Posted on by Californiacontrarian

Racist or Realist?

The other day while reading our local paper I found myself wondering, “Am I a racist?” I do not think that I am, as I have contributed money to and mentored students at an Hispanic school in San Diego over the last several years.
Why would I ask myself that question? Let me explain.
In the ‘Local’ section, three stories caught my attention as two were featured stories on consecutive pages.
The first was under “Most Wanted” with headline that said, “Man Accused of Lewd Acts with Child.” Although I am usually not interested in articles with this type of headline, the picture of the accused, Bartoleme Rojas, 42, drew my attention. As I read on, it was noted that there was an outstanding  felony arrest warrant for Mr. Rojas and that he was “believed to be a transient in Poway.” This is a bit strange as Poway, California is not a town that I would think has a lot of “transients.” I immediately inferred that Mr. Rojas was probably an illegal . . . “a transient in Poway ??”
Racist or Realist?
The next article involved a documented gang member, Dionicio Torres, 24, who says that he was shooting at rival gang members who had been tagging a complex where he lived. Unfortunately one of the shots he fired killed an innocent bystander who happened to be driving by. This occurred in Escondido, California, a city north of San Diego that has a significant number of illegals living there. Is Mr. Torres an illegal? Should this thought have crossed my mind?
Racist or Realist?
The third article was about a trial of a man accused of purposely running down a police officer in Oceanside, California. Apparently in a taped conversation with an undercover officer and an informant in the jail after his arrest, Roberto Flores, 26, bragged that he did it, intended to do it, and wasn’t sorry about it. He also apparently stated that he targeted the police officer because he was law enforcement! I wondered, ” Is Mr. Flores, a legal resident of the U.S.?”
Racist or Realist?
We’re my suspicions about Mr. Torres and Mr. Flores prompted subconsciously by the prior reference to Mr. Rojas as “a transient in Poway?” Am I a Racist or a Realist?
Can those of us who live in California be Realists without being Racist?
Unfortunately, after the recent passage of California Senate Bill 54, the answer is “YES”!!

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