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Ice Cube is Right About Oprah
Shows bias against
black men
■v B oyce W atkins
The O prah W infrey
shów is catered to an
audience that d o esn 't
have much respect for
black men, especially
rappers like Ice Cube.
I am not sure if it’s
because o f her difficult
childhood. But most o f
her show s featuring
black men tend to con­
sist o f either men who
w e re s e c r e tly g a y ,
cheating on their wives,
or have com m itted ter­
rible crim es again st
women. I shudder to
wonder what the soc­
cer mom in the middle
o f Idaho thinks after
w atching one o f her
shows. The only excep­
tions to this rule are individuals like Denzel
W ashington or Chris Rock, whom she
has approved of because o f their rela­
tively safe dem eanor.
lune 07, 2006
1 am waiting for a show that shows how
black men are ju st regular people. She
also doesn’t seem to have much inter­
est in supporting black men or the causes
that affect us most. H aving someone
like Ice Cube on the show can motivate
young black men to becom e successful
entrepreneurs. Instead, she seems to be
seeking out the next Dr. Phil.
Many people forget where they come
from and forget to help others. W infrey
is right there with Bill
Gates when it com es to
using her wealth for
the good o f the world.
I d o n ’t agree with her
all the tim e, but the
world is better off with
O prah W infrey.
By having IceC ube
as her guest, she can
show her audience the
“scary black m an” and
m ake the point that he
is ju st like they are. Ice
C ube’s family films are
entertainm ent for ev ­
eryone, not ju st black males.
uvly
¿ qo H-
I am waiting
fo r a show that
shows how
black men are
just regular
people.
Boyce Watkins is a professor at Syra­
cuse University and author o f "What if
George Bush were a Black Man?”
Mexico Needs Improved Economy
Not border
fences, soldiers
by
Rosalie Tucker
PCC Transfer Student
Jack Kent Cooke Scholar
Transferring to UCLA World Arts
and Culture Program
R egister now for sum m er classes.
503*977-4519
Portland
Community
Col logo
J udge G reg M athis
On a recent trip to the U.S.,
outgoing Mexican President
Vicente Fox said that by im­
proving the Mexican economy,
Mexico itself can play a critical
role in regulating the migration
of its citizens to the U.S.
Let’s take it one step further
by working with Mexico to de­
velop a comprehensive plan for
im proving its
econom y, the
U.S. can begin to
lift the economic
burden this long­
standing immigra­
tion issue has had
on our society.
Mexico’s big­
gest industry, af­
ter petroleum, is
its migrant workers. It's under­
standable that Mexican immi­
grants would want to come here
to work. Experts say business
monopolies have slowed the
country' s econom ic growth and
increased the divide between
the wealthy and the poor. Work
is scarce and wages low. Cur­
rently, nearly half of Mexico’s
106 million people live in pov­
erty. A Mexican worker can
make significantly more work­
ing labor jobs here in the U.S.
We re all about
your future.
w w w .p c c .e d u
SEASONS
than they can at home.
Despite some recent growth
in the Mexican economy, Fox
has not been able to make good
on his campaign promise to cre­
ate millions of new jobs. The
U.S. government can work with
Mexico’s next president to de­
velop a plan for improving the
economy, reducing those cor­
porate monopolies, ereatingjobs
and expanding access to quality
education for Mexican citizens.
By taking these steps, the
U.S. can reduce M exico's de­
mists do agree, however, that
a stronger M exican economy
is a critical first step in easing
the flow of immigrants into the
U.S.
More jobs in Mexico means
fewer Mexicans will have to
leave their homes to earn money
to feed their families. Working
hand in hand with Mexico should
prove cost-effective for the U.S.
as well: the tab for staffing the
border with armed guards and
building and maintaining hun­
dreds of miles of fencing will
More jobs in Mexico means
fewer Mexicans will have to
leave their homes to earn
money to feed their families
pendency on our economy. Cur­
rently, more than 90-percent of
Mexican goods are exported to
the U.S. - and, ultimately, re­
duce the number of immigrants
that cross our borders.
From President Bush’s pro­
posal to send 6,000 troops to
patrol the Mexican border, to a
bill that would allow the con­
struction of fencing along that
border, the debate over how the
flood of Mexican immigrants
into the U.S. should be con­
trolled has heated up and is near­
ing its boiling point.
Very few truly believe that
fencing and armed soldiers are
going to stop the truly deter­
mined from finding their way
into this country. Most econo­
Ì
add up over time. The money
we save could be put towards
any number of social programs
in this country.
Though many are concerned
that the U.S. plays "big brother’
to too many countries, it makes
sense that we would take the
lead here: if Mexico’s economy
doesn’t improve, we’ll continue
to lose American jobs to cheap,
m igrant labor. By helping
Mexico now, we’ll improve the
health of our own economy
down the road.
Judge Greg Mathis is na­
tional vice president o f Rain­
bow PU SH and a national
board member o f the South­
ern Christian Leadership Con­
fere n c e.
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