Anti-Immigration Protestors Show Their True Colors

By: Dave Sund If you've been around Omaha for the last couple of years, you may have noticed the protestors that show up every so often in front of the Consulado de Mexico on 36th and Dodge St. Their thinly-veiled racism, however, is no match for the atrocious display of racism that is coming this weekend: The National Socialist Movement will shut down Dodge street Saturday to protest illegal immigration. The Nazi protest at the Mexican Consulate is becoming a cause for community concern. So much concern in fact, the white supremacist group will receive a police escort in and out of Omaha as well as police security during the event, according to both the Consulate and protestors. Well, that's great. I'm sure the people of Omaha will appreciate a bunch of Nazis choking off the main artery to the city for a few hours. Fortunately, everyone will be glued to their TV sets watching the season opener between Nebraska and Nevada, but that's not the point. It's disturbing how similar the Nazi message is to the right-wing party line on immigration. Put this together with the rising ranks of the KKK in recent years because of strong feelings against immigration, and it's not hard to see what kind of people are driving the debate on this issue. And it's sickening.

"This is not Mexico and we don't want it to be Mexico," says Col. Tim Bishop with the National Socialist Movement. Illegal immigration threatens the self described Nazi group's main goal. "The preservation and the promotion of the white Arian Caucasian people," says Bishop. And it's at this point that we have to bring up the thing that fails to get through to these people each and every time: Only the swastika emblazoned protest against illegal immigrants will happen outside the one place in Omaha Mexicans can obtain legal identification. "I guess because it has a Mexican flag out front or they misinterpret what we do," says the Consul. "They're telling people to come here. They're telling people where they can get social services. They're telling people how to exploit the system," says Bishop. At least these folks make their racism very clear, so it becomes easier to expose the racism of those who hold the exact same beliefs as them. How could this not be blatantly obvious at this point? This isn't about "border security" or "amnesty" or any of the other buzz words that politicians in Washington like to throw around. This is about Mexicans. This is about fear. Quite simply, this is racism. And it's unfortunately very politically acceptable, to the point where people who should know better are buying into the buzzwords and phrases. To the point where people are treated like criminals and separated from their families for wanting to make a better life in America. To the point where the "compromise" position has us relegating people to a status of virtually permanent indentured servitude. One last point, which I cannot stress enough: Don't take the bait. The Consul's concern is not the demonstration but the potential for violent public reaction and damage to his building.   "A counter-demonstration is not productive in any way and that's exactly what these people are looking for."

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Ernie Chambers on Baseball Records, Barry Bonds & Racism

Ladies and gentlemen....from the pages of today's Public Pulse in the Omaha World-Herald....Sen. Ernie Chambers: All of this hypocritical bleating and yakety-yakking by white sports commentators, writers and cartoonists about an asterisk accompanying Barry Bonds' breaking of Hank Aaron's home-run record is cloying in the extreme. First of all, these critics have no genuine respect or regard for Aaron, having been content to let him languish in obscurity until he could be dusted off and set in opposition to a black man whom they dislike because he refuses to allow them to "run" him.   Secondly, if asterisks are to become the order of the day in the realm of sports records, one should accompany every so-called record established by any white athlete in any sport while black athletes were locked out of competition due to their race. This, of course, would include records held by Babe Ruth, who was quite comfortable with racial segregation in his sport.   Every record set during the period(s) of racial exclusion is bogus. Let's set that record straight. Racism, impure and simple, drives this nonsense about asterisking Bonds' phenomenal feat of athletic greatness.    Barry Bonds is to baseball what Muhammad Ali is to boxing: "The greatest." And don't you racists forget it.   Ernie Chambers, Omaha Nebraska State Senator, District 11 I think there's more than racism behind the unanswered questions surrounding Bond's supposed use of performance-enhancing drugs. But, I have to give Sen. Chambers credit for making a hell of a point about the illegitimacy of every record set when only whites were allowed to play professional sports. That's something I've never before considered but which is hard to argue with on principle. It's funny that just across from Chambers' letter a World-Herald editorial celebrates how little the Bonds controversy has to do with race - as testament to how far we've come as a society since Aaron's original home run chase. Clearly, Chambers disagrees. What do you think?

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