Re: [Marxism] Black Commentator: Another Side to Race and Immigration

[Mike Friedman <mikedf@xxxxxxxx>]

Hey Nestor,

Yes, this is one of the more important pieces on race and immigration 
-- among a lot of good recent writings -- for two reasons. First, it 
very clearly spells out something our friend Joaquin has been 
insisting on, which is the racist dimension -- one should really say, 
determination -- of the ongoing assault on immigrant rights. From a 
global point of view this is indeed inextricably linked to the 
imperialist offensive against all Third World peoples and nations, 
economically (NAFTA, CAFTA, etc.) and militarily (the "war on 
terrorism").

BTW, I just read an excellent book on the overall problematic, No One 
is Illegal, by Justin Akers Chacon and Mike Davis, which I strongly 
recommend to anyone interested in understanding the history of the 
U.S. "attitude" (couldn't think of a better word...) toward 
immigrants, and causes and responses to current immigration to the 
U.S., particularly from Mexico.

However, seen inside the U.S. social formation, national origin is 
not the primary factor. Reified skin color is. As you pointed out, 
this is like apartheid, pure and simple (or not so simple). That's 
why the Irish are "trained" to assume their place among white 
Americans, while immigrants of color are "trained" to "assume the 
position." Historically, "white" Latin Americans have been 
assimilated, while their brown-skinned, Indian or African-featured 
brethren have not. Chacon and Davis point out that in antebellum, 
post-conquest California  laws stipulated precisely this, that 
"white" Mexicans were to be accorded full voting rights, while 
dark-skinned Mexicans were denied such rights.

The second reason this article is important is that Fletcher has been 
one of the outspoken proponents of an alliance between African 
Americans and undocumented (read: Third World, especially Latino) 
immigrants, and critics of African Americans who have taken the bait 
proferred by the ruling class and turned their ire on those even less 
fortunate (if you can call it fortune!) than themselves.

As an aside, Walter's use of Fletcher's critique of racism to defend 
vicious African regimes is utterly besides the point and borders on 
crude race-baiting. One need merely point out that Robert Mugabe is 
not seeking to cross the  U.S. border in search of work or asylum, 
although perhaps his victims may well be among the undocumented 
victims of U.S. racism. However, Walter has already shown by his 
insistence that he "doesn't consider himself white" that he has 
little understanding of this issue and prefers to continue his 
uncritical cheerleading of anything "Third World" (Havana-approved, 
of course).

>
>Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2007 10:25:34 -0300
>From: "Nestor Gorojovsky" <nestorgoro@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: Re: [Marxism] Black Commentator: Another Side to Race and
>       Immigration
>To: Activists and scholars in Marxist tradition
>       <marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Message-ID: <46A9C81E.7703.44F6E5@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
>This comment by Fletcher that Mike has been kind enough to send to
>the list is, simply put, a _must read_ for all those who want to see
>the social meaning of USAmerican racism. It works in _exactly_ the
>same manner that White South African Apartheid did. While the
>Chinese, in South Africa, were "coloured", the Japanese were "White".
>In a sense, the different situation of the Irish, Haitian and
>Dominican immigrant reflects the different positions of their
>homelands in the global scheme.
>
>The colour barrier is linked to the place of the originating country
>(and of the immigrant in the social structure of that country, this
>caveat covers "exceptions to the rule") in the global structure, not
>to the load of pigments on anyone's skin.

-- 
Michael Friedman
Doctoral Candidate in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior
City University of New York

Molecular Systematics Laboratory
Department of Invertebrate Zoology
American Museum of Natural History
79th Street at Central Park West
New York, NY 10024
(212)313-8721

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