By Ron Lowe Santa Monica
An anti-immigration rally took place in Jackson, Miss., to castigate Trent Lott for his moderate stance on the immigration debate. It seems the only people not assimilating in the current debate are the “whites only” crowd. How many Mexicans, blacks, Latinos and tolerant whites do you think were at this Mississippi social? The current debate is not about illegal immigrants, amnesty and speaking English, it is about prejudice and discrimination.
Why are Americans so blind to this fact? Why do they so easily feed into the hatred of a vocal and ignorant fringe element of society?
Is today’s immigration frenzy any different than the racial unrest of the ’50s and early ’60s, except in that brown skin has been substituted for black skin? The ugly scourge of racism is still very much alive and well in America.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 30, 2007. Read the original PDF.