Myth Buster Mondays [Immigration and African Americxan Unemployment]

¡Hola mi Gente!

There is nothing I detest more than to see my own people allowing racist, white supremacist thinking take root in their minds. One point in fact is the misdirected and false perceptions of native-born people of color about immigrants. When I listen to African Americans or Puerto Ricans, for example, go off on immigrants, it makes my blood boil because they are co-opting and assimilating the language of white racists. And these white racists know it and use that ignorance to make some us agents of division within our own communities.

Let’s take that tried and true myth that immigrants are taking away the jobs of African Americans and other native-born people of color…

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The Immigration and African American Jobs Myth

Knowledge makes a man unfit for slavery.

 -- Frederick Douglass

The comedian, David Chappelle, had a brilliant skit which highlighted the [mis]adventures of a blind white supremacist who didn’t know he was black. It’s an instructive metaphor for what some call internalized racism -- a state of mind in which people of color sometimes adopt a white supremacist mindset that results in self-hatred and hatred of their respective or associated racial group.

Nowhere else is internalized racism demonstrated by blacks and other people of color than in the issue of immigration. As a Latino of Puerto Rican descent, I am a citizen by lawful decree. All Puerto Ricans are born citizens. And sometimes that puts us at odds with other Latin@ groups who don’t enjoy citizenship status and resent us for it, or when we Puerto Ricans adopt the immigrant views of the dominant US culture. I can’t stand to watch, for example, two closely related groups such as Dominicans and Puerto Ricans go at each other. I’m not saying it’s common, because it isn’t -- this is demonstrated by the large rates of intermarriage between the two groups, but there are always some people who fall prey to their own internalized racism.

This is also very true of African Americans, some who espouse the same vile views of anti-immigrant nativist and white supremacists (here). In addition, myths and stereotypes about Latin@s -- such as the myth of our supposed indifference/ resistance to learning English, for example -- are held by quite a few in the African American community.\

Recently, Rippa posted an article on his site (here) challenging the notion that immigration is harmful to the African American community and one commenter posted a long screed that managed to enumerate almost all the Latin@ stereotypes. I responded contentiously, but also citing empirical studies showing that this particular individual’s views weren’t just wrong, but bigoted and unfounded. I have gotten to the point where I believe interacting with such individuals only serves to reinforce the anti-immigrant ideology, but sometimes I can’t help myself.

One of the ways white supremacists get the upper hand is by exploiting the natural tensions that exist between Blacks and Latin@s and other people of color. It’s as if some of us can’t wait to submit to Da Massa’s shackles. The point here is that this individual’s internalized racism is so entrenched that no facts, no responses grounded in empirical proof will shake that person’s bigotry. Of course, the person in question has yet to post any evidence concerning his or her bigoted assertions. I encourage said person to post an article with evidence to back up his/ her claims here. I’m sure Rippa would be open to it.

One abiding and controversial issue which anti-immigrant groups exploit is the myth that the presence of immigrants in the U.S. labor force -- specifically undocumented immigrants -- has a major detrimental impact on African Americans employment. These anti-immigrant/ white supremacist groups argue that undocumented immigrants, who tend to work in less skilled occupations, are “taking” large numbers of jobs that might otherwise be filled by African American workers.

There’s one major problem with this talking point: there is no evidence for it.

It is important to acknowledge that African Americans do face daunting economic and employment problems, and that the legacy of discrimination continues to be felt in communities large and small across the country. Anti-immigrant organizations have coldly seized on these troubles, however, to leverage a particularly nasty kind of argument against immigration. Some of these self-professed advocates for African-Americans have long-standing ties to nativist and hate groups.

