Black? Help us keep out the Mexicans!

So I meant to blog about this a WHILE ago (like when I first read the article) but I've had a lot going on an dam a negligent blogger - sorry Kaya!  Anyway, according to the New York Times, the US Border Patrol, in an effort to beef up its forces, is now reaching out to young African Americans.  You read that right- border patrol is stocking up on Black kids.

Maybe I'm being a bit sensitive, after all I usually get pissed when I hear about one government group or another reaching into a very specific pool of minorities b/c they figure those kids have no other alternatives and little prospect for work outside of government or law enforcement.. but even so this seems severely fucked up.  I don't normally like to 'air family business,' but I think it's no secret that Black Americans have a huge and I mean HUGE amount of tension and resentment for ethnically diverse immigrants.  Why?  Well, outside of the normally American reasons ("they take away our jobs!" "they suck up resources!" "they take space in schools!") many immigrant groups come to America with a messed up view of Black Americans fueled by hip hop videos, violent movies and racist portrayals, and this perception can sometimes manifest itself in feelings of superiority.  Not to mention Black Americans are pretty much the lowest caste in American society, and the idea that people can come in from another country, be in America for a few months and already have more social and economic capital than Black Americans (who were the base and foundation of even creating America) is pretty fucked up.

So, even though you know they would never admit this, I think it's pretty obvious that this is definitely helping their recruitment agenda.  Kill two birds with one stone- help darken up the group that's trying to keep a country built on immigration "pure" and recruit kids that have a blind resentment (and sometimes hatred) toward a group of people that they have more in common with than they think.

You know, these are the times when my dual status as both a Black American and a first generation latino immigrant make me have all sorts of complicated emotions.  It's all just very sad.

Yeah I know this is old

But it still pisses me off.

Apparently efforts to repeal this crazy ban have been stalled.  Part of me understands the logic behind a ban on HIV-positive visitors- but a very small small silly part.  At this point, the way HIV is ravaging communities, I don't think a reverse-quarantine is going to do much difference for anybody aside from being incredibly discriminatory.

Thoughts?

those gay elephants are stampeding again

the republican party just can't get enough.

the latest news is that while our favorite secretary of state and most endearing black woman, condoleezza rice, is "not gay," she's not doing a super job of appearing that way.

yes, condi has a 'very good friend.' i'm shocked. mainly because...well look at her.



ok cheap shot. but seriously, folks. i mean i'm not gonna say the secretary of state is a lesbian, because then i'd be trying to make a fact out of something that's more like a firm belief. but i will say i've always had my suspicions. and i'll further say that at the rate these people are going, they're going to have to paint that little elephant mascot in rainbows and give him a tiny dog in a purse. and that will just look awkward on the website, don't you think?

i COULD ask you a serious question like "do you think condi is gay" or "do you think she'll come out" or "what would that mean for the republican party," but i think instead i'll leave you to ponder this question, and you go ahead and let me know what you think:

if, hypothetically, condi WERE to be a lesbian, do you think she's had a secret fling with ann coulter? what would that be like?

free rap concert! sike nah, but you can join the army though.

Okay, so it's no real secret that the armed forces take a huge chunk of their population (no, not the officers and not the generals and ish, the recruits that end up on the front lines) from the bottom of America's socio-economic ladder. And of course, although the fighting is being done across the world instead of across the street, America is in a war (which people seem to be forgetting all the time, hell, I'm guilty of it) so of course recruitment efforts have been ramping up more and more as support for the war in Iraq (and subsequent enlistments) has been dwindling. What else has been increasing? The Army's attempt to be hip, youthful and overwhelmingly Black. Take a look at this screen shot of their website..
Black guy, front and center, and no, the picture does not alternative to show other soldiers of different races, ages or of another sex. Mm, and do you see that iPod bribe in the bottom left corner? Ridiculous. The only thing that really drove me to go to the Army's website was the fact that while I was watching BET the past few days I've noticed a lot of GoArmy commercials, and have also noticed that these commercials tend to focus only on Black people.
I feel like before they used to be a little more subtle about it, but I guess they figure they're just gonna go for it full force.
Next thing you know, they'll be offering promotions like "Free chain on enlisting! Rim for a Friend- with each friend you bring to the army you'll get one 26" chrome spinner!"


..okay sorry, I know I'm wrong for that lol.