Oligarchs: Threat To US Security

The infamous destruction of Greenwood, also known as “Black Wall Street� in 1921 was the worse. Greenwood was a model of African American achievement. The financially flourishing town had some 600 Black-owned businesses with 15,000 Blacks living on 36 blocks. On June 1, jealous white racists burned the thriving town to the ground; between 300 to 3,000 Blacks were murdered.

Comment: On Immigration

Over the last year and a half the Immigration debate has dominated the news.

Curiously, this happened as individual scandals of this immoral war in
Iraq were creeping into the forefront of mainstream newsrooms stories.
But these days, immigration has morphed into the issue that some charge
is central to the security of the nation. The debate will continue even
as the proposed Bill under consideration will remain in limbo for
months now that Congress has voted against sending the Bill forward for
a “yes� or “no� vote.    

“Conservative� and right-wing talk hosts like, Rush Limbaugh, Bill
O’Reilly and Lou Dobbs, would have us believe that “illegal
immigration� is the major problem in America today. This notion is
absurd. Some like CNN’s esteemed hypocrite Lou Dobbs, as I discussed in
a previous column, constantly rants about “illegal aliens.� Mr. Dobbs,
perpetually in fear-monger mode claims that Mexican “illegal aliens�
are lawbreakers. But just who are the “aliens?�    

I say this—without apology—white Euro-Americans are neophytes in the
American experience. The Aztecs, Mayas, Toltecs and the Olmecs—who were
definitely of African extraction—were here long before Amerigo
Vespucci, Francisco Pizarro, Hernan Cortez or Columbus. The historical
reality is that in 1848, as a consequence of the Mexican-American War
over Texas (refer to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo), Mexico sold half
of its territory including: California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona along
with most of Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming to America for $15
million.

Sadly, this history has been whitewashed, partly, to further American
foreign policy in Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean. America
declared with the writing of the Monroe Doctrine that she considered
these areas her backyard. This has lead to the propping up of the
despotic dictators of Latin America. Monsters like Chile’s Augusto
Pinochet, Guatemala’s Rios Mont, Argentina’s Jorge Videla, and
Paraguay’s Alfredo Stroessner, along with Contra terrorist thugs killed
thousands of people in these countries to smother the
self-determination of the people.

This was done with the blessing of the American government, so, her
corporate partners could exploit the economics of the region.
    
That exploitation has continued with legislations such as those
creating CAFTA and NAFTA—which have further impoverished Latin America.
This very dynamic has robbed many Mexican farmers and entrepreneurs of
their livelihood. 

Many of them are now forced off their lands so they can provide for
their families. These are the stories you never
hear.    
Some are now advancing the preposterous claim that Mexicans are taking
jobs from Black people. Apparently, all of a sudden, the powers that be
want us to believe that they are suddenly concerned about the welfare
of Black people? This is nothing more than a devious attempt to create
conflict between Blacks and Latinos. Sadly, some of our people on both
sides have fallen for this trick to promote disunity between people who
should have a common cause.

This very ploy has been used before. Since the early days of slavery,
the minority money elites of this country decided that a wedge had to
be driven between African slaves and poor whites. They understood that
if both united against them, the status quo of the money and propertied
elite would be upset. The wedge became white supremacy. Since then,
racism has been a major problem in the country. But it has covered-up
the central problem poisoning this nation: economic exploitation.

America has had several “race wars.� However, nearly all were rooted
not only in race, but in economics. The historical account is filled
with these instances. In fact, the 20th Century started with many of
these riots. In the first two decades of the century there were several
“race riots� where economic competition was at the heart of the
uprisings.    

The infamous destruction of Greenwood, also known as “Black Wall
Street� in 1921 was the worse. Greenwood was a model of African
American achievement. The financially flourishing town had some 600
Black-owned businesses with 15,000 Blacks living on 36 blocks. On June
1, jealous white racists burned the thriving town to the ground;
between 300 to 3,000 Blacks were murdered. In most of these instances,
the fictitious fable of a white woman being raped was used, but
economics was often the underlying
dilemma.     

All of which leads us back to Dobbs.  This man is revered by many
as a financial wizard. So, why is he pretending that “aliens� are the
drain on the finances of the country? Surely, he must know that the
leeches in America are those who occupy the boardrooms of corporate
America. Why doesn’t he rail about the 0.5% in this country that
control one-third of the economic pie? Why doesn’t he talk about the
20% that control nearly 90% of America’s wealth?

If he really knows what he purports to, then he must be aware “illegal
immigration� is a source of cheap labor the corporate elites have
always enjoyed. There are close to 300 million people in America. Yet,
he would have us believe that 12 million poor people are responsible
for job losses? Instead of commenting on corporate malfeasance as if it
were a peripheral issue, why doesn’t he admit that it is the primary
issue in all the problems that affect America? Cynical and deceitful
people like Dobbs are the most serious threat to US security; not
“illegal aliens.�


Benjamin is a member of The Black Star News’ Editorial Staff




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