If Health Care Excludes Some Immigrants, Are Quarantines Next?

From: Roberto Rodriguez <xcolumn@gmail.com>

If Health Care Excludes Some Immigrants, Are Quarantines Next?
New America Media, Commentary, Roberto Rodriguez, Posted: Sep 16, 2009
NEW AMERICA MEDIA COLUMNS
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/

Editor’s Note: Germs and viruses know no boundaries, so for the United
States to not expand health care access to the undocumented would be
playing with fire, writes NAM contributing writer Roberto Rodriguez.

South Carolina Rep. Joe “You Lie” Wilson has touched a raw nerve with
his outburst during the president’s health care speech. Yet, he may
have also opened the proverbial Pandora’s box regarding “illegals”
with his accusation that they would get health care under reforms
proposed by Pres. Obama. Not dealt with properly by the president and
the Democratic Party, Wilson’s incivility could end up unleashing a
new and more rabid anti-immigrant movement of the kind seen in Europe.

Played out to its logical conclusion, this dynamic of not providing
health care for undocumented immigrants, in the event of a pandemic,
could lead to calls for widespread quarantines and calls for massive
dragnet raids, incarceration programs and large-scale deportations.
And as occurs now, the inability to distinguish between legal or
so-called illegal aliens – with the predisposed belief that all
“Mexicans” (Central and South Americans included) are an illegal and
illegitimate population – means that all red-brown peoples in this
country could be viewed and treated as suspect.

For rest of column, go to:
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=3b5fed2f67cf05fc570b13c6bf347d4f

–
Thanks & Sincerely
Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez
Column of the Americas
PO BOX 85476
Tucson, AZ 85754

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Old White People on Government Health Care Rally To Prevent Black President From Giving Health Care to Brown People

from The Unapologetic Mexican by nezua

foto ©daisydeadair.blogspot.com

I mean…let’s stop playin’. This is silly. The racial core of this argument is that THEY WANT THEIR COUNTRY BACK because it’s not fair that someone who looks so DARK could give health care to OTHER DARK people! Because it will come from the taxes of….not their retired asses, that’s for sure! And aren’t we supposed to be locking those brown folks up? Not giving them help!!!! And CERTAINLY not electing them into OFFICE!!!! WE WANT OUR COUNTRY BACK!!!

You hear the naked truth of the racist resistance baring itself more and more, lately. Good. It’s appalling. Let the ugly reality stand in its appalling pool of primordial goo. Strip fakers and fronters of their code phrases. I mean look at this crowd!!! I’m betting THEY ARE ON GOVERNMENT HEALTH CARE in large part! And they rally against it because….oh, let me stop. It’s too much! I’m seething again.

But do read Daisy’s post, which includes original reporting of this rally. And probably one of the most striking parts of this is that the area in question has basically segregated itself over the issue.

We attempted to chat, but we mostly just stood there speechless and shaking our heads at each other. “We don’t belong in there,” one said. I agreed with the sentiment. She told me another meeting was happening in Spartanburg, a PRO health care meeting.

Spartanburg. And then, another realization hit me:

Spartanburg is heavily black.

The upstate has re-segregated itself into Greenville (run by whites, although a large black population) and Spartanburg (run by blacks, although a large white population) Counties. Why were there so few blacks at this meeting? They need health care, too, okay? But if I was scared to go in, I assume they would be, too. In fact, no doubt: If I were black, I’d stay far away.

Tell me, is this DEMOCRACY in action, Congressman Inglis? Are you the representative of the white upstate or ALL the upstate?

One of the women pointed back at the entrance to Gateway, and told me authoritatively, “You know, this is all really about integration. That’s really what it is. Always has been.”

Yes, I know.

I understand that Obama needs to NOT look like he is furthering race relations by talking honestly on these things. It’s almost as if the racist right is baiting him. People showing up strapped to rallies. And you know how that Reverse-Racism crowd is. They so fear discussion on race that they turn into podpeople screaming the second you truthfully point it out. But for someone who wants his “portfolio” to include moving forward on race…POTUS seems to be passing up a lot of opportunities at being real.