O Tempora, O Mores! (June, 1992)

Remembering Rodney

There were reactions in foreign countries to the verdict heard ‘round the world. In Australia, someone laced a jar of Heinz baby food with cyanide, sent it to the police, and claimed that five more jars of poisoned baby food were on store shelves, waiting to do vengeance for the verdict. The American food company duly removed millions of jars of baby food from stores. [Reuters, Poison threat linked to verdict surfaces in Australia, Los Angeles Times, May 5, 1992, p. A18.]

In Toronto, Canada, blacks held an “anti-racism” demonstration to protest the verdict, and got into scuffles with whites who were holding signs that read, “L.A. burns, Toronto next?” and “We denounce racist murder of whites.” (Where were such signs in America?) The Canadian blacks then demonstrated sympathy for their American brothers by going on a smash-and-grab spree through downtown Toronto, where they attacked hundreds of stores. [AP, Anti-racism rioting jars Toronto, Las Vegas Review Journal, May 5, 1992, p. 5A.]

Homes for Illegals

The Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1990 provides for virtually instant legal status for the abandoned or abused children of illegal aliens. The INS must find foster care for them rather than send them out of the country along with their parents.

The city of San Francisco has gone one better, and is giving taxpayer-supported foster care to teen-aged illegal aliens who have broken into the country without their parents. Foster care costs about $3,000 a month per alien. As Ishmael Torres, who helps look after illegals explains, “If we don’t help them, then in the long run we’re not helping ourselves. They’ll start selling crack, breaking into cars.” It seems not to have occurred to Mr. Torres that anyone old enough to make the trip up from Mexico is old enough to make the trip back. When word gets back home that there is free foster care in San Francisco, Mr. Torres will soon have his hands full.

Because San Francisco is a “sanctuary” city, its employees are officially banned from cooperating with immigration authorities — even if they know that someone is an illegal alien, the city forbids them to report them to the INS. [Suzanne Espinosa Caring for undocumented kids, San Francisco Chronicle, April 30, 1992, p. A1.]

Black to White

Despite years of being told that black is beautiful, black Americans still spend $44 million a year on skin lighteners. Michael Jackson is one of the better known blacks who have gone light over the years. The skin creams all contain the chemical hydroquinone, which suppresses the body’s natural production of melanin. Blacks who use a lot of hydroquinone have to be careful when they go out in the sun, because they have lost their natural protection.

Blacks who adopt children also show a marked preference for lighter skin. Mixed-race babies are always easier to place than those with dark skin, even when the adoptive parents themselves are dark. [Robin Abcarian, Looking “white” comes with a price, Atlanta Journal/Constitution, April 23, 1992, p. A19.]

Gringo Justice

A Texas couple recently got a first-hand taste of the way things work South of the Border. They were passengers on a cruise ship that had stopped at the Mexican island of Cozumel. They decided to rent a van to drive around the island, and were bumped by a man on a motorcycle. The van got a small dent and the tail light of the motorcycle was broken; no one was hurt. The accident was clearly caused by the motorcyclist and the Americans assumed the car insurance would pay for repairs.

They were wrong. When police arrived, they demanded $7,000 for repairs, and medical care for the uninjured motorcyclist. When the poor Gringos refused to pay, the police took their passports and put them in jail. They were contacted by the island’s only lawyer who promised to get them out of jail for $1,000. They paid up. However, by then, their cruise ship had left without them, and though the police let them out of their cells they would not let them go to a hotel. The couple spent another night sleeping on garment bags on a concrete floor in the police station. The couple were finally released when they paid $4,500 to the rental car company and $4,200 to someone who claimed to be the motorcyclist’s future father-in-law.

Once they returned to the United States, the couple demanded an explanation from the Mexican government, saying they thought they must have been targeted in advance for an extortion scheme. Mexican officials blandly explained that automobile repair costs are high in Mexico and that the Gringos were driving drunk. [Stefanie Asin, Officials say Cozumel crash handled fairly, Houston Chronicle, April 29, 1992.]

