Ahora entiendo porque Steve Levy estaba criando una distancia contra la asignación de Marcello Lucero y la expresión racista contra inmigrantes en Long Island. Se parece que Levy ha defendió la percepción que nuevo inmigrantes son la causa de todo los problemas en el EEUU.
No me sorprende que este tipo de racismo existe in la área de Nueva York. En todos mi años en NY yo solo me sentà seguro como Ecuatoriano cuando estaba en la compañÃa de otros raÃces de color. Afuera de esos instantes, siempre he sentido que mi etnicidad ha sido una curiosidad (¿Eres Boricua? ¿Eres Cubano?) o abajo ataque (¿De verdad que eres Latino?). Y eso es con la ventaja que conoce el ingles, que tengo apoyo de mi familia y comunidad, soy educado en ingles, y que he vivido en los EEUU casi todo mi vida. Con todo eso, nunca sentà completamente seguro.
Steve Levy, en sus comentarios del pasado, nunca ayudo los residentes hispano de Suffolk sentir seguro. Y ahora ese ambiente peligroso, ha resultado en la tragedia de Marcello Lucero. La noticia dice que Joselo Lucero, el hermano de Marcello, ha pedido que Levy no asiste las vigilias para su hermano. Bien hecho. Ahora, la comunidad tiene que seguir el ejemplo de Joselo y comenzar reportando los crÃmenes de racismo para que Levy puede ver la realidad y consecuencia de sus acciones.
In Wake of Hate Crime, Suffolk County Exec Backtracks on Remarks
After an Ecuadorean immigrant was stabbed to death, apparently by a group of teens looking to “f— up” Hispanics, in Patchogue, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy denounced the crime but later claimed it was a “one-day story,” suggesting it was getting media attention because of his immigration policies.
Now Levy tells Newsday, “It was absolutely the wrong time for me to suggest that coverage of events in Suffolk is treated differently by the media. The horrible incident is indeed more than a one-day story. It was a reminder of how far we as a society still have to go.”
About Levy’s immigration policies: The NY Times has an editorial about Levy, “Local lawmakers often complain about immigration, but Mr. Levy went much farther than most. He founded a national organization to lobby for crackdowns… He tried to deputize county police to make immigration arrests and to rid the county work force of employees without papers. He sought to drive day laborers from local streets, yet rigidly opposed efforts to create hiring sites… He denounces racist hatred, yet his words have made him a hero in pockets of Long Island where veins of racism run deep.”
CNN Commentary: No time for hate
When tragedy strikes, there are always those who look for someone to blame. In Suffolk County, local activists are blaming public officials who have crusaded against illegal immigration to score political points with their constituents.
The anti-immigrant atmosphere was something even the presidential candidates talked about. Earlier this year, Barack Obama pointed to comments by radio and television hosts critical of immigration. “A certain segment has basically been feeding a kind of xenophobia,” he told supporters at a Palm Beach, Florida, fundraiser, tying that sentiment to an increase in hate crimes against Hispanics.
In an interview just before the election, Sen. John McCain told me that there have always been those who stoke fears that American culture and the English language are on their way out.
Meanwhile, Lucero’s mother still can’t believe what happened to her son — or why it happened. She told a reporter that she doesn’t understand the hate. “We are human beings,” she said. Some people seem to have forgotten that fact.
New York Times Editorial: The High Cost of Harsh Words
Words have consequences. Steve Levy, the Suffolk County executive, is learning that the hard way during a horrible week. Seven teenagers were arrested and charged in the fatal stabbing last Saturday of Marcello Lucero, an Ecuadorean immigrant, on a street in the Long Island village of Patchogue.
The apparent lynching caused shock and anger across the country. Politicians, religious leaders and villagers gathered Wednesday in Patchogue to console the victim’s relatives and to condemn racial hatred. Mr. Lucero’s brother, Joselo, spoke movingly in English and Spanish of how strangers’ words of support had made him feel like part of a larger family.
Mr. Levy was not there. He later called Joselo Lucero, who asked him to please stay away from public remembrances.
Mr. Levy’s past harsh words and actions against undocumented workers have now left him cornered with a tragically limited ability to lead the county in confronting a brutal act that surely pains him as much as anyone.
Local lawmakers often complain about immigration, but Mr. Levy went much farther than most. He founded a national organization to lobby for crackdowns. He went on “Lou Dobbs.†He tried to deputize county police to make immigration arrests and to rid the county work force of employees without papers. He sought to drive day laborers from local streets, yet rigidly opposed efforts to create hiring sites. Even as tensions simmered in places like Farmingville, a hot spot for anti-immigrant resentment, Mr. Levy would not budge.
1,000 jam Patchogue street to honor slain immigrant
Holding candles and waving signs proclaiming “we are all immigrants,” more than 1,000 people jammed a Patchogue street Friday night to honor an Ecuadorean man killed there six days earlier.
As speakers decried the stabbing of Marcelo Lucero, 38, many in the crowd talked about what they called entrenched racism on Long Island – especially Suffolk.
Wearing buttons with Marcelo’s name, immigrants from Central and South America who are usually in the shadows poured onto Railroad Avenue to hug each other and let loose frustration and anger. The immigrants said Long Islanders are eager for low-wage landscapers and dishwashers but complain about the cost of services for them.
The crowd also included whites and ranged from babies to grandparents, standing shoulder to shoulder and chanting “no more hate.”
And the best they could come up with was “odio no es chevere”? WTF? Thanks for the well-researched post.
Thanks for reading, Elena.
We can only hope (and work towards) something more positive than an ad campaign coming from all this.