The facts about this issue are plain. A recently released report by the Immigration Policy Center (here) analyzes the existence of immigrants in the workforce and compares it to African American unemployment. If immigration was having a harmful affect on rates of African American employment, it should follow that rates of unemployment among African Americans should be higher in areas with large numbers of immigrants in the labor force, especially immigrants who are relatively recent arrivals to the United States and willing to work for lower wages than most African Americans. The IPC report, however, shows just the opposite and, in fact, finds that there is little apparent relationship between recent immigration and unemployment rates among African Americans, or any other native born racial/ethnic group, at the state or metropolitan level.

One example of this is found in comparing Miami and Cleveland:

Recent immigrants are 17 percent of the labor force in Miami, but only 3 percent of the labor force in Cleveland. Yet the unemployment rate for native-born blacks in Cleveland is double that of native-born blacks in Miami. As with most efforts to make simplistic arguments about unemployment, there is no one-to-one relationship between the presence of immigrants and unemployment in the African-American community. [emphasis added]

That is not to say there is zero competition or that African Americans have no problems finding employment. It means that, controlling for everything else, there is no relationship between immigration and black unemployment. More importantly, in order to move toward a real solution, we need to look at structural issues -- the mass incarceration of African Americans and other people of color and the consequent disinvestment from education, for example -- and how other societal issues are obstacles to African Americans reaching their full potential.

The IPC report is not the sole study, there are numerous articles (here, here, and here) on the issue by noted academics. Gerald D. Jaynes, a professor in the department of economics and in the Program in African and American Studies at Yale University, has studied the impact immigrants have on African Americans for years and has repeatedly found that “the effects are relatively small, and in any event secondary to other causes of less educated workers’ dismal employment and wage experiences.” (click here) And because the work of immigrants often complements that of U.S.-born workers, “immigration can actually create jobs.” (click here to view Jaynes’ congressional testimony.)

Furthermore, Dr. Stephen Pitts, a labor economist who has also taught African-American studies and now resides at UC Berkeley, holds workshops for workers to explain the real villain is not immigrant workers, but rather bad apple employers who exploit both communities. Pitts argues that African Americans should not allow themselves to be pitted against another ethnic and racial group who themselves are struggling for equality and improved conditions in their communities (here). This argument bears repeating when examining the motives of anti-immigrant groups who claim to speak for native-born workers.

It’s no wonder that civil rights groups, who have and continue to fight for African American equality, are now standing up for immigration reform because they know raising the living and working conditions of immigrants will level the playing field and improve the lives of all workers in America. These groups have cautioned against letting anti-immigrant groups speak for the African American community.

The anti-immigrant crowd, almost exclusively composed of White leadership, likes to portray itself as standing up for African Americans. But let’s get fuckin' real, my black brothers and sisters, this recession was not caused by immigrant workers “taking jobs” from Americans. It was caused by the economic meltdown brought on by the greed of financiers and unregulated market practices that pushed our economy to the brink of disaster. It is caused by the failure of neoliberal social and economic policies that now see more African Americans sitting in prisons than there were slaves in 1850. Our shared economic struggles are the consequence of the willful intent to use economic resources to enslave us all.

Rather allowing ourselves to be led by the nose by racist white supremacists who certainly don't have our interests at heart, why don’t we start funneling our energy against the real forces that are literally destroying all of our communities.

My name is Eddie and I’m in recovery from civilization…

Race, Conservatives, and Arizona

¡Hola! Everybody...
As my friend Will commented regarding the Arizona Nazi Immigration Law, “It’s time to quit with the nuance -- I don’t give a rat’s ass about how many political-angels can dance on the head of a pin. Wrong is wrong. This is wrong. Either fight it, or become part of the larger problem of racism in America.” I couldn’t say it better myself.

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-=[ Rage Politics ]=-

From Wallace to Newt to Arizona

Unless you’ve been sleeping under a rock somewhere, by now you probably know Arizona governor, Jan Brewer, recently enacted an immigration law written by a known white supremacist sympathizer with financial support from anti-immigrant organizations and think tanks such as the Pioneer Foundation -- a “think tank” supporting the modern eugenics movement dedicated to proving the superiority of the white race. The law essentially criminalizes being brown, giving law enforcement officers the right to ask for “your papers” if they have “reasonable suspicion” that you’re an illegal immigrant. In any other country, this is called apartheid. Unless you’re in deep denial or a total racist, we all know who will be most impacted by this law.

