PhotoDude.com

Wed. Oct 09, 2002

Melting Pot Boils Over in Maine

Melting Pot Boils Over in Maine"Leaders of the city’s fledgling Somali community called Mayor Laurier Raymond a racist and a bigot for asking Somalis to stop moving to Lewiston from other parts of the United States [...] During a press conference Monday, Somali leaders called on Raymond to apologize and to retract a letter he wrote last week asking the estimated 1,060 Somalis who have moved to Lewiston since February 2001 to give the city some ’breathing room’ [...] They criticized him for failing to meet with them before writing his letter. They said Raymond would be to blame if some residents in this mostly French-Catholic city saw his letter as license to attack Somalis."

The mayor of a mostly French-Catholic town in the American state of Maine with over 1,000 Somali’s wants to control its ethnic population growth. Am I the only one who sees some irony in that?

"Somali leaders said they cannot tell Somalis to stop moving to Lewiston, especially when many of them are family members and friends looking for a better life, and most of them are legal residents or U.S. citizens free to live where they want."

Damn those freedoms! Damn that centuries old melting pot disrupting the delicate balance and purity of a French Catholic American town in Maine.

Oh, I know, the growth is a strain on the town’s resources and budget (though I would note we’re talking about a less than 3% population growth in one year). We’ve got the same problem here in Atlanta (times ten), but we’re not asking any particular group to leave in order to gain ”breathing room.” And there is another side to that ”resources” argument: "While the city’s general assistance budget has more than doubled to $528,000 over the last year, about half of the estimated 412 Somali adults living in Lewiston are working. Others are taking college courses or language classes. Three Somali-owned stores have opened in less than a year. Many Somalis live in downtown apartments that once were vacant."

In another article the next day, the mayor is still sullenly silent, but other city officials tried to buttress his case. However, in the process, they point out both the real size and source of their dilemma: "[City Administrator James] Bennett noted that the percentage of Somalis receiving general assistance services dropped from 13 percent of general assistance clients in August to 6 percent in September. The number of Somalis applying for general assistance dropped from 72 people in August to 11 people in September."

"Bennett said lawmakers must realize that outdated state and federal funding policies often penalize cities and towns that have attracted immigrants. While federal immigration policy brings in people who need special services, it doesn’t fully compensate cities and towns who must provide those services, he said."

So, it appears the problem isn’t so much the 11 Somali’s who applied for assistance in September, it’s ”lawmakers,” ”outdated state and federal funding policies,” and ”federal immigration policy.” I think the mayor needs to readdress his letter to some folks in Augusta and Washington, DC, if he really wants results of a positive nature.

Peanut Gallery

1  Eric Masek wrote:

Join the fight!

2  Eric Masek wrote:

http://www.savelewiston.com

3  PhotoDude wrote:

Just to make sure there's no misunderstanding about what you're saying for any casual reader, your call to "join the fight" means to join in this racist claptrap, found on the site you linked: AN OPEN LETTER TO THE WHITE EUROPEAN CITIZENS OF LEWISTON AND AUBURN "The people in charge of teaching the non-Whites how to milk our system, and how to keep us on the defensive, have been feeding off of their "Goyim" hosts for centuries. This particular ethnic group has been living as a minority in another people's country for so many generations that it has altered their genes, transforming them into nature's most sophisticated parasites. These "super parasites" are simply unable to stop themselves... it's in the blood. Governor King and your other politicians justify this plan to racially pollute Maine with the argument that the population isn't growing fast enough through natural increase [...] What the Jews have done to Lewiston and are busy doing to the rest of Maine is just one step in their grand scheme for implementing a Final Solution to the Gentile problem. This Final Solution is not being implemented with concentration camps and gas chambers, but with bought politicians, with corrupt preachers, and above all with television and other mass media. It is being implemented by flooding the country -- and every White area inside the country -- with non-Whites and by encouraging miscegenation." Altered their genes? Super parasites? Racially Pollute? Miscegenation? If only you were being satirical, applying the language of hate from the 50's to a current event as an act of irony. That might almost be funny. But you're not. You're serious. You're one shakey half step from getting out the crosses and white sheets. You're a horrific dinosaur-like relic of a time and mindset both long gone by and fully repudiated. With the exception of racists on the lunatic fringe who've forgotten the need to wear a tin foil hat. Like yourself. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to point out your racist smear. And my fondest wish for you is that 10,000 Somali's move to your area. And wherever you might move. Someday, people like you will run out of places to hide from reality. Until then, we'll just point and laugh.

4  Ernesto wrote:

Racism is well and alive...it has been for millenia, and it will continue to exist for millenia. Dubbing the poster a "horrific dinosaur-like relic of a time and mindset both long gone by and fully repudiated" clearly ignores the latter fact. That "time and mindset" is NOT long gone and fully repudiated. This lie is a complete illusion solely fueled by modern liberal media. There is more than meets the eye in current U.S. immigration policies. I should know. As a student of policy and history, I've been studying this particular arena of U.S. political life for five years now. In my opinion, PhotoDude presents an almost ignorant stance. I recommend he pick up a few books on immigration...specifically, immigration post-60s era. There is some truth to that letter you produced from the website.

5  PhotoDude wrote:

So, being against racism, anti-semitism and bigotry represents "an almost ignorant stance"??? And you think there is "some truth" in the viewpoint of the white supremacists? Who is being ignorant?

6  PhotoDude wrote:

And in related news today from Reuters: "Maine Anti-Somali Rally Dwarfed by Rival Protests" -0- Dozens of white supremacists gathered under the watchful eye of the largest law enforcement mobilization in Maine's history on Saturday to protest what they called an "invasion" of the state's second-biggest city by Somali immigrants. [...] Meanwhile, thousands of people, including Maine's governor and its two U.S. senators, attended a rival demonstration a few miles away designed as a show of support for the hundreds of Somalis who have moved to this New England college community. "This rally sends such a powerful message against hatred," Sen. Susan Collins, who was among the estimated 3,400 participants at the pro-diversity rally, told Reuters. -0- "Dozens" versus an "estimated 3,400."

7  cgreene wrote:

While I don't wish to sound argumenitive, the Mayors letter asked the Somali community to slow the move to Lewiston so the resources would be there to help those who had already arrived. Not stop, just slow down. This is a city with a number of different ethnic groups and no economic future. It also has a very high millrate for taxes, no industry, and the somlies have been welcomed to the city. Further more Maine has the highest taxes in the country and lowest pay rate with a population that is smaller then Atlanta. Absorbsion is hard enough with out outsiders trying to make political hay from our problems. In other words "Give Us A Break."

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