November 23, 2006 5:55 AM

Yeah, I know...it's all the fault of the evil Brown People

Backers hope laws reverse suburb’s decline: Farmers Branch residents say a ‘different element’ is moving into town near Dallas

FARMERS BRANCH — When the supermarket closed last spring, adding to the empty storefronts in the main shopping hub, it was a sure sign to some here that their suburb was in decline….”This area used to be nice, but it’s slowly going down,” said Rose Brunner, 80, a retired secretary who has lived in Farmers Branch for 50 years. “It’s not as nice as it used to be.”….Brunner thinks she knows who is to blame: In the past several years her street has filled with Spanish-speaking newcomers, which has prompted some longtime neighbors with higher incomes to sell out and flee. So last week, Brunner was among those who cheered as this city of 27,000 on Dallas’ northern edge passed several measures aimed at discouraging illegal immigration.

Ah, the rancid stench of latent racism. Yep, that smell should tell you that we’re in Texas, where we just LOVE our Brown People…just as long as they remember their place- mow our lawns, pickup our garbage, build our roads and houses…and then go away. We don’t want to see you, smell you, or listen to your non-English rapid-fire gibberish.

I suppose we should be giving kudos to the good, God-fearing White Folk of Farmers Branch for having the courage to openly and unashamedly put their racism and hatred of Brown People out there for everyone to see. Most Texans prefer their racism subtle and implied; the good people of Farmers Branch put theirs right out there, front and center, unmistakenly staking out their little piece of God’s Country as the domain of White folk.

I’m sure that Farmers Branch was a much better and cleaner place before the Brown People moved in. For Christ’s sakes, they don’t even speak English. ‘Course, they do take care of the menial labor that is beneath the good, God-fearing White folk of Farmers Branch…but do they really have to live here after they’re finished picking up our garbage?

The anti-illegal-immigration push, which put Farmers Branch among just a handful of towns to officially wade into the national immigration debate, took root in a community undergoing rapid demographic changes while at the same time grappling with economic challenges as an aging “first ring” suburb.

Proponents say cracking down on illegal residents is part of a broader effort to revitalize a city that some say is in decline.

Yeah, and the decline is the fault of the Brown People? Jeebus, why don’t the good people of Farmers Branch just put up a sign at the city limits that says:

YEAH, WE’RE RACISTS…AND WE’RE PROUD OF IT! WANNA DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT?

The problem here is that Farmers Branch wants the benefits of cheap, menial labor without the inconvenience of actually having to rub elbows with those providing that cheap, menial labor. What’s next? Segregated water fountains?

Although the number of undocumented residents is unknown, 25 percent of Farmers Branch residents are foreign-born, according to the 2000 Census.

Hispanics made up 8.2 percent of the town’s population in 1980; 20 percent in 1990; and 37 percent in 2000, according to census data. City officials estimate that figure is now more than 40 percent.

Much of the city, which stretches along the northern edge of LBJ Freeway, was built in the 1950s and 1960s. And as original residents have died or moved away, their modest post-war homes have been affordable enough to attract blue-collar Hispanic buyers.

“They’re small, 1,100-square-foot, one-car-garage places built cheaply because after the war they whipped them right out,” said Farmers Branch building official Jim Oak. More than 60 percent of the housing in the town is at least 40 years old, he said.

Of course, I realize that the “official” argument here is illegal immigration. Unfortunately, that’s not at all what this is really about. Legal Americans of Hispanic descent will, and probably should, interpret the Farmers Branch ordinance for what it truly is- a slap in their face. Though the ordinance is nominally about illegal immigration, Hispanics will undoubtedly see it as a statement by the majority White population that Hispanics are and always will be second-class citizens in their eyes.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on November 23, 2006 5:55 AM.

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