The Americans suspect that their next vacation will be to Hawaii or to the Florida Keys. As one put it, “I wouldn’t go to Mexico if their government came to my house and offered me a million dollars.” [Catherine Chriss, Dented fender turns mind-bender for local couple, Houston Chronicle, April 14, 1992, p. 12A.]

They may have no choice. Latin America is coming to them (see next item).

Drug-Resistant TB

Tuberculosis used to be a disease that could always be cured with proper treatment, and health authorities were looking forward to its complete eradication from the United States. They have now put off plans for the celebration, and officials at the federal Centers for Disease Control say that tuberculosis is now “out of control.” What happened? AIDS and immigration.

TB is common among AIDS carriers because their resistance is low, and immigrants have been bringing it with them when they come from disease-ridden areas. Derelicts and drifters, who do not lead salubrious lives, have also been catching TB in large numbers. They do not usually appear for treatment until they are thoroughly sick and extremely infectious.

The disease could be contained if these were the only problems, but they are not. A complete cure for TB requires six months of drug treatment. The effects of the treatment are dramatic in the first month or so, and many patients think they are cured. If they are stupid, ill-disciplined, without a home, or do not understand English, they are likely to quit taking their medicine, and get sick all over again. During this kind of aborted treatment, the bacillus has been known to mutate into a strain that is resistant to normal treatment. There have been 17 outbreaks of drug-resistant TB in the United States since 1976, with 13 reported in 1990 and 1991.

The U.S. Public Health Service is now calling for what it calls “directly observed therapy.” This means getting hold of people who are likely to stop taking their medicine, and making sure that they get a full cure. The feds are urging the states to pass quarantine and compulsory treatment laws. “Civil libertarians” complain that such laws would be coercive. Indeed, they would be; that is the only way they would work.

How about stopping immigration from third-world countries with populations infected with drug-resistant TB? Well, no. The Centers for Disease control is going to try to teach them “directly observed therapy,” too. [Lawrence K. Altman, U.S. announces plan to fight drug-resistant tuberculosis, San Francisco Chronicle, May 1, 1992, p. A10.]

United Caucasians

In just the last ten years, the number of white students at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) has gone from 70 percent to 44 percent. In this year’s entering class of freshmen, Asians outnumber whites by 37 percent to 34 percent. Whites now say that UCLA stands for “United Caucasians Living Among Asians.” As they have on all campuses that have become “racially diverse,” students of different races clump together. Bruin Walk, the main thoroughfare on campus used to be lined with recruiting tables for sports and political groups. Now it is dominated by ethnic organizations — black sororities, Vietnamese student groups, Chicano alliances, American-born Chinese, etc. There is no sign of united Caucasians. [Larry Gordon, Universities learn hard lessons as “new diversity” takes hold, Los Angeles Times, Jan. 4, 1992, p. A18.]

Driven Crazy

New York City is another magnet for foreigners, many of whom decide to drive taxis. In 1991, 89 percent of the applicants for hackney licenses were immigrants. Though anyone who has ridden a New York taxi might doubt it, 43 percent claimed to speak English at home. The leading nations of origin of aspiring cab drivers were the following: Pakistan (21.3 percent), USA (10.5 percent), Bangladesh (10.2), India (10.0), Soviet Union (6.8), Egypt (4.8), and Haiti (4.1).

In a story about foreign drivers, the only passenger the Associated Press chose to quote was a certain Inga Kloss, who says, “Many of them often know nothing about the city but usually they are very nice and seem to be helpful and pleasant. It’s one more thing to enjoy about living in New York City.” [You speak English? OK, then step on it! Houston Chronicle, April 23, 1992.]

‘The Gift of Pride’

Shakin’ the Mess Outta Misery, is a play being billed as a “tribute to black matriarchy.” Its all-woman cast of 10 recounts the coming of age of a black girl growing up in Georgia, and in one respect, the story is entirely true to life: no men appear.

The play has the expected political slant. In one scene, a woman tells the girl about a black maid who got revenge on a “racist” white governor by feeding him ground glass. The girl beams with happiness, for she has been given what the play calls the “gift of pride.” Etc. [Steven Winn, Peninsula’s tribute to black matriarchy, San Francisco Chronicle, May 1, 1992, p. D9.]

