Myths on Race and Invasion of the ‘Caravan Horde’
By J.P. Linstroth
1105 words
Now comes the mid-term elections.
Perhaps what is most astonishing for me, as both an anthropologist and educator, is the level of racist discourse promoted by the current Trump administration against hapless refugees and the so-called threat they pose.
Indeed, Trump and his administration have focused on immigrants as a major threat to the security of nation. Such hyped-up racist rhetoric is completely false.
This vitriol against the caravan of Central Americans and Mexicans on their way to the US border was cruel electioneering, no more. These people are poor and are fleeing horrific violence in their home countries. Some of this violence has been caused by US policies in the region.
Nonetheless, Trump has staged the national guard at the border for photo opportunities of soldiers building coil wire fencing. Trump’s words of racist hatred have also inspired and summoned numerous paramilitary posses of armed militias to the US/Mexican borderlands.
Fear-mongering and racism against immigrants is nothing new in the history of the United States.
Toward the end of the 19th-century and at the turn of the 20th-century, many in the US promoted “Nativism”—an all-white America where good jobs belonged to Whites, not foreigners. This was the historical period known as the “Second-Industrial Revolution,” the “Gilded Age,” and the “Progressive Era”—a time of enormous economic transformation for the country through industrialization and urbanization.
Those on the West Coast blamed the loss of jobs and low wages on Chinese immigrants. This resulted in the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act by the US Congress in 1882. In 1907 there was also a “Gentleman’s Agreement” with Japan to restrict Japanese emigration.
By 1924 the US Congress passed the “Immigration Act,” thereby limiting immigration from Eastern and Southern Europeans such as those with Greek, Italian, Polish, and Jewish origins and banned Asians.
During the mid-nineteenth century, a huge wave of Irish immigrants came to the US because of the “Great Famine” (1845-1849) in Ireland. These Irish worked in the worst jobs possible. They built the railroads connecting the country to the West Coast, constructed canals, and provided cheap labor for much of northern industry. In this period, the Irish were viewed as dogs, drunkards, and non-human apes, barely considered White.
Conditions in manufacturing were generally deplorable for all new immigrants in the Gilded Age. Workers were not protected and required to work 14-16 hour days, six or seven days a week, nearly 365 days a year. Children worked too and were not required to attend school. A typical unskilled laborer at the time earned no more than $8-10 per week.
Upton Sinclair’s historical novel, The Jungle (1904), illustrates these hazardous conditions for immigrants in Chicago’s meatpacking industry—lost limbs and digits, no workman’s compensation, unsanitary conditions, and dangerous work.
In the Chicago Haymarket Riot of 1886, several German immigrants were unfairly accused of instigating a protest where policemen were killed. The injustice of the following trial was so evident that the governor of Illinois commuted some of the sentences of those accused.
Fear of immigrants, even American citizen descendants of some of them, was also evident during World War II with the racialized internment of Japanese-Americans into concentration camps. Some 100,000 Japanese-Americans were imprisoned between 1942 and 1945, preventing a non-existent threat.
Mythologies persist. Immigrants are easy scapegoats and targets because they often do not have a voice to protest such falsehoods against them.
Indeed, immigrants are often the hardest working populations under the worst conditions, wanting a better life for their families. We find this in new immigrant populations coming from Mexico and Central America to the United States today. These are people who work in the fields picking our fruits and vegetables, doing domestic work and caring for our children, laboring in meatpacking plants, working in landscaping and mowing our lawns, cleaning motel rooms, and preparing our food in the restaurant industry.
I have been advocating on behalf of the Guatemalan-Maya population in South Florida since 1990. Many of these immigrants arrived here from the genocide and civil war in Guatemala in the early 1980s where the US was indirectly involved, having trained the country’s military leaders in the School of the Americas and supplying the military junta with weapons.
During the 1980s the US intervened more directly in the civil wars in Central American countries like El Salvador and Nicaragua. Such US military interventionism was “justified” as against the spread of communism, yet caused greater instability in the region.
Moreover, US economic trade policies of the 1990s such as NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) have consistently undermined the economic opportunities of those living in countries like El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. Employers in Central America have consistently violated minimum wage agreements and fair labor conditions.
These 5,000 people coming from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico pose no threat to the security of the United States. It will not be difficult to prevent them from crossing our border.
But the fake news created by the Trump administration will most likely persist in the American imagination:
· Our Pentagon says there is no threat of Middle Eastern terrorists amongst this caravan of mostly poor Central Americans.
· Nor was the Democratic Party responsible for organizing the caravan. Migrant caravans have been coming to the United States-Mexican borders for years under both Republican and Democrat administrations.
· Traveling in numbers makes the journey safer for these migrants. Often migrants are commonly victims of real threats of violence along the way—murder, rape, and robbery.
· Nor is the Honduran government financially supporting the caravan.
· And finally, these people cannot just return to their home countries and apply for political asylum there. They must be in the United States to apply for asylum and citizenship.
