His Panic: Why Americans Fear Hispanics in the U.S. by Geraldo Rivera
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Book Reviews of His Panic: Why Americans Fear Hispanics in the U.S.
Book Review: This is a solidly written book that does leave out some crucial details.
Summary: 4 Stars
I would like to weigh in on this discussion because I find the book that Mr. Rivera has put out highly informative as well as provocative. Our nation is facing a new set of challenges as we progress deeper in to the new century. Many Americans are ridiculously absent from our nation's political debates. The failures of the Republican party are being glanced over by sycophants such as Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, and countless others. In order to cover up the sheer criminality of the last 8 years of incompetence they have spun the narrative of the vicious illegal alien who is here to rape and pillage. Mr. Rivera I believe is merely attempting to remove some of the unnecessary harshness that is being thrown on to a mostly hardworking, kind people. Is he as thorough as one could be on the subject? No, but you try and write a 272 pg. book and cover all the sides as graciously as he did. As far as some of the generalizations that are being made I would like to remind most of you that your forefathers emigrated here illegally as well. Back before information could be tracked and most people were born out of hospital a person could just cross our border from any place and set up residence. There was absolutely no way to verify a person (who for the exception of the Asians were usually ethnic whites)citizenship status and as such the issue was never pursued. There are many cuases and once you take on Mr. Rivera's perspective you can see that the true culprit is free trade and greedy corporations, not merely the immigrants themselves. I think that some of you should be ashamed by your behavior on this site. If you want to copy and paste something, why not copy and paste all 40+ pages of my master's thesis (which I paid for myself!!!). As an American of Dominican descent I served my nation's military with pride (in order for you to exercise the right to trash my family's culture and traditions)something that some of you may not understand. Book Review: Good But Lacking - I Actually Read the Book
Summary: 4 Stars
This is Geraldo's attempt to address the anti-immigrant hatred and paranoia. After his infamous April 2007 confrontation with Bill O'Reilly, Geraldo noticed how vitriolic attacks, myths and outright lies shaped the immigration debate in the nation.
Most striking is that Geraldo honestly admits the bad and the ugly with respect to Hispanics. With respect to gangs, Geraldo openly and honestly admits that in some areas Hispanic gangs are a "severe and undeniable problem". He openly admits that some gangs have targeted black people specifically because of their race. He admits that immigrant labor lowers the wages of low end jobs. He admits that Hispanic performance in education is not admirable. The honesty in this book is refreshing.
This is not a hit piece. It doesn't dissect the words of Dobbs, Tancredo and Gilchrist taking comments out of context with the intent to insult individuals. Although this book is written to criticize the paranoid, radical anti-immigration leftist dogma, the book also explores what Geraldo refers to as America's "honorable tradition of open-minded welcome" of immigrants. He provides examples of citizens who appreciate immigrants, cherish the contributions they make to society and make efforts to accommodate them.
What is most evident in this book is the contrast between Geraldo's perspective and that of anti-immigration fanatics. Tancredo sees poor, brown skinned people in Miami and declares it a third world country [It's not a country; it's a city, but nevertheless]. In contrast Geraldo sees homes where parents hug their children, where men and women go to work, where friends play basketball or soccer together, where young lovers hold hands and where young and old like to take an occasional afternoon off to go fishing.
In addressing illegal immigration, Geraldo makes some suggestions that are somewhat more level-headed that those of the anti-immigration fanatics. Instead of criminalizing conduct that is otherwise lawful and hunting down hardworking laborers whose only desire is to work for a living, Geraldo suggests allocating resources towards targeting gangs and terrorists. Geraldo ponders: Is America safer now that Elvira Arellano has been deported? Whose life is enhanced as a result?
Where the book falls short is where Geraldo only dabbles in addressing the outright spreading of lies about immigrants. A major contributor to the hate towards Hispanics in this country is the networks of propaganda machines that spread lies and deceive even well intentioned individuals. Maybe Geraldo doesn't spend much time surfing the web and doesn't know about the 2006 INS/FBI report [the INS didn't exist in 2006, there was no 2006 INS/FBI report and the facts that people said were in said report were all fabricated]. About every year they come up with a list of facts [sic] that are either outright lies, generous estimates or actual facts that are twisted to exaggerate the adverse effects of immigrants. Even the otherwise reputable American Legion has been deceived by some of these lies.
Book Review: Geraldo Rivera presents the flip side of the great immigration debate
Summary: 4 Stars
As the 2008 presidential election draws near what to do about illegal immigration has become one of the hottest issues on the campaign trail.
