience of being stopped by the police for traffic violation and finding out the different treatment of the whites and non whites by the police.
*****
Dr. Sawraj Singh, MD F.I.C.S. is the Chairman of the Washington State Network for Human Rights and Chairman of the Central Washington Coalition for Social Justice. He can be reached at sawrajsingh@hotmail.com or 509-962-3652.
One can only hope.
LOL
That is all.
Since being Mexican or Latino is nationality and ethnicity and not a racial designation, there’s a lot of fluff in the arguments of the apologists. This is not an issue of race, but a fight of the lawlessness and personal preference against the rule of law.
No I'd say a president and Dem Congress that uses the race card at every opportunity has increased racial tensions...
It’s racist to be racist.
If it happens it'll be the direct result of the constant racial demagoguery perpetrated by the Left.
I don’t think America would miss a “human rights” and “social justice” chairman or two. They are a dime a dozen anyway. You can go now Sawraj. Go back to where you won’t have to worry about having your citizenship challenged during a “minor traffic stop”.
As a CA resident I hope they wise up here and realize that now they are going to have to enact a similar law out of defense if nothing else...
Arizona has the audacity (word chosen with care) to make being a criminal a crime.
Horrors!
Next up: Human Rights marches against cops who arrest thieves, vandals and looters accused of criminal activities of thievery, vandalism and looting.
Oh wait, that has also pretty much happened.
>>As a CA resident I hope they wise up here and realize that now they are going to have to enact a similar law out of defense if nothing else...<<
Now is the time to take a shot at Son of 186: Word for word the AZ law.
You want to see racist immigration laws? Check out Mexico’s. And how they treat the illegals crossing THEIR southern border.
The biggest racists are the ones who are calling Arizona’s law racist. There is nothing racist about it. It’s about illegally crossing the border no matter who you are or where you originated from.
Besides are Mexicans a seperate race? I mean aren’t most of them the result of Spanish and American Indian inter-breeding along with almost every other nationality? Is that a new race or something?
how do we get the word out that this is not about immigration...its about law enforcement and illegal entry into this country...do the protesters have any ideas on how to stop the drug dealers and pedifiles from illegal entry
One reasons what is happening in AZ is not as bad in CA is that we have strengthened the border with Mexico so the new desired entry was moved to Arizona. Now it will shift back to CA and with the state's economy we just can't take any more welfare deadbeats. And we already have more than enough leaf-blower operators for years to come.
Which itself closely mirrors federal law. ...a law the feds never enforce, of course.
Dr. Sawraj Singh, MD F.I.C.S. is the Chairman of the Washington State Network for Human Rights and Chairman of the Central Washington Coalition for Social Justice.
>>And we already have more than enough leaf-blower operators for years to come.<<
I have issued “shoot on sound” orders to select operatives for leaf-blowers who run before noon.
(fact: in most California municipalities Leaf Blowers are illegal. But you can ask the leaf blower if it is illegal, not so the wielder).
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