Rosie's ching-chong comments

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by sparky

Yeah, it couldn't function with certain people making such a large profit, and prices being low because people accept slave wages. And I couldn't rail about people who have 7 kids and can't afford to support two. But that's another thread!

The whole Mexican immigration issue is very complicated and I am not sure which side of the issue I am on. Yes, Mexican workers are exploited to benefit The Man. And yes, prices for goods, merchandise and services are kept low artificially because some Mexicans are willing to work longer and harder for less money. But what are the alternatives? In this day and age it does seem to me that there are menial jobs that native-born, English speaking people would refuse to do; they would take unemployment or welfare before doing these kinds of jobs. So who is going to do these jobs when the country's entitlement system incentivizes U.S. citizens to not work? Illegals. Okay... alternatively, we could unionize all of these jobs and every maid, janitor, fruit picker and dishwasher will be paid $35 an hour plus full healthcare, pensions and early retirement so that these jobs would be more appealing to American citizens. Then the cost of a happy meal at McDonalds would be $15. An apple would cost $5. The things we take for granted now would become extremely expensive, which means that our standards of living would go down tremendously. As a society, do we really want this?

Deep down, I do wish all people, especially those with the most laborious jobs, would earn a decent living wage. But that is a Utopian, socialist idyll that is somewhat at odds with the American psyche, which is about free markets, capitalism, and trickle-down economics. On the other hand... we all enjoy, perhaps artificially, great qualities of life on the backs of cheap/illegal labor, whether we realize it or are willing to admit it or not. As someone currently building a house, this goes through my mind a lot. It's definitely a moral dilemma... I try to do my part to ensure that the contractors are receiving a decent wage... but sometimes that's out of my control.

Originally Posted by sparky

I'm wondering if you have gone to this trouble to think out and find understandable the racist **** you have had to go through.
Just curious.

I think the feeling of superiority is an inherent part of human nature. I don't think babies come out of the womb feeling humble, restrained and grateful. They scream when they're hungry, scream when they've soiled themselves, scream when they get a boo-boo. Humility and respect for others is a learned behavior. Unfortunately so is racism and the feeling of racial superiority. And for whatever reason, this whole notion of "America is #1" has become synonymous with "Whites are #1." It seems ironic that the most ardent flag-waving "patriots" are usually the ones with the confederate flag stickers on their bumpers. Patriotism in this country less about the fact that we are a melting pot of immigrants as it is about having the firepower to kick the ass of any country that tries to mess with our "American way of life."

That being said, I think for many Americans, Asians = easy target because they don't fight back. Especially when you are in an area that is pretty much all-white. It's an easy opportunity for people to feel better about themselves at the expense of others. In other words, "thank goodness I'm American, unlike you," which is also along the lines of "why don't you go back to your own country." I've actually been told this! Of course it's easy for me to process this in hindsight and to feel pity for the idiots who would say and do such things (especially since their parents were probably even bigger idiots). But when you are outnumbered and backed up against a wall and you don't know any better, it's not so easy to be forgiving.

More recently, I've noticed that the worst perpetrators of the whole "ching chong" thing have been black. I honestly have no idea why this is the case. Perhaps it's a way of saying "you are the new n***ers in this country."

Okay... time to lighten up!