Obama Reassures Latinos on Swine Flu Epidemic
4:35 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Health|Immigration|mexico|Obama|Politics
8 May 2009
As the swine flu hysteria appears to be losing momentum, President Obama reached out to the Latino community today via Latino health professionals in a town hall style meeting with the aim of reassuring Latinos that the epidemic will not lead to discrimination. AP reports:
President Barack Obama sought Friday to reassure Hispanics that swine flu won’t lead to an epidemic of discrimination in the United States just because Mexico has been the epicenter of the outbreak.
At a town hall-style meeting at the White House, Obama told about 130 Latino public health professionals and neighborhood volunteers that the nation’s plan to fight the flu will not exclude their communities. Even if some residents are here illegally, they will still be able to get medical care for the flu, administration officials assured the group.
“We’re one country, we’re one community. When one person gets sick, that has the potential of making us all sick,” Obama said. “We can’t be divided by communities.”
I think it’s interesting that Obama chose to specifically address the Latino community on this issue right now. What do you think is behind this? Just a good excuse to do a bit more courtship?
Via / AP
Hola!
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13 Responses to Obama Reassures Latinos on Swine Flu Epidemic
Maegan La Mala
May 8th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
I haven’t seen the video from the event yet, pero did he address the way Latinos are scapegoated in relation to the swine flu?
Jen
May 8th, 2009 at 11:13 pm
i couldn’t find the video either, let’s check it out when it surfaces…
SA
May 9th, 2009 at 6:05 am
“President Barack Obama sought Friday to reassure Hispanics that swine flu won’t lead to an epidemic of discrimination in the United States just because Mexico has been the epicenter of the outbreak.”
But – that’s already happenned.
SA
May 9th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
William, I agree that that anti-Semitic scapegoating is a serious problem, and I’m sure Ms. La Mala does too. That doesn’t mean anti-Latin@ scapegoating is ok, or that people shouldn’t talk about it. Two things can be wrong and we don’t have to choose which one to oppose.
Maegan La Mala
May 9th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Ay whenever I write about anti-Latino hate/scapegoating William comes to scream “What about the Jews?” As if there were no Jewish Latinos or because I focus on Latino issues here (since it is a Latino site).
That’s what I have to say about that
William
May 10th, 2009 at 10:37 am
no, Ms. La Mala condemns hate crimes in the US against all POC and the LBGT community and all other communities except Jews. She gave a very light denounciation (I really would not call it a denounciation) when a Synagague was attacked in Caracas.
Ms. La Mala hates Israel (Jews) with all the fibers of her body and looks the other way in this rising tide of global anti-Semitism that we have not seen since the 1930s.
la Macha
May 10th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
blah blah blah blah blah on and on and on and on blah blah blah blah…..
la Macha
May 10th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
p.s Israel=/=jews.
kaithnxbai!
Maegan La Mala
May 10th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
William, I love how you speak as if I am not in this space. No sexism/racism there, speaking about me in the third person.
See since when does Israel = all Jews? That’s some interesting math.
Again I love how you don’t address the possibilities of intersections. It’s a zero sum game to you huh?
william
May 10th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Ms. La Mala:
I will address you directly. Perhaps the next time you set out to save the world from Racism, Sexism and Homophobia, you will examine your own anti-Semitism. Just as you (rightfully) accuse right wing immigrant bashers of fueling hate crimes against Latinos and other immigrants of color, your false accusations on the state of Israel also fuel violent hate crimes against Jews.
You say that Israel does not equal all Jews. You are admitting that you have significant problems with some degree of the Jewish community. Are you saying that you don’t like Jews who suppor Israel’s right to exist?
Jewish people are not a monolith, they are hated by the right (Pat Buchanan, David Duke, Joseph Sobran etc….) and by the Left as well. I believe the American Jewish Congress and the anti-Defemation League have done a solid job condeming immigrant bashing.
Now, as I said before you condemn hate crimes against communities of color, the LGBT community and against Arabs and Muslims, but not against Jews.
Finally, I agree with you that the hate crimes against the Latinos that you posted earlier are heinous, but are the lives of Daniel Pearl and Ilan Halimi, and less important than the victims you mentioned?
Maegan La Mala
May 11th, 2009 at 5:54 am
William, I have a feeling that no matter what I say, unless I beat myself with an anti-Semite stick, this conversation won’t get too far or be genuine since you have done nothing but attack me.
That said, I have no problem with the right of Israel to exist. I do have a problem with the idea that Israel has the right to exist while denying Palestinians water. Not a false accusation. I was just reading reports on this past weekend.That’s just an example. That’s not Anti-Semitism. That’s questioning colonialism and issues of power over.
The thing is I don’t see the lives of Daniel Pearl and Ilan Halimi painted as less valuable. Their deaths were horrible and deserve outcry against, but what happened with the deaths of Pearl and Halimi, is that they were then used to justify hate against all Muslims and in the case of Halimi, specifically Muslims inside a European country.
We have to be cautious about trying to play that whose life is more valuable game. It’s not one that anyone can win.
la Macha
May 11th, 2009 at 6:34 am
maegan, I would say that william is banned under several names and keeps posting under new names in an attempt to get posted. william clearly cares very deeply about the lives of certain people. there is no problem or shame in that, I respect and honor that he cares deeply enough to advocate for the lives of people he loves and cares about.
however. he needs to start his own blog and write about those lives on that blog. just as we have done here. because in his “ms maegan sux” bs, he is detracting from OUR work to bring attention to latino issues.
Maegan La Mala
May 11th, 2009 at 6:43 am
Yeah, you are right. He keeps using different IP’s as well. I am noticing. Agreed