The situation in Central America is a humanitarian crisis on a large scale. It is a crisis largely caused by US policies in the region. We have often treated those south of the border as inferior peoples since the beginning of our imperialist aims in the Western Hemisphere with the Monroe Doctrine, then the Roosevelt Corollary, and US military interventionism over the last century throughout the Americas and the Caribbean.
Do not be fooled by Trump’s racist rhetoric. These immigrants are desperate human beings wanting survival for their families. They are not security threats. They should be protected and sheltered and given the same opportunities as our ancestors arriving at Ellis Island.
Rather, Emma Lazarus’ words (1883), should echo with everyone: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.” This is the true America and the ideals we all hold dear.
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J. P. Linstroth is a former Fulbright Scholar to Brazil. He has a PhD from the University of Oxford. He is the author of Marching Against Gender Practice (2015).
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We may be shredding sooner then we think. After a few good nights of snowmaking and with the potential for a few more we could have a few runs skiable by the holidays.
*Opening day for the 2018 - 2019 season has not been set.
The crew has been hard at work to get you on the slopes ASAP!
Still deciding where to get a season pass this year? Wish there was a "try it before you buy it" option? Well, your wish has just come true.
The Bright-n-Early Season Pass offers unlimited skiing and riding day or night opening day* though Dec 22, 2018. After December 22nd, your Bright-n-Early Season Pass will expire but, we won't leave you without the option to upgrade! We will apply the amount you paid for your Bright-n-Early Season Pass toward the purchase of any other 2018 - 2019 season pass product. Yes, we know, we're almost too generous but don't sleep on this one because the Bright-n-Early Season Pass is only available for purchase until November 16th, 2018!
*Opening day for the 2018 - 2019 season has not been set.
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Revolutionary RoboSense RS-IPLS Intelligent Perception LiDAR System is the First Hardware & Software Algorithm Based Solution Created for the Mass Production of Safer Autonomous Vehicles
Press Release:http://www.thomas-pr.com/robosense/robosenseces2019innovationawardrelease.html
November 9, 2018, Shenzhen, China – RoboSense http://www.robosense.ai, the world’s leading autonomous driving LiDAR perception solution provider, today announced that it has been named a CES® 2019 Innovation Awards Honoree for the RoboSense RS-IPLS Intelligent Perception LiDAR System. The announcement was made during CES Unveiled New York on November 8, 2018, an invite-only tech event bringing together top media, exhibitors and industry leaders for a sneak peek of the products and trends expected at CES 2019, which will run January 8-11, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
An annual program that celebrates outstanding design, the CES Innovation Awards recognizes honorees across 28 product categories. A panel of judges, including designers, engineers and members of the tech media, reviews submissions based on design, functionality, consumer appeal, engineering and how the products compare with competition.
The RoboSense Award-Winning RS-IPLS Intelligent Perception LiDAR System with“Gaze” Technology
Building on RoboSense’s more than 10 years of algorithm developing experience, the RS-IPLS system is based on high-performance MEMS solid-state LiDAR with the highest resolution color point cloud data created by merging the underlying 2D imagery hardware with the unique RoboSense RS-LiDAR-Algorithm deep learning sensing algorithm developed specifically for autonomous driving.
The innovative RS-IPLS features the new RoboSense RS-LiDAR-Gaze “Gaze” Technology, which initiates a “gaze” processing mechanism that instantly locks the target for ROI (Region of Interest) processing when it perceives a target of interest in its field of view, thus achieving the clearest and most stable environmental data. The LiDAR architecture maintains a high degree of vigilance of the surrounding environment, constantly capturing the areas of interest, allowing the “gaze” technology to transfer efficient and high-quality feedback in the field of view.
The first hardware and algorithm-based solution provider for autonomous driving, RoboSense believes that robots have an environmental perception that transcends human eyes. In October 2018, RoboSense obtained $45 million in strategic financing from Alibaba’s Cainiao network and some of China’s top OEMs -- the largest single financing ever in China’s LiDAR industry. Since its inception, RoboSense has adhered to its underlying core technology innovations, from chips to LiDAR sensors, to intelligent sensor systems that incorporate AI aware algorithms. RoboSense maintains strong innovation capabilities and continues to lead the industry.
“We are honored to be recognized by technology trade show leader CES with the coveted CES® 2019 Innovation Award for our new revolutionary RoboSense RS-IPLS MEMS based technology that is intelligent, accurate, lower cost, and faster,” said Mark Qiu, RoboSense Co-founder. “We are committed to creating a brand new sensor system. Based on the perfect extraction of environmental information, the RS-IPLS is able to sense environment in a large scale, constantly capturing information from ROI to achieve the unique “gaze” function, which can safeguard autonomous driving. ”
The CES Innovation Awards are sponsored by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)™, owner and producer of CES, the world’s largest and most influential technology event. CTA has been recognizing achievements in product design and engineering since 1976.
