For those who still needed convincing, recent headlines have proven that cultural tensions with regard to Latinos continue to thrive far north of the Mexican-American border. National news services have made Hamilton, Ohio the new epicenter of the country’s recurring multiculturalism debate. The small town’s relatively peaceful coexistence between its white and (burgeoning) Latino populations was recently disrupted after a Hispanic man was accused of raping a 9-year-old girl in June. Soon after, various upstanding Ohioans responded by donning the latest Klan couture in protest, while others were content with setting the suspect’s house ablaze.

But perhaps our neighborhood vigilantes should relax, for it seems there is no shortage of Ohio Republicans willing to solve the conflict via the ol’ conservative one-two punch: 1) instill fear, then 2) introduce the ensuing ethnocentric legislation. State Representative Courtney Combs (one of Hamilton’s own) has already staked his own claim for validation in the wake of the recent furor. By proposing the Ohio English Unity Act — a bill that would establish English as the state’s official language– two months before the alleged rape, Combs feels justified in performing some serious political finger-waving:

“Everyone speaking a common language would not have prevented the rape because that is a separate act that has nothing to do with race or culture,” Combs said. “But, it might have helped to quell some of the social unrest had the neighbors in that community been able to talk to each other.”

Because, of course, folks wearing KKK masks are renowned for their well-honed arbitration skills. Combs’ drive to single out Spanish-speakers for further ostracism is a peculiar way of initiating the healing process. The fact that several of his fist-clenched constituents can so quickly compartmentalize such crimes along lines of race and culture points toward the underlying problem of melting pot ideology: some ingredients in the stew are systematically forced to (and kept at) the bottom of the pan. The English language, Combs insists, will present a cure-all for Ohio’s impoverished Spanish-speakers — no word yet on how thousands of Latinos are supposed to learn it, or how the attitudes of Hamilton’s arsonists and their ilk are expected to change as a result.

-Nathan Titman, Clamor Intern

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 19th, 2005 at 2:44 pm by Jason Kucsma. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.