All jokes are not created equal. When Republican Kansas State Representative Virgil Peck stated that it may be a good idea to control illegal immigration the way the feral hog population has been controlled with hunters shooting from helicopters, he was likely joking.
Unfortunately within that joke he released not only his intrinsic prejudices but his now exposed belief that immigrants crossing the border are less than human. This should not be at all surprising given the faction of the Republican Party now in control. After-all, he is a politician that represents a party that would kill the living to protect the unborn. Extrapolating it to illegal immigrants is not all that difficult.
President GW Bush made a concerted effort to court Hispanics. Though his policies disproportionately affected Hispanics; that was more because of the relative socio economic condition of Hispanics relative to the majority population. He was not making them an overt target. In fact the middle class as a whole became his target of destruction.
The current crop of Republicans is waging war on Hispanic immigrants specifically. This is a carnal response of those who see Hispanics as the one force that will ultimately lead to the population dilution completely making our melting pot more than a phrase.
This new Republican Party is a danger to the country for two reasons. It supports the removal of rights using sophisticated Jim Crowe methods as seen in some legislatures creating bills to make voting more difficult. Secondly as a wholly owned subsidiary to Corporate America it implicitly is destroying the middle class.
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Bipartisan backlash follows state rep’s ‘joke’ on shooting immigrants
By the CNN Wire Staff
March 17, 2011 1:37 p.m. EDT
Topeka, Kansas (CNN) — A Kansas state lawmaker was silent Thursday regarding a controversial remark he made suggesting that unauthorized immigrants should be shot.
State Rep. Virgil Peck, a Republican, declined to talk to a CNN en Español journalist who was waiting for him at his office Thursday. On Monday, Peck made headlines when, during an appropriations committee meeting, he made a reference to an agricultural program that controls the state’s feral hog population by shooting them from helicopters.
"Looks like to me, if shooting these immigrating feral hogs works, maybe we have found a (solution) to our illegal immigration problem," Peck said.
The comments sparked the ire of people and officials from Kansas to the Washington, but Peck has been largely tight-lipped about his remarks.
He initially said he was joking, and then released a terse, two-sentence statement saying, "My statements (Monday) were regrettable. Please accept my apology."
When asked for additional comment on the controversy Thursday, Peck gave CNN a printed copy of the statement.
U.S. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, D-Texas, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said he was dismayed by the statement.
"His comments were dehumanizing and inappropriate and have no place in our national discourse," Gonzalez said. "They are also counterproductive to having a responsible debate, have the potential to result in regrettable consequences and could incite prejudices and biases that are harmful to our nation."
Bipartisan backlash follows state rep’s ‘joke’ on shooting immigrants – CNN.com##