Farrakahn agrees with Vicente Fox, "Blacks have picked enough cotton." Options

[illumineering]

From cnn.com

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (AP) -- Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan said Mexican President Vicente Fox was right to say that Mexican immigrants take jobs "that not even blacks want."

Although Fox was sharply criticized for his remarks by some black leaders, Farrakhan said Sunday that blacks do not want to go to farms and pick fruit because they already "picked enough cotton."

"Why are you so foolishly sensitive when somebody is telling you the truth?" he asked the crowd at Mercy Memorial Baptist Church.

He said blacks and Latinos should form an alliance to correct differences and animosity between the two communities.

Civil rights leaders, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton, condemned the remark. Some leaders called on Fox to apologize.

Fox has said he was commenting on the contributions that Mexicans make to the United States, and did not mean any offense.

Farrakhan, who spearheaded the 1995 Million Man March that drew hundreds of thousands of people to Washington, was in Milwaukee to promote the Millions More Movement, which has scheduled a rally October 15 on the National Mall.

The march is billed as a more inclusive successor to the Million Man March.

This time, organizers have encouraged women and gays to attend.

For the president of Mexico to make a statement that generalizes Mexican contributions to the US as farm workers creates a stereotype that I think he should be challenging, not endorsing. As the elected leader of a nation, it reveals a true lack of respect for the people who voted him into office.

Even if it was true (which it is not), what does that say about his ability to provide good jobs and create a healthy economy in his own country?

As for Farrakahn, how does he expect an alliance when between Blacks and Latinos when his comments and endorsement of the remarks Fox made are based on generalizations and incite a backlash by the civil rights community?

[ComradeRed]

"Providing good jobs" is a lot harder than it sounds, and most of the time the government tries to "provide good jobs" it is diastrous for the economy in the long run. Poor countries sometimes have to accept short-term unemployment in exchange for high growth that will lead to lower unemployment and better private sector jobs in the future. Cases in point: Chile under Pinochet (6% yearly, triple the next highest country in South America), and China today (9% yearly).

His statement was un-PC but right: Blacks in America have it a lot better than people in Mexico and other poorer countries.