Sun Sets in the East

Immigration to Miami and surrounding Dade County is changing southern Florida in dramatic ways. Forty-five percent of the county’s residents are now foreign-born, [Lizette Alvarez, A decade of upheaval and transformation, Miami Herald, April 3, 1992, p. A22.] and the languages the county speaks reflect these changes. In 1980, a majority of county residents still spoke English at home, but in 1990, only 43 percent did.

Today, of the county’s 1,798,000 people, just over 50 percent speak Spanish. The next most popular language after English is Haitian Creole, which is spoken by 3.8 percent. Only 24.4 percent of the population is white. One wonders how many other counties in the nation have majorities that prefer to speak a foreign language. [David Hancock, Census: Dade speaks in many tongues, Miami Herald, April 10, 1992, p. 1B.]

Although we are told over and over that immigration is an economic stimulus, incomes in Dade County did not budge over the past decade, while the average income in the state of Florida increased by 12 percent. Within Miami, which attracted most of the immigrants, the average income dropped by 12 percent over the decade. Half of Miami’s children under the age of five now live in poverty.

In Miami proper, only ten percent of the population is white, whereas it was 90 percent white 30 years ago. No doubt it is pure coincidence, but Miami has the highest crime rate in the nation.

Immigration to southern Florida is affecting the entire state. In 1980, one in 33 Floridians had a hard time understanding English; now, one in 13 do. In 1980, five percent of all homes did not have telephones; now ten percent do without. [Dexter Filkins, Dade incomes stagnant in ’80s, census says, Miami Herald, April 3, 1992, p. 23 A.] The third-world is no longer at our doorstep; it is well over the threshold.

Report From the Front Lines

On April 13, the Houston Chronicle published a letter from a school teacher explaining why certain schools in the city had scuffed up facilities and poor teachers:

As a teacher who has served in predominantly black, Hispanic, and white schools, I have seen that student vandalism is rampant in many black-dominated schools.

. . . Furthermore, while it is true (in general) that inner-city schools get the younger, inexperienced and less-educated teachers, it is not because “pay is low.” It is instead because those of us who are not saints (and most teachers are simply dedicated human beings) quickly get sick, tired and disgusted with trying to teach in an environment where we are reviled for attempting to do our jobs, given the thankless task of attempting to help those who will not raise one finger to accept that help, and even physically assaulted. That is why we bail out as soon as we can.

Segregated Television

On average, blacks watch 60 percent more television than whites, so their tastes have been disproportionately reflected in what the networks decide to put on the air. However, recent survey data suggest that this influence may come to an end, since blacks and whites are increasingly not even watching the same programs. Rather than adjust majority-oriented television to suit black tastes, broadcasters are bowing to the inevitable, and making separate programs for blacks.

For the first time since studies have begun, the top ten shows watched by blacks and the top ten watched by whites had no overlap at all. These are the black favorites: A Different World, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, The Cosby Show, In Living Color, Roc, Blossom, Family Matters, Married . . . With Children, Royal Family, In the Heat of the Night. Except for Blossom and Married . . . With Children every one of these programs has a mostly-black cast. So much for integration.

The top ten programs watched by whites are: 60 Minutes, Roseanne, Murphy Brown, Cheers, Designing Women, Home Improvement, Full House, Coach, Monday Night Football, Major Dad. [Black and white in color, U.S. News & World Report, April 20, 1992, p. 15.]

The Color of Cola

Bottlers have also noticed that non-whites drink more soda pop than whites. Hispanics come in first, at an equivalent of 576 12-ounce cans per person per year. Blacks are second at 551, and whites are third at 506. Since the heavy-drinking groups are expected to grow in numbers faster than whites, Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola are gearing more of their publicity toward blacks and Hispanics.

They hold ethnic festivals and contests, and underwrite concert tours by non-white performers. Last summer, Pepsi-Cola sponsored a rap music contest, with, as its grand prize, a demo recording contract, a spot on a Pepsi commercial, and $25,000 in cash. [Marc Rice, Companies target burgeoning minority markets, SF Sunday Examiner and Chronicle, Feb. 9, 1992, p. E5.]

