Note the tone of this AP piece: in spite of the flu and other negative results, there is a clear assumption that it is wrong for European Americans to express disapproval or issue less than stellar remarks toward sick illegal Mexican interlopers. Even the title implies as much. A classic case of flatulent journalism.–Ed.
The swine flu virus has infected the immigration debate, with talkshow comments like “fajita flu” and “illegal aliens are the carriers”drawing vehement protests from Hispanic advocates.
The volatile immigration issue had cooled off on talk shows and in the blogosphere as the presidential election and economic crisis unfolded. Now, some are using the spread of the virus to renew arguments that immigration from Mexico is a threat to America.
Therehave been no reports of swine flu leading to incidents ofdiscrimination or profiling of Hispanics. But some Hispanics say racistanti-immigration rhetoric fueled the recent rise in hate crimes againstLatinos, and they want to prevent another surge.
Since the virus began to spread, talk radio host Michael Savage has said the Mexican border should be closed immediately and that “illegal aliens are the carriers.” Another radio personality, Neal Boortz,has suggested calling the virus the “fajita flu,” and CNN’s Lou Dobbscalled it the “Mexican flu,” according to the liberal watchdog group Media Matters.
Boston radio host Jay Severinwas suspended indefinitely for calling Mexican immigrants”criminaliens” and emergency rooms “condos for Mexicans” during adiscussion about swine flu. A member of a New York City commission onwomen’s issues, Betsy Perry, apologized for blogging that Mexico mightneed to “get a grip on its banditos” and other flu-related remarks.
In an interview, Savage, who says he has a Ph.D in epidemiology and human nutrition from the University of California-Berkeley, said his remarks were based on science.
“Thefirst rule of epidemiology is to find the epicenter of the disease andclose it off,” he said. “This has nothing to do with race andeverything to do with epidemiology. Viruses do not discriminate.”