Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Idiocy of the Month

The issue of immigration, especially of the illegal sort, especially among Hispanics, has been ever so hot lately. Politicians speak, pundits bicker, and the streets of major cities the nation over are crowded with people making feeble (though agreeable) statements in support of the hard-working, if illegally-residing and employed Latin population of the United States. And of course, many, many people spout pure nonsense.

One such example was presented to me just today. No, not just an example; it was a gem, a paragon of poorly-thought drivel, as confusing as it was malignant. So inconceivably stupid, the mind reels, boggles at just where to begin in correcting it. If reading it causes your brain to escape its skull and join the circus, I apologize, but I can't not repeat it here, it's too priceless:

"[W]e should stop using the term Hispanic ... give them a name and you give them power."

The argument continues that by grouping together people from all over the Spanish-speaking Americas, we are giving them greater numbers and thus greater influence on the mighty monolith that is American society (the word "White" is not used on that side of the argument, but its as readable as a bludgeon to the head). Further, including with the Mexicans and the Colombians the more European Argentinians gives the former a sort of prestige that they clearly do not deserve and will manipulate into a tool to our detriment.

I cannot begin to chronicle why this is idiocy. Granted, it's at a disadvantage with me already because it is blantantly racist, and I see any number of logical flaws with any specifically racially driven ideas, but there is such thing as vaguely reasonable racism. But this is not it; this is paranoia, senseless and ridiculous, being spouted by an educated American.

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3 Comments:

Anonymous Tara said...

Indeed, sir. I find even the term "Hispanic" offensive, for those same reasons. I'm curious, though, was the source of that quote someone you encountered in the real world, or did you come across it via some form of media?

12:56 PM  
Anonymous John Duffell said...

By "reasonable racism" do you mean racism that's characterized by slightly less foam at the mouth, or some form of logical racism (a concept I for one am unable to grasp)?

1:20 PM  
Blogger Mephisto said...

I suppose I should have been less vague about that both of these queries. To your question, John, what I meant really was that there are people that, while racist, are by other appearances fairly intelligent, and just have unrealistic and unfounded ideas about the nature of race and races. To yours, Tara, this is someone I know altogether too well, but who luckily is not published or recorded in the public media.

1:50 PM  

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