The RoboSense RS-IPLS Intelligent Perception LiDAR System will be on display in the Innovation Awards Showcase at the upcoming CES 2019. The complete list of CES 2019 Innovation Honorees, including product descriptions and photos, can be found at CES.tech/Innovation.
CES 2019 will showcase life-changing technology across every major industry, featuring 4,500 exhibitors across 2.75 million net square feet (260K net square meters) of exhibit space. CES provides access to the very latest transformative tech, such as 5G connectivity, artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, smart home, smart cities, sports tech, machine learning and more. Registration for CES 2019 is open. For the latest news and show announcements, visit CES.tech.
About RoboSense
Founded in 2014 based on 10 years of research, RoboSense is the world’s leading provider of LiDAR environment aware solutions designed to provide a higher performance, safer, more reliable, and lower cost LiDAR system for autonomous vehicles. The current RoboSense products include different types of hybrid solid-state LiDARs, as well as P-series hardware and software solutions for different scenarios of autonomous driving. RoboSense has entered into strategic partnerships with many top car companies, tier one manufacturers and technology companies with a global reach. For more information about RoboSense, visit: https://www.robosense.ai and follow RoboSense LiDAR on Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robosenseLiDAR, Twitter: https://twitter.com/Robosense1, YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYCK8j678N6d_ayWE_8F3rQ
About CES
CES® is the world’s gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. It has served as the proving ground for innovators and breakthrough technologies for 50 years – the global stage where next-generation innovations are introduced to the marketplace. As the largest hands-on event of its kind, CES features all aspects of the industry. Owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)TM, it attracts the world’s business leaders and pioneering thinkers. Check out CES video highlights. Follow CES online at CES.tech and on social.
About Consumer Technology Association
Consumer Technology Association (CTA)™ is the trade association representing the $377 billion U.S. consumer technology industry, which supports more than 15 million U.S. jobs. More than 2,200 companies – 80 percent are small businesses and startups; others are among the world’s best-known brands – enjoy the benefits of CTA membership including policy advocacy, market research, technical education, industry promotion, standards development and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CTA also owns and produces CES® – the world’s gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. Profits from CES are reinvested into CTA’s industry services.
Photos:
CES 2019 Innovation Award Winner - RoboSense RS-IPLS Exterior Appearance and Principle Diagram: http://www.thomas-pr.com/136/photos/robosenseces2019innovationawardwinner.html
CES 2019 Innovation Award Honoree Logo: http://www.thomas-pr.com/136/photos/robosenseces2019innovationawardslogo.html
RS-IPLS Exterior Appearance and Principle Diagram: http://www.thomas-pr.com/136/photos/robosensersiplsexterior.html
RoboSense RS-IPLS – “Gaze”: http://www.thomas-pr.com/136/photos/robosensersiplsphoto8.html
RS-LiDAR-M 1pre Public Demo Effect: http://www.thomas-pr.com/136/photos/robosenserslidarm.html
RoboSense RS-IPLS – M1 Pre with Intelligent Function: http://www.thomas-pr.com/136/photos/robosensersiplsphoto3.html
RoboSense RS-IPLS Algorithm - P3 in Massive Production: http://www.thomas-pr.com/136/photos/robosensersiplsphoto7.html
RoboSense RS-IPLS - Image v. Outside: http://www.thomas-pr.com/136/photos/robosensersiplsimage.html
RoboSense Logo: http://www.thomas-pr.com/136/photos/robosenselogo.html
RoboSense Team: http://www.thomas-pr.com/136/photos/robosenseteam.html
RoboSense - Alibaba’s Cainiao G Plus:http://www.thomas-pr.com/136/photos/robosensegplus.html
RoboSense Logo: http://www.thomas-pr.com/136/photos/robosenselogo.html
Video:
RoboSense Applications: https://youtu.be/4Ooc-rJODHU
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(Washington, D.C., November 8, 2018) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today praised proposed rulemaking by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), which could help farmers advertise job openings to domestic workers as required under the H-2A visa program. The DOL rulemaking would require that employers seeking to hire temporary workers post the employment opportunities online, rather than in expensive newspapers advertisements reaching a limited audience. This is an early step in H-2A regulatory reforms as promised in May in a joint statement of the Secretaries of Agriculture, Labor, State, and Homeland Security.
Secretary Perdue issued the following statement:
“When I travel around the country, one of the biggest concerns farmers raise is the shortage of legal farm labor. Our farmers and ranchers are the most productive in the world, and they want to obey immigration law. Where American workers are not available, farmers turn to the H-2A program that is overly bureaucratic and cost prohibitive. Using regulations like this is one way to modernize H-2A to reach more American workers, while providing relief to farmers from one of the high costs of the program. It’s good to see the federal government using 21st Century technology, rather than being limited to placing notices in the want ads.
“H-2A reforms can chip around the edges of the labor shortage problem, but it will take action from Congress to address it fully. I applaud Secretary Acosta and urge members of Congress to redouble their efforts to help our farmers find the workers they need to continue to feed, fuel, and clothe the United States and the world.”
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