An argument I often hear from the nativist xenophobes is that the US is actually very lenient on undocumented immigrants, and that if I were to compare the US with other countries' laws and policies against migrants, I'd realize just how lenient and accepting we really are towards migrants. Oh really?
Brazil's Lula scolds rich nations on migration
Jul 2, 2009
RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) — Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva issued a law giving tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants legal status and criticized rich nations for taking a tough stance against illegal migrants.
He also once again blamed the global economic crisis on "men with blue eyes," a controversial accusation that he first leveled during a meeting in March with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
His advisors have said the expression was a "metaphor."
"Blame for the crisis that was provoked by men with blue eyes must not fall on the blacks, the Indians, and the poor of the world," Lula said during a speech in Brasilia on Thursday.
He also accused European countries, without naming any in particular, of toughening immigration rules, which he deemed "unjust."
"In our eyes, repression, discrimination and intolerance do not address the root of the problem," he said.
"Illegal immigration is a humanitarian question that should not be confused with criminality," added the Brazilian leader, who was wearing the traditional clothes of Bolivia and Paraguay, the home countries of many of Brazil's immigrants.
The law issued by Lula allows all undocumented foreigners who entered Brazil before last February to obtain two-year provisional residency permits that can be made permanent.
All recipients will be entitled to work and receive public education and healthcare.
Brazil's Justice Department says there are around 60,000 undocumented foreigners in the country, but non-governmental groups believe the number could be as high as 200,000 illegal immigrants, with most coming from Latin America and China.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Black Kids Not Allowed To Swim at PA Club, Booted Out
Black Kids get booted out of Swimming Pool!
Yes, it's 2009. Post-racial society my a$$.
The Creative Steps Day Camp paid more than $1900 to The Valley Swim Club. The Valley Swim Club is a private club that advertises open membership. But the campers' first visit to the pool suggested otherwise.
WTF.
"When the minority children got in the pool all of the Caucasian children immediately exited the pool"
"I heard this lady, she was like, 'Uh, what are all these black kids doing here?' She's like, 'I'm scared they might do something to my child,'" said camper Dymire Baylor.
"They just kicked us out. And we were about to go. Had our swim things and everything," said camper Simer Burwell.
"There was concern that a lot of kids would change the complexion … and the atmosphere of the club," John Duesler, President of The Valley Swim Club said in a statement.
WTF!!?!
The public email and phone number for The Valley Swim Club is 215-947-0700 and info@thevalleyclub.com. The President of the club is John Duesler.
Read about it here and here
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
"What Part of Illegal Do You Not Understand?"
From American Apparel:
"American Apparel believes that sexuality should be celebrated, not condemned. But Proposition 8 is just that, a condemnation of the basic right of marriage of an entire group of people based on their sexuality. We're proud to stand against Prop 8 and what it represents. In November of 2008 our Legalize Gay shirt was originally printed to give to protesters at rallies and marches. The response was so overwhelming that we had more made and distributed them to our stores and put them up online."
Sure, there was a time when sodomy laws made it illegal to be gay. Yes, people continue to be oppressed for being gay. Yes, there are similarities with being labeled as gay or lgbt, and being an undocumented immigrant. Yes,Prop 8 is unfair and should've been struck down.
But this is annoying and offensive. I makes me cringe and be reluctant to claim membership of the so-called "gay" community (or is it the self-appointed and white gay community?). It's so like the lgbt community to minimize and co-opt another oppressed groups issues as their own, and forget that there are those within the LGBT community dealing with multiple forms of oppression. Remember how the slogan "Gay is the New Black" offended the African-American Community? This is the equivalent slogan that minimizes and offends undocumented immigrants, and should've fell by the drawing board before being made into an oh-so-hip t-shirt.
Do people wearing this shirt have any clue what it's really like to be labeled illegal? Or does it feel slick, edgy, racey, or subversive for them, as though they are walking in someone else's (t-shirt) for a mile? Yes, it's not a contest to see who is more oppressed than everyone else, but I have a feeling that the trendy-wendy hipsters that wear American Apparel to begin with do not have any clue what it means to be labeled "illegal". Does being gay compare to being "illegal" in any way? Sure, there are possibly some similarities between being gay and being an undocumented immigrant. What if you are both?
To be illegal, among other things, is to sometimes live with the threat of detention, separated from all the people in your life, or the threat of deportation, to a country that you may have fled from in the hopes of something better, or perhaps don't even remember because you left when you were an infant, or to live with the threat of losing your parents in an immigration sweep or raid, or to be unable to open a bank account or establish credit, to be denied housing, a driver's license, or to be accused of sneaking into this country, stealing identities, healthcare, education, increasing the crime rate, or to be accused of bringing in disease...in short, to be blamed for everything under the sun. Does being gay really compare to that experience in our country today? The lesson? How about not equating different struggles of oppression?
