This editorial first appeared in the December 20 issue of La Voz, before the Kentucky state Senate formally passed SB 6.
To speak plainly, the initiative by the Republican party and their state senators to introduce in Kentucky a law similar to Arizona’s is racist in origin, intention and in intended effect.
We feel certain that the real motivation of this initiative is fundamentally based on feelings of racism and opportunism. Racist, because there do not exist any economic or demographic reasons to justify the implementation of policies that focus on the racial identity of their future victims.
Kentucky is not experiencing a massive immigration that is deteriorating the quality of life in the Bluegrass. Any deterioration has been the cause of larger economic forces. In fact, Kentucky only considers two percent of its population to be immigrants and of that two percent 34 percent naturalized by 2008.
The pride felt by the ultra-right sector of the population has so increased their greed for power that they have overlooked the need for any political responsibility on the part of the Republicans in assuring the economic well being of the state and the future.
So blinded are these individuals by the ignorance created by this type of racism that they fail to see that passage of a law of this kind would mean an economic loss of 30 million dollars in sales tax per year, a loss of 1.7 billion dollars annually in the economy, 756.8 million dollars in gross internal product revenue and the loss of approximately 12,059 jobs, according to the Perryman Group.
We wonder, where is this group of irresponsible politicians going to get the 2.1 billion dollars that Latinos generated for the economy in 2009?
There’s been enough right-wing populist rhetoric. There’s been enough taking aim at the dignity of other human beings and at the Constitution. There’s been enough intolerance and racism (which is the only thing you can call this). There’s been enough uncontrolled hate turned into violence. There’s been enough deterioration of the intrinsic societal values of the United States.
It’s time to say: Enough!
For good coverage of SB 6, follow La Voz on the web at lavozky.com, or pick one up from a newsstand around town.
Ben
I’m 100% certain Mike is a racist. Back when, as he put it, “You never saw a Mexican, Oriental, whatever in this once great state in my area anyway”, was a time when travel waas limited to many. It was also a time when racism was considered to be ok. Things have since changed. SB 6 is, in my opinion, as racist as Mike is. We need immigration reform in this Country. But SB 6 is not the reform we need. SB 6, if passed, would only bring added pain and worry to the many legals and their families. We can see in Mike, that there are racist people who don’t care to casue pain for another people.
susan
It is definetly racist and so is mike Brown
Mike Brown
It is called nipping it in the bud before it can bloom into a problem. When I was kid\teenager just 35 years ago you never saw a Mexican,Oriental,whatever in this once great state in my area anyway and every “Real American” citizen that would work had a good job. Now these illegal Mexicans just pour North at an ever increasing pace and they take away jobs at a lower cost from real American people. It is an outrage and I think the Founding Fathers would agree and they would not put up with all the bullshit that goes on in this country nowadays fro a minute!
It is time to deport Mexicans,Middle Eastern people,etc and any other foreign group that does not want to adopt the rules of this country and our way of life as it has been for 200 plus years. That includes adjusting our Constitution however we must to allow it to happen before the “Real American” citizens have their very existence threatened in their own country by these people who don’t really belong here. Freedom of religon also needs to be revised and a clause added to ban anything Muslim in this country and the mosques could then be torn down and eliminated across the continent. SB 6 is a good thing a a good start to get the ball rolling in that direction. I support it 100%..Mike
Keith Halladay
Some questions for you, Mike:
1. Exactly how long, in years, does a person’s family have to have resided in this country before you consider him/her a “Real American?”
2. What if “Mexicans, Middle Eastern people, etc” DO want to adopt the rules of this country? Do we deport them anyway? Or just the ones who don’t want our way of life?
3. How should the Constitution be adjusted to protect our existence?
4. Should we ban any other religions, or just Islam? What about Jews? None of the founding fathers were Jewish, to my knowledge. In fact, none were Baptist either, so what about getting rid of them too?
Your responses are appreciated.