Current+Occurrence

=RACIAL TENSION IN LOS ANGELES (BLACKS VS. LATINOS)=

===Even though the novel Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain was written almost 200 years ago, the same issues still occur today. Racial discrimination existed, exists, and will exist as long as there are different colored-skins and racial backgrounds. The usual racist case in the United States has been whites against blacks. Surprisingly there is and emerging rivalry between two racial minorities in the U.S. Over the past few years tensions have developed into violence between Latinos and African-Americans. There have been numerous reports about hostilities between these races in schools, prisons, and public streets. Most of these feuds have been antagonized by gangsters from both sides. Unfortunately gangsters and aggressive students haven’t been the only victims, but innocent citizens including children and women as well. Something must be done by the government or Latino and African-American leaders in an effort to compromise and reach a durable peace between the two races, before it gets out of hand and turns into a relentless Civil War!===

November, 2006:
===“In November, three Latino gang members received sentences of life in federal prison for crimes that included the murder of two black men — one waiting for a bus, another searching for a parking spot — and assaults on others in a conspiracy to intimidate black residents of a northeast Los Angeles neighborhood.” (http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=51559http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=51559http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=51559)===

January 16, 2007:
===“THE ACRIMONIOUS relationship between Latinos and African Americans in Los Angeles is growing hard to ignore… The Dec. 15 murder in the Harbor Gateway neighborhood of Cheryl Green, a 14-year-old African American, allegedly by members of a Latino gang, was shocking… Ethnic and racial tension comes to Los Angeles as regularly as the Santa Ana winds… tension had grown so severe that blacks and Latinos formed a dividing line on a street that both sides understood never to cross and a small market was unofficially declared off-limits to blacks” (http://www.alipac.us/article1824.htmlhttp://www.alipac.us/article1824.htmlhttp://www.alipac.us/article1824.html)=== ===It now seems like even Latinos have adopted a custom of the old and now scarce, but still current American Society. Many Latino gang-members have called out a war against African-American gangsters and even innocent citizens. The reasons for this renewed hostility against African-Americans are somewhat similar to those of about 150 years ago. These ignorant Latinos seem to despise African Americans merely because of their skin color. Another reason is for the competition of the acquisition of jobs. In general, underprivileged Latinos and African-Americans compete for a similar, low paying, “blue-collar” job. It seems like Latinos want to eliminate the competition in order to help their community and race thrive at the cost of the African American race. However, it is not the Latino population in general that is responsible for these racist actions, it is only the ignorant and rebellious gang members who have been on an upsurge in an effort to intimidate, and oppress these innocent African-Americans. Latinos rebels want to believe they are superior to these “blacks” and want to establish their supposed supremacy through violence and murders. A large number of these extremely hostile and hazardous criminals are members of the infamous and expanding gang called “Mara Salvatrucha 13” (MS 13). Another theory to the cause of this mounting issue includes the resentfulness of African-Americans towards Latinos for the granting of Civil Rights instigated by the Civil Rights Movement. However the most reasonable explanation for the hostility of Latinos over African-Americans is derived from the early stages of the American Continents about 300 years ago. The exportation of slaves to Latin America was immense because of the morally wrong influence of the Spanish. The number of slaves in Latin America during the 1790’s was about 370,000! Even after the abolition of slaves in Latin America, this great theory of white supremacy spread and still exists today. The main reason for the socially incorrect beliefs of both Latinos and African-Americans regarding the other’s culture is the failure to try to live together in a community and socially interact with each other. This failure of interracial correlation causes mishaps, indifference, and most of all lack of understanding of the opposite race. The main cause for the continuation of these bias beliefs and violence is the misunderstanding of each other’s races, culture, and motives.===

Relevance to Huckleberry Finn:
===If Mark Twain was alive today he could and probably would satirize these unfortunate events of racism. In his novel he thoroughly satirized the harsh treatment of slaves. Anti-black sentiments still exist to this day. In this case he would probably satirize that both African-Americans and Latinos fought for their acquisition of Civil Rights and equality with the whites. Now that they gained these crucial rights they turn against each other and engage in violence in order to intimidate one another. Basically they have done to each other the same that the whites did to them, which was discriminate them because of their racial background and skin color. With their aggressive actions and behavior, these two minorities in the U.S., contradict what they have been fighting for since the abolition of slavery!===