"American Apparel believes that sexuality should be celebrated, not condemned. But Proposition 8 is just that, a condemnation of the basic right of marriage of an entire group of people based on their sexuality. We're proud to stand against Prop 8 and what it represents. In November of 2008 our Legalize Gay shirt was originally printed to give to protesters at rallies and marches. The response was so overwhelming that we had more made and distributed them to our stores and put them up online."
Sure, there was a time when sodomy laws made it illegal to be gay. Yes, people continue to be oppressed for being gay. Yes, there are similarities with being labeled as gay or lgbt, and being an undocumented immigrant. Yes,Prop 8 is unfair and should've been struck down.
But this is annoying and offensive. I makes me cringe and be reluctant to claim membership of the so-called "gay" community (or is it the self-appointed and white gay community?). It's so like the lgbt community to minimize and co-opt another oppressed groups issues as their own, and forget that there are those within the LGBT community dealing with multiple forms of oppression. Remember how the slogan "Gay is the New Black" offended the African-American Community? This is the equivalent slogan that minimizes and offends undocumented immigrants, and should've fell by the drawing board before being made into an oh-so-hip t-shirt.
Do people wearing this shirt have any clue what it's really like to be labeled illegal? Or does it feel slick, edgy, racey, or subversive for them, as though they are walking in someone else's (t-shirt) for a mile? Yes, it's not a contest to see who is more oppressed than everyone else, but I have a feeling that the trendy-wendy hipsters that wear American Apparel to begin with do not have any clue what it means to be labeled "illegal". Does being gay compare to being "illegal" in any way? Sure, there are possibly some similarities between being gay and being an undocumented immigrant. What if you are both?
To be illegal, among other things, is to sometimes live with the threat of detention, separated from all the people in your life, or the threat of deportation, to a country that you may have fled from in the hopes of something better, or perhaps don't even remember because you left when you were an infant, or to live with the threat of losing your parents in an immigration sweep or raid, or to be unable to open a bank account or establish credit, to be denied housing, a driver's license, or to be accused of sneaking into this country, stealing identities, healthcare, education, increasing the crime rate, or to be accused of bringing in disease...in short, to be blamed for everything under the sun. Does being gay really compare to that experience in our country today? The lesson? How about not equating different struggles of oppression?
Friday, July 3, 2009
Rest in Peace, Mr. Wes Singletary III
Yesterday on my way home, I ran into a past co-worker when we worked here. I often tell people that it was the most rewarding and most exhausting and stressful job I have ever loved and hated. I only worked at the Rest Stop, as it is often called, for a few years, but it was my first exposure to working closely with a wide variety of people who are typically categorized as, and sometimes unfairly lumped into "the homeless". I always felt this was an unfair category, only in that there is such a stigma against the homeless, and a sense that being homeless is somehow permanent. I met many people of different backgrounds and life experinces, people I never imagined would need my help, and people I never imagined I could talk to, or relate to, through this job.
Mr. Wes Singletary III was one of the people I met while working there. He was a tall man, somewhat quiet, who wrote poetry and always wore black. Back when I worked there, we often needed help with keeping the place clean, and Wes would often volunteer his time to clean while waiting for a shower or a washer. He always seemed to be in a good mood, although sometimes he seemed depressed. I learned yesterday from my former co-worker that he had died, on June 10th. He had apparently committed suicide, as so many people do, by jumping off the Aurora Bridge. Although I do not know much more of him, and haven't seen him since 2003, this made me sad, and I spent half the morning on and off thinking and remembering him and when I used to work at the Urban Rest Sop and when Wes Singletary was there. I googled his name, and was glad to find a poem from him, and a memorial. Here's the poem:
a thought gone
Rest in Peace, Wes Singletary III.
Mr. Wes Singletary III was one of the people I met while working there. He was a tall man, somewhat quiet, who wrote poetry and always wore black. Back when I worked there, we often needed help with keeping the place clean, and Wes would often volunteer his time to clean while waiting for a shower or a washer. He always seemed to be in a good mood, although sometimes he seemed depressed. I learned yesterday from my former co-worker that he had died, on June 10th. He had apparently committed suicide, as so many people do, by jumping off the Aurora Bridge. Although I do not know much more of him, and haven't seen him since 2003, this made me sad, and I spent half the morning on and off thinking and remembering him and when I used to work at the Urban Rest Sop and when Wes Singletary was there. I googled his name, and was glad to find a poem from him, and a memorial. Here's the poem:
a thought gone
a point lost
Brutally
a lone ascendant
lost to the void
Only to be discovered
thawed & broken
a season too late
Rest in Peace, Wes Singletary III.
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