Conservative talk show hosts all over America have been fueling much of the hysteria surrounding this issue and as a result reasonable solutions to the problem appear to be more elusive than ever. Earlier this year Fox News commentator Geraldo Rivera released "His Panic: Why Americans Fear Hispanics in the U.S". Being of Puerto Rican descent and having spent decades as a working journalist, it seemed to me that Geraldo was uniquely positioned to discuss these thorny issues. I thought that this just might be a book worth reading.
Being a big fan of talk radio I hear the topic of illegal immigration being discussed all the time. Rarely do I hear this subject being talked about rationally. Rather, most hosts choose to fan the flames of fear and hatred and choose to charactorize these people as "criminalians". For most of these hosts this is simply a cut and dried, dollars and cents issue with absolutely no room for compromise. The prevailing climate is further poisoned by any number of popular books that offer precious little in the way of solutions and only serve to pour gasoline on an already red hot issue. It seems to me that what Geraldo Rivera is trying to accomplish with "His Panic" is to quell the worst fears of many Americans who are buying into all of the anti-immigration hype. As Geraldo correctly points out most Hispanics are in fact assimiliating into American society. Yes, it does take 2 or perhaps 3 generations for this to take place but this is really no different than what happened with the Irish, Italians and Jews more than a century ago. Rivera vigorously argues that most immigrants, be they legal or illegal, work hard and contribute a great deal to the American economy. Finally, in arguing passionately for amnesty for these illegal immigrants Geraldo observes on page 108: "Just as I believe the vast majority of Americans most emotionally opposed to amnesty for immigrants have never met one, I also suspect that those most offended by the public use of Spanish and other languages speak only English and have not travelled extensively. Nativism is an ugly brew best savored in cultural isolation." A very cogent point!
While I do agree with a number of the points made in "His Panic" there are couple of problems here. First and foremost, "His Panic" is hardly a scholarly work. The evidence that Geraldo Rivera presents is largely anecdotal and there are no footnotes or references in the book. Secondly, I thought that Geraldo failed to acknowledge the most valid point presented by the other side. The fact of the matter is that our schools and hospitals are being taxed to the max by the influx of illegal immigrants. If we are ever going to get serious about resolving this conflict once and for all then these issues are going to have to be addressed. It seems to me that it is in the best interests of all sides in this debate to get this issue resolved. Expelling 12 million people from the country is not an option. While I am by no means prepared to support a total amnesty after reading "His Panic: Why Americans Fear Hispanics In The U.S." I am more convinced than ever calmer heads will ultimately prevail and that a sensible resolution can be worked out after the election. In my view we are going to have to substaintially curtail most immigration for a period of time. All sides will be required to make significant concessions. In the end "His Panic" is a useful and important addition to the literature on this most important subject. Recommended reading for all!
Book Review: Interesting and Insightful
Summary: 5 Stars
Despite the hateful rhetoric I see in many of the comments, I found the book a good read. If someone truly hopes to understand a situation, there needs to be a honest and open inspection of all viewpoints. Geraldo gives a good one.
I'm not commenting on whether or not I've liked Geraldo's reporting over the years or whether or not the immigration laws should be enforced or not. That's not the issue. The issue is the book. It was well written and I highly recommend it.
Book Review: Serious Stuff From Geraldo
Summary: 5 Stars
All these years I thought Geraldo Rivera was just a big ol' bull thrower. My most humble apologies to you, Geraldo. This has to be required reading for every American seriously and sincerely considering the immigration issues confronting our nation today. Xenophobes need not apply. Nothing Rivera says here is going to alter the racist mindset reflected in the ranting of demagogues like O'Reilly, Dobbs, Buchanan and Beck. Rivera methodically and systematically demolishes their arguments, decodes the slurs and shibboleths, demystifies this lingering animosity that America carries in her heart for her stepchildren.
This country has shown an amazing past ability to self-correct, to alter course. Dumb luck? Or something inherent in our system? Will we pull back from the brink? Old Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times." The next two decades are going to be very interesting for Mexican-Americans. I'll tell you a little secret. Mexican-Americans have no interest in "reconquista" as Buchanan so slyly terms it. A little respect would be nice. With a bit of luck, notwithstanding the whining of unions or the politics of populists, NAFTA will continue greasing the skids towards a Canadian-American-Mexican economic union and some day, in the far distant, browner future, Mexican-Americans, bi-lingual, outnumbering perhaps the population of Mexico itself, may act as brokers between a Mexico, stiff-necked and proud, unyielding in its nationalism, and an arrogant white America. With pochos brokering, false pride may give way to reason as three nations come together in an even more powerful, more versatile political union.
If America does manage to avoid a serious and shameful misstep in its handling of Mexican immigration, Rivera and this book will have had a lot to do with it. It is a serious contribution to an extremely thorny issue.