Xenophobia is a Disease
Well leave it to the NY Times to get it right again. (Who knew I was such a fan?) On this morning’s editorial page they highlighted the story of a Latino man who was killed on Long Island in an apparent race/hate based attack by a group of teenagers. The culprits were identified by a second man who escaped the death beating.
The teenagers allegedly were overheard saying “Let’s go find some Mexicans.”
What the editorial points out is how the rhetoric of the last few years regarding out of status (even the words illegal immigration have a connotation [see similar letter from AZ]) and the policies of the current administration tied to fear and enforcement are responsible for cultivating this hate mongering. We must confront these antiquated policies and find a way to bring immigration back to the forefront. We must avoid Latino scapegoating during these hard economic times and perhaps even helping people recognize that change in immigration policy could help the economic situation.
This is certainly not the first attack on a Latino person that was motivated by hate or fear, and will unlikely be the last. But in a country that is doing so much to move away from the labels of old, we must do better at educating and understanding before we regress to a time and place of which none of us want to be a part.
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