By Ron Lowe Santa Monica
The anti-immigration movement is a shrill chorus of self-righteous white xenophobics (people afraid of foreigners) who have been sucked into a divisive nationalist agenda.
The immigration debate about brown-skinned Mexicans and Latinos is no different than the social unrest over blacks in the ’50s. Racism has just spiraled around again and taken on a new shape.
An example of what most Americans are not seeing as they ride in the comfort of their SUVs: I ride public transportation and many of the passengers are Mexican. They don’t wear signs saying I am a legal or illegal immigrant. They are hard-working and courteous fellow passengers. But, there are others who ride the same buses who have an agenda — white, rude, belligerent and obnoxious anti-immigrationists who spew obscenities about Mexican men, women and children. The police have had to be called on occasion.
So, who would you rather sit next to: A respectful immigrant or one of these white hatemongers? This is not an extreme and isolated case.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 1, 2007. Read the original PDF.