If you drive down Forrest Avenue, you will see them lingering on the street corners every morning without fail. They are unemployed illegal Mexican immigrants who very recently moved to Staten Island. They go day to day, waiting for contractors or individuals to pick them up with trucks and provide them with work. Many of the immigrants live in Port Richmond, a neighborhood that was previously predominantly black. It really surprised me to hear that Mexicans did not feel safe in that neighborhood and were actually being attacked by their neighbors. After all, it is Staten Island. And both blacks and Mexicans are considered minorities, so why would they attack each other? These were the questions I wondered about before I realized that tension will result whenever different types of people have to be in contact. While tension always occurs, the tension really gets out of hand when groups have to compete for resources like housing and employment and Herman points out. After reading Andinder’s excerpts, the targeted attacks against Mexicans in Port Richmond sound too similar to the attacks on previous racial groups in the Five Points neighborhood. There is no easy solution to the competition and resulting violence between ethnic groups. After all, competition between two groups is the foundation of war. Thinking of all the war and violence that happens in the 21st century makes me wonder how much more we could have achieved if we never had to waste our resources or brainpower on war. Similarly, the sheer destruction imposed ofn the African American community in Five Points in the 1830’s was disgusting. To vent their