JACKSON - Now that a measure of progress has been made in race relations between blacks and whites in Mississippi, it seems some among us are encouraging new avenues for racism, bigotry and adding a side order of misplaced nationalism.
Before you lean back on your heels and pop off about "America first" and complain about "the foreigners" among us, perhaps you might want to ask yourself a few questions.
Who's going to do the jobs in Mississippi now being performed by immigrant laborers - hard, dirty work like poultry and catfish farming and processing, laboring in the sweet potato fields or on tree planting crews, or restaurant and domestic work?
You? Your neighbors? Someone else in your community? Mississippi's native, home-grown poor population?
The recent firings of 200 Hispanic undocumented or illegal immigrant workers at the Peco Foods poultry plant in Canton has produced a predictable response from those who hold wholesale resentment for the mere presence of Mississippi's fastest-growing minority group.
Scott County, where I live, is one of the state's largest destinations for immigrant laborers because of the region's large poultry industry. I've seen the challenges faced by Hispanics first hand. And it's past time to separate fact from fiction regarding these hard-working, decent fellow human beings.
Myth No. 1: Hispanic workers are beating native Mississippians out of much needed jobs.
Not so. The industries cited above have had difficulty hiring a sufficient number of Mississippians to perform the labor they need. Bottom line, Hispanic laborers are clamoring for low-wage, low-skill jobs in these industries that native Mississippians simply won't take.
Myth No. 2: Hispanic workers are unruly troublemakers and frequently in trouble with the law.
Not so. In Scott County, per capita incidences of Hispanic crime vs. white or black crimes are far lower. The same is true statewide.
Myth No. 3: Hispanic workers choose to live in squalor.
Not so. Most immigrant workers - particularly those recruited by out-of-state labor recruiters with promises of jobs, lodging and transportation in Mississippi - are being victimized by unscrupulous recruiters and landlords.
Myth No. 4: Hispanic workers aren't good citizens.
Bull. Most workers live on 20 percent of their pay and send the rest home to their families in their home countries. They work, they eat, they sleep and on the weekend they seek recreation or religion or both.
Clearly, there are legitimate concerns about the decisions America makes about our borders and who can legally cross them and when. There are also legitimate concerns about the easy flow of illegal immigrants into the country.
But many of the Hispanic workers now in Mississippi came here legally and have continued to work and assimilate into communities legally.
Hispanic residents of Mississippi deserve to be treated fairly and with dignity. They deserve the protection of the law from unscrupulous landlords, fly-by-night labor recruiters and employers who take advantage of them.
If human rights and decency don't appeal to you, how about avarice? How much do you want to pay for your next chicken or catfish or sweet potato?
Hispanic laborers desperate to feed their families back home keep the price of feeding your family here lower.
So instead of insulting and deriding them, you might want to cut them a little slack.
