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Mi fCM P.O. BOX 1027, ATHENS, CA SOSOS
fear of a
MEXICAN PLANET
E! problema, folks, was made obvious
by your recent article on Hispanic immi
gration in Athens [ “Que Problema," Sept.
16] —Xenophobia, racism, exploitation.
Not new news in this country nor this
state. Perhaps Athens is only now con
fronting the issues that come with
migrant labor and cultural diversity. It is
a positive step that these are recognized
in print. Put 1 am frankly disgusted that
the Flagpole ran an article with such rank
overtones with no critique or counter
commentary. Lasseter perpetuates the
stereotype of a faceless onslaught of par
asitic immigrants that jeapordize the
integrity and economic viability of our
community. They’re coming to steal our
jobs and usurp the county’s public hous
ing, and then (lord) help their families
back home. “We just don’t need that kind
of worker.”
Are the “alienated middle class”
quite so alienated as they sink their
teeth into fried chicken made affordable
by long hours of tough labor for pid
dling pay on the part of this “swell of
immigrant workers”? Do the capitalist
rules of supply and demand not apply
when the labor is foreign, when your
neighbor might turn out to be an
‘Hispanic’? This is “something everyone
should be concerned about”; the “clus
tering of low-wage workers" in North
Athens “has some in the community
worried.” Worried, concerned, why?
because Mexican immigrants are living
together in communities?
Because they might be sleeping on the
floor in sleeping bags? “These days you
can’t be as selective in who you rent
to”... mmm, the good ol’ days when land
lords could afford to discriminate against
working families because they were poor,
low class, or of color. The reality, as Bell
noted, is that immigrants are taking jobs
no one else wants, at minimum wage or
lower. They work long hours in condi
tions most “indigenous labor” would not
stand for, and rightly so. Athens busi
nesses and consumers profit from this
cheap and exploitative labor. Should we
be worried and concerned?
Lasseter did not bother to speculate
on or observe the positive contributions
made by immigrant Latinos in Athens.
These people are not a wave or a swell or
an inundation, they are individuals and
families and they bring with them tradi
tions and histories and language and
T—S MWIM WILI
by TOM TOMORROW
COfrtE Oft IN! OUR STAFF Of HIGHLY-TRAlNEb
FINANCIAL EjCPEOTi will BE ClUb To help
You CHOOSE the INVESTMENT STRATEGY
THAT'S RIGHT FOR YOU/
AND WHY NOT TAKE IN A SHOW WHILE ToO*E
HERE? OUR GORGEOUS DANCING ECONOMISTS
CAN ALWAYS TALK THE MARKET UP--IF YOU
SURE, YOU MAT EXPERIENCE THE OCCASIONAL
SNORT TEAM LOSS, BUT HEY-THERE'S ALWAYS
NEXT TIME! THE IMPORTANT THING IS TO
KEEP PLAYING!
foods that will enrich Athens if given a
chance.
Flagpole’s uncritical portrayal of pre
vailing bureaucratic xenophobia and
racism towards Latinos only enables and
encourages Athens residents to narrow
their minds and close their doors. I blush
in shame to recall the countless warm
welcomes and shared meals I have
received in the humblest of homes, in
Mexico.
Felice S. Wyndham
Athens
DEAR JOHN BRITT:
Your continued shots at Randall
Bramblett are quite clever. Have you ever
heard the old Pete Townshed quote,
something to the effect of, “Every pig-shit
little rock journalist, looking for someone
to crap on who can’t sue them.” You
seem to come to mind. Hang on to that
dishwashing gig. You’ll need it.
Guy Goodman
Athens
Goodman is the proprietor of Turnabout
Records.
SOLUTIONS
After leaving Athens a few months ago
for a legal education 1 decided to check
up on my old hometown to see what has
been going on. It did not take me long to
remember why I left — TOO MUCH COM
PLAINING. This time it came in the form
of one ACC Commissioner Barrow in Tcm
Lasseter’s article “Que Problema?" [Sept.
16]. Commissioner Barrow characterizes
Athens as a “system that sucks in a huge
inflow of labor that will compete with the
folks that are already there.” The article
says that according to Commissioner
Barrow, an “explosion of growth’ in work
ing poor... has potential to drive ‘indige
nous cheap labor’ out of jobs and alien
ate the middle class." The Commissioner
complains further that, “The people com
ing in are sending their money elsewhere
instead of those who have been here for
six or seven generations.”
My problem with Commissioner
Barrow’s comments (and apparent lack
of) are these. First, It is his duty as an
elected official to represent the citizens
of Athens-Clarke County to the best of
his ability. Instead of doing this, he
chooses to lament a problem that he has
direct influence over through his elected
position. This is our first clue as to his
weakness as an elected official.
Carrying my position one step further,
Commissioner Barrow had an opportuni
ty to address this problem of an influx of
working poor when being interviewed for
this article. Whether Mr. Lasseter chose
to leave out Commissioner Barrow’s pro
posed solutions, we’ll never know. We are
only left to assume that there were no
suggested solutions. However, both iden
tifying problems and correcting them
come into the scope of Commissioner
Barrow’s position as an elected official.
Why doesn’t Commissioner Barrow
offer some solutions? For example, why
doesn’t he work with President Adams in
keeping University graduates in Athens
after they graduate? Why doesn’t he sug
gest that Athens become lucrative to
other industries that employ those with a
formal education? If Athens were to keep
petitioning for the rail link to Atlanta and
eventually got it that would invite an
entirely new class of people to Athens.
Think of the new opportunities that
would be created if it was feasible for
people to live in Athens and work in
Atlanta.
While none of you may agree with my
solutions, keep in mind that I have
already done more, by suggesting
answers, than Commissioner Barrow
with respect to this problem.
The article gives me the impression
that there is still a mentality of resis
tance to change in Athens. Whether
Commissioner Barrow approves of it or
not, illegal immigrants are stili going to
come to Athens to work for the chicken
plants. The only way to make Athens a
better place to live is to respond to that
change. Commissioner Barrow’s plead
ing to the “six or seven generations” of
Athenians and Athens’ “indigenous
cheap labor” will do nothing but perpet
uate the problem. If only Ballard had
run...
Charles Whitney
New York, NY
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