Meanwhile, in Disney Land... Jan Brewer really stepped in it (H/T FireDogLake):

A spreading call for an economic boycott of Arizona after its adoption of a tough immigration law that opponents consider racially discriminatory worried business leaders on Monday and angered the governor.

Several immigrant advocates and civil rights groups, joined by members of the San Francisco government, said the state should pay economic consequences for the new law, which gives the police broad power to detain people they reasonably suspect are illegal immigrants and arrest them on state charges if they do not have legal status.

Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican, signed the bill on Friday, calling it an important step toward public safety that would help control immigration and give the police a tool to root out criminals.

She criticized opponents for not offering more solutions to problems related to illegal immigration and called the idea of a boycott “disappointing and unfortunate” at a time when the state is reeling from the recession and suffering from border-related crime that “continues to harm our economy and stifle trade.”

Translation? At a time of recession, how dare people not financially support our racist xenophobic laws!

If you think I am overreaching by likening Law SB 1070 to apartheid or “Nazism,” think again. Here’s Rachel Maddow digging into the political and racial motivation of this law:

For more in-depth reporting on the connection between white supremacy groups and the Arizona immigration law click here .

Please consider boycotting Arizona and joining a growing number of Americans from across the land who oppose Arizona’s racist immigration law. Click here to go to a list of Arizona-based corporations.

-- Eddie

Sunday Sermon [The Core Wound, Fundamentalism & Bigotry]

¡Hola! Everybody...
My mother is in town and today I’m going out to spend some time with her... Have a great day, people.

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-=[ The Core Wound and Gay Marriage ]=-

The core wound is not merely a psychological issue or birth trauma, it is the basic issue of our existence. It’s our realization that we are both material and spiritual, finite and non-finite. We are at once, limitless and limited. These basic contradictions create the core contradictions of our lives. Mostly, we don’t experience this as a conflict -- at least not in a conscious manner. Rather, we experience it as a wound, an almost inexplicable, unnameable pain. We endure it like a gash in the most intimate places of our being. As a species we are unique in this regard. We all suffer this wound.

I have written before that a response to this wound has been fundamentalism. Fundamentalism festers like an infected wound at the core of our being. This running wound is the violent fault line in our collective psyche from which the molten magma of our hate comes from.

A case in point in the news recently is the issue of “gay marriage.”

What “no gay marriage” means is that men who are genetically pre-disposed to putting their parts and hearts in the hands of other men, and women who are genetically pre-disposed to doing the same with other women, are considered not human enough to be trusted to say who makes them happy as a life partner in the eyes of the law.

Contrary to the hype, you cannot make assumptions on what defines “a heterosexual relationship.” Similarly, you cannot define the infinite varieties of what constitutes a “gay relationship.” The only thing you can say for sure about straight people is that they prefer getting their Twinkies creamed with someone of the opposite sex. The only thing you can say for sure about a gay person is that they prefer to get their jollies off with someone of the same sex. It has been pointed out to me by a gay human being that to consider “gay marriage” vs. “straight marriage” is quite literally a consideration of the sexual positions that people prefer.

Talk to a bigot and the first thing they mention is that gay sex isn’t “natural” so it is an abomination in the “eyes of the Lord.” Yeah, fundies are obsessed with sex acts, it seems.

Your God only knows what those California judges were picturing in their minds as they shivered in disgust and handed down their decision to ratify Proposition 8 (a double sausage dish?). Regardless of whatever lustful imagery they (and all the folks who voted for Prop 8) entertained to enable their decision, there’s only a few possible explanations for creating and supporting laws that deny others their happiness, and none of them have anything to do with how you like to perform a sex act.