D-grading News

In San Francisco, 19 percent of school students are black. Half of all students suspended in 1991 were black, as were 41 percent of the students in slow-learners classes. The average grade for black students in high school and junior high was D+.

What to do? A group of black parents says that the schools have obviously “failed” black students, and demands the currently fashionable “solution”: all-black schools that emphasizes African culture and history. The city is under a court order to keep any school from letting the number of students of any race go above 45 percent [Gregory Lewis, Magnet school for black kids urged in S.F. SF Examiner, April 12, 1992, p. B1.], but officials are looking into ways to see if the rules cannot be bent for blacks.

Not Worth the Trip

Although INS officials are still catching 1,500 illegal immigrants a day at the Tijuana crossing alone, some Mexicans have reportedly decided that El Norte is no longer worth the trip. The main reason is recession and decline in the United States. Ten years ago, the wage disparity between the two countries was 12:1 but it is now down to 8:1. Recession and drought in California have lowered demand for labor in agriculture and the construction industry, two favorites for illegals. Furthermore, while the American GNP dropped 0.7 percent last year, the Mexican GNP grew by 5 percent.

Jorge Bustamonte, the president of Mexico’s College of the Northern Border, has been studying illegal immigration for years. “For the first time since we began our research,” he says, “We’re hearing people say, ‘This is not worth it.’” However, some illegals are looking further afield. “I hear there’s work in North Carolina,” says one. [Joel Simon, Jumping border just not worth it, SF Examiner, c. April/May, 1992.]

‘Toxic Racism’

There is a new twist to the old game of finding some difference between blacks and whites and then blaming it on “racism”: scream “racism” even when there is no difference at all.

“Environmental racism” is the name of a recently-invented anti-white accusation. This is said to be the deliberate siting of potentially polluting factories or waste dumps in non-white neighborhoods. A National People of Color Leadership Summit on the Environment, was held in Washington, D.C. in late 1991, to debate what to do about the problem. [Keith Schneider, Minorities join to fight polluting of neighborhoods, New York Times, Oct. 25, 1991.] By 1992 there were at least ten minority-based environmental groups charging officials with such things as “radioactive colonialism” and “garbage imperialism.” Jesse Jackson likes to talk about “toxic racism.”

It would be no surprise if activists actually could show that non-whites are more likely to be exposed to environmental hazards than are whites. They are poorer than whites, and cities do not build incinerators on prime real estate. In fact, not even a Rube Goldberg case can be made for “radioactive colonialism.” The United Church of Christ has actually studied how hazardous waste landfills are sited. In 1987, it found that 78 percent were in areas that had more white than non-white residents. Fifty-seven percent of blacks (and Hispanics) live near toxic waste sites, but 54 percent of whites do, too. Only 46 percent of Asians live near one [Matthew Rees, Black and green, New Republic, March 2, 1991, p. 15.], but no one has yet argued that waste disposal is somehow arranged for their benefit.

Twenty-seven of the communities that have the nation’s biggest hazardous-waste landfills have majority-white populations. The biggest garbage dump in the country is on Staten Island, which is 85 percent white. Love Canal (NY) and Times Beach (MO), towns that were so badly poisoned that they had to be evacuated were both overwhelmingly white. [Michael Stachell, A whiff of discrimination? U.S. News & World Report, May 4, 1992, p. 34.]

What will the race-baiters think of next?

White Pride?

Mississippi and Georgia use the Confederate battle flag as part of the design of their state flags. Naturally, the flags are denounced as racist, and the usual crowd is trying to have them changed. Georgia’s flag is under particular attack, on the pretext that it will be an embarrassment to the city when it hosts the Olympics in 1996. The last time a big anti-flag campaign was mounted was before the 1988 Democratic convention, on the pretext that the flag would offend convention delegates. Olympic athletes are probably even less likely to be upset by the flag than the delegates were.

Two states, South Carolina and Alabama, still fly the battle flag above their state houses. In South Carolina, the flags are also displayed in both houses of the state legislature. [AP, Battle brewing on altering state flag, Columbus (Georgia) Ledger-Enquirer, April 25, 1992, p. A1.]