Race, thy name is charged (but not too much)

You know, there's a lot of bad stuff going on in the world today. Other than the atrocities going on in Iraq and Afghanistan, there's our environmental worries, everything that we're ignoring between Israel and Palestine, the 2008 presidential election campaigns, and the dominance of the New England Patriots (ok, just kidding on the latter). But what keeps catching my attention between these news-saturated events are the smaller ones that pop up from time to time involving nooses and the "N" word.

Ah, yes. Remember Don Imus? Michael Richards? And now, Duane "Dog" Chapman? The Jena 6? Boy, that's a lot of racially-charged stuff going on in the U.S.

I was curious to see what BBC said about Dog; I searched their entire site and only this came up. I searched CNN, and got this, as well as several videos. Not to say our friends across the pond don't have their own reports of racism, as well as most every other country in this world.

So, dear friends, this issue of racism does not revolve around Dog (or any white man using the "N" word), or even Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (or any of our admirable black leaders). This is nothing new to the world. Actually, replace the word racism with discrimination, and you'll see that even the issue of racism does not revolve around itself. Being racist is only part of the problem. It's a problem that we all have, in one way, shape or form. Did you ever make fun of the fat kid at school when you were younger? Did you ever talk behind someone else's back (otherwise known as gossip)? Do you purposefully avoid the homeless on the street?

You know what? I've done those three things; I'd be a fool not to admit it. And 99.999% of the readership has done at least one of these things in their lifetime. Admittedly, I don't make fun of obese people any more; I'd much rather talk about my health issues than gossip these days; and after living/visiting in many big cities, I try to carry change and dollar bills with me now. But we are all afraid of someone because they are different from us - not the collective "us," but you and me as individuals. We all have our fears about differences. I know there are women out there who are afraid they would not love their children if they were born mentally retarded. I know some women choose abortion after finding out the baby has the trisomy-23 gene. It is fear that drives discrimination because we like the comforts and belonging we were afforded when growing up.

Discrimination is a constantly simmering pot, just under the skin of every human on this earth - but it's directed at all sorts of people. The obese, the dwarfs; the black, the Chinese; the Hindus, the Muslims; the gays, the lesbians. Black people are not the only ones discriminated against, and I think some people in this country resent the fact that they currently get the most attention in this country when it comes to matters of discrimination. No one gets on CNN when they call someone a towelhead, runts, and "yo mama" jokes (and those are the mild insults, to take into account that this is somewhat of a family blog). Even when these insults are used, they're usually used incorrectly.

People can be changed, though. I know that for sure. I will leave you with these thoughts, however:

"Of course, America had often been discovered before Columbus, but it had always been hushed up."- Oscar Wilde

"No one can be as calculatedly rude as the British, which amazes Americans, who do not understand studied insult and can only offer abuse as a substitute."-
Paul Gallico, US writer

Matters of Inversion

My grandmother sent me something very interesting today, asking me to "snope out the details." What I found was more disturbing that I bargained for.

"This should bother everyone. No matter the politics!! You will not see this heart-stopping photo on the front page of the NY Times or on the lead story of the major news networks. The protestors put up the Mexican flag over the American flag flying upside down at Montebello High School in California .

"I predict this stunt will be the nail in the coffin of any guest-worker/amnesty plan on the table in Washington . The image of the American flag subsumed to another and turned upside down on American soil, is already spreading on Internet forums and via E-mail. ; Pass this along to every American citizen in your address books and to every representative in the state and federal government. If you choose to remain uninvolved, do not be amazed when you no longer have a nation to call your own nor anything you have worked for left since it will be 'redistributed' to the activists while you are so peacefully staying out of the 'fray'. Check history, it is full of nations/empires that disappeared when its citizens no longer held their core beliefs and values. One person CAN make a difference. One plus one plus one plus one plus one plus one......... The battle for our secure borders and immigration laws that actually mean something, however, hasn't even begun. PASS IT ON"

I looked into this and found out that this email is "true," but it "lies by omission." There are several facts that are not in included that should clarify what happened.

In March 2006, about 1,000 students from neighboring school districts El Rancho (Pico Rivera, CA) and Whittier Union (Whittier, CA) walked out and protested in front of Montebello High School in Montebello, CA, unfairly attaching the innocent high school's name to this incident. Montebello students were on lockdown during this time because it was quite a rowdy crowd. The Montebello High School website offers the explanation here, near the end of the page. This memo MUSD school employees received describes the incident in further detail.

Snopes offered this article and clarification here.

Unfortunately, I also found a website that incorrectly reports the details, saying that Montebello students marched out in protest. This is not true, and I was horrified that there are seemingly "dependable" news sources publishing this thing, where others can take and reproduce on web forums, further perpetuating the mess.

However, these pictures are 100% authentic, as are the students who so foolishly tied their mugs to this abomination. Apparently, one single student from the El Rancho district was punished, but there are no details as to who it was or what their punishment was.

I would feel comfortable sharing these pictures, but there needs to be a better explanation with it. It lacks details, such as saying "the protestors," who could be anyone, but unfairly ties Montebello students with this label. Montebello students were known to march out in protest of immigration legislature, but they were only a handful, and they did not cause a commotion or doing something illegal. Yet another reason why I worry about some of those in the generation behind me representing "civil discourse" in all the wrong ways - it brings to mind Andrew "Don't Tase me, Bro!" Meyers and the like.

Sweetness

Hershey's (the chocolate company) is moving some operations down south to Mexico. I was discussing it in an email with my grandmother, who asked me to confirm the story before she sent it out to her friends. As you all know, once I start writing, I can't stop, and these words came out:

"Well, I first checked out Snopes, and the email is only partially true. It is true that they are opening a plant in Mexico, laying off about 3,000 Hershey's workers, and closing the plant in Canada, but they're not shutting down the U.S. operations *completely.* They'll still be working here. It's just that they're doing what everyone else is doing by outsourcing some of their labor to cheaper labor sites (Mexico and South Korea) to cut down operations costs, and likely phase out the powerful U.S. labor unions, although they'd never say that out loud! If you'd want to spread the whole truth, I would pass this article around instead. Click here for the story.

More from the horse's mouth, here is a press release about Hershey Mexico acquiring one of Mexico's top confectionaries back in 2004. In truth, Hershey Mexico began operations way back in 1969. We've probably been eating chocolate made in Mexico at one point or another for nearly 40 years. So I am really not surprised that after acquiring confectionaries in Mexico and South Korea that they decided to move some operations down south. Click here for the story.

Ironically, the plant that is suffering Hershey's cuts by the end of the year is located in Oakdale, Calif. Sounds like some of the immigrants here may want to think about returning home if they want to keep their manufacturing job :-( that article can be found by clicking here.

Even more ironic is that the world's melting pot is now handing out jobs overseas and enticing workers with good jobs at a fraction of the cost that an American would require. Considering the power of the American dollar is sinking fast, we are going to be seeing a lot of this happen more often, especially with companies that most people think are truly "all-American." You have to wonder what the powerful U.S. corporations are thinking about this immigration hullabaloo... it's as if they're saying 'Don't come to us - we'll come to you.'"

So if you want to boycott Hershey, buy Dove. I don't know where their chocolate comes from, though.

If you feel guilty about eating chocolate at all, this will make you feel a little better about it.