The primary reason is known as “moral superiority.” You are sure that you have the universe figured out, and want to make sure that everyone else gets poked (or pokes) the same way you do. Though this worldview frequently masquerades as confidence, assuredness, and deep conviction, it is nothing more than bullying. And like all bullies (as we learned from watching after school specials) it is actually a learned behavior that hides a deep insecurity (i.e., the Core Wound).

Sweetie? Anytime you feel that your security is dependent on denying rights or happiness to someone else, you are acting out of insecurity and fear, which I think is at least two of the poisons mentioned in Buddhism. A genuinely secure person with a healthy sense of ego is able to live their life according to their own values, and not have to impose their values on others personal lives. Your church may not condone gay marriage, or letting women speak in public, but I don’t go to your church, nor would I want to. In other words, a healthy person has a healthy sense of psychological boundaries -- where their territory ends and another’s begins. An unhealthy ego compels an individual to extend their authority over other’s lives as well.

The gay marriage argument has absolutely nothing to do with where people put their cocks or poosies. It is simply another opportunity for people frustrated with the level of control over their own lives to spread the pain derived from their fear of their Core Wound. Like racism, war, and domestic abuse, it’s not about the issue. Rather, it’s all about power. If my friend marrying his boyfriend, and doing whatever they do between the sheets, in the kitchen, or the backseat of their car, somehow affects your marriage, then it is your “marriage” that most likely needs a little work.

::blank stare::

Another reason for the virulent opposition to gay marriage is that some have confused their habitual behavior with reality, and believe that what they believe to be reality is actually reality. This is closely related to the previous rationale but is a little more subtle. As human beings we choose certain habits and lifestyles. Many people in America eat beef all the time, while many people in India consider cows sacred. Some people in Puerto Rico eat morcillas (blood sausages), while many in America consider it an abomination against food. Wheat and marijuana both grow in the ground, but because of social conditioning some people say wheat is natural and to be enjoyed, while marijuana is a mistake to be outlawed.

You think what you do is natural and that’s only natural. But just in case you didn’t get the memo, that does not equate to “what other people do is unnatural.” Beating up on someone for how they were born is the most primitive kind of ego boost. Beating up on women, blacks and homosexuals, for example, is easy because when you deny someone something based on who they are, you’ve developed an airtight argument. My friend can’t become an “un-gay” any more than you can become “un-human.”

Finally, the religious argument against homosexuality is so silly as to not to merit validity. The bible also says you cannot shave, grow two kinds of plants in the same field, or be near a woman for seven days around her period. To the religious who say these are minor issues and homosexuality is a major one, I say, “Sez who?!!” The answer cannot simply be “those in authority.” That is evading responsibility for infringing on the rights of people whose major sin is to be in love. Following this logic, I could easily say, “Let’s outlaw marriages for clean shaven farmers whose wives are having their period while helping him harvest potatoes and carrots.”

Why not? It is writ in the bible!

There is nothing wrong with buying into the cultural and societal conditioning that is designed to make us each believe that we are right, and that our way of life is the best one. Though I will caution you that this way of thinking has often led to an endless road of suffering, war, and almost everything that is vile about us human beings.

To those who accuse me of being a radical making an intellectually dishonest and morally lazy argument in favor of gay marriage, I say you are absolutely correct! Marriage should be allowed between whomever the church performing the marriage wants to allow it and between those who desire it.

As an antidote to your reaction to your Core Wound, may I suggest that instead of beating up on those you deem different, that you please meditate, pray, or go for a fuckin' walk. Take some time to reflect and think about what really comes back to you whenever you “win” by taking away others happiness and come up with a different way to build yourself up.

You will be infinitely happier and that Core Wound? The Core Wound can be transformed into an energy that will help you evolve as a human being.

Love,

Eddie

Lou Dobbs & The Messakin Swine

¡Hola! Everybody... It will be hot... hot... hot in The Center of the Known Universe today. Always a good thing. Yeah, some of you are already complaining of the heat. You haven’t even had enough time to stop complaining of the cold... SMH

Today, I wade into the immigration issue and I also lend my dos centavos on the Pandemic of the Killer Swine... fuckin’ Mexicain’ts!

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-=[ Attack of the Messakin Killer Swine ]=-

“... The invasion of illegal aliens is threatening the health of many Americans.”

-- Lou Dobbs, bigoted TV Asswipe

In April 2005, CNN's Lou Dobbs aired a report by CNN correspondent Christine Romans about how the “There were about 900 cases of leprosy for 40 years. There have been 7,000 in the past three years.” Dobbs responded, his jowls shaking in contempt, “Incredible.” I don’t watch Lou “Don’t Call Me Luís” Dobbs, because, well, I like my fiction from masters of the craft like James Joyce, Faulkner, and Gabriel García Márquez. However, I can only imagine the field day he’s having with this swine flu pandemic (how many times have you heard this word in the last 24 hours? OMG!! You're going to die?!!)

By the way, that report above by Dobbs & Co.? Totally fabricated. He’s been exposed on the lie, by the way: he’s refused to own up to it. In any case, I know many of you are thinking that these fuckin’ Messakins are a health hazard to us up here in the pure Norte. After all, we have a clean food supply, plentiful access to health care, and our water supply is without parallel. Right?

Right?

It’s those unclean brown muthafuckas that are the disease! Just so that we know, you can’t blame them fuckin’ Messakins on the Swine Flu “Pandemic.” The origins of the new Swine Influenza Virus SIV-H1N1 strain remain unknown. One theory is that Asian and European strains traveled to Mexico in migratory birds or in people, then combined with North American strains in Mexican pig factory farms before jumping over to farm workers. These things happen here too!

I think the real point in blaming messakins is that we seem to need a scapegoat in order to keep us distracted from the ones that are actually doing the harm -- the power elite. I would be willing to bet that some who are reading this are of the notion that Mexicans are lazy, don’t have enough gratitude for America to learn Ingles. Some of you think they are getting rich on Welfare and food stamps because we all know rich people like to live in conditions where there are 10-15 people to a room, or you have to sleep in shifts! And they are taking away your jobs! I mean, if we could just get rid of these messakins, Blacks, po’ white folk, and others too ungrateful to work for Target or Mr. Walton, could be picking fruit 16 hours a day for less than minimum wage. Messakins depress wages! They bring disease! They are too stupid, not like earlier immigrants who came to these shores and upon arrival, bent over and kissed this fine land of ours!

And you know? The U.S. government shares your concerns, Luis. The Dillingham Commission released a forty-two volume study on the waves of immigrants that concluded, “The new immigrant as a class is far less intelligent than the old... Generally speaking they are actuated in coming by different ideals, for the old immigration came to be a part of the country, while the new, in large measure, comes with the intentions of profiting, in pecuniary ways, by the superior advantages of the new world and then returning to the old country.” This report went on to fault the new immigrants for their lack of assimilation and English skills, constantly comparing them with earlier generations of immigrants, and urged a clampdown on immigration.

Sound familiar, huh? Lou Dobbs would wet his pantaletas! Ann Coulter would finally have an orgasm! Bill O’Reilly wouldn’t be as overcome with emotion if he saw the baby Hey-zeus at Christmas-time!

The problem is that the Dillingham report appeared in 1911, and the unwashed masses at the time were Eastern and Southern Europeans (predecessors of today’s white trash, I would expect. LOL!). The Dillingham Commission only manages to prove that the time-honored conservative narrative that earlier generations of immigrants walked off the boats, chopped down their hard to pronounce surnames, and learned English immediately is bullshit.

If American racism is a carousel -- then here we go again...

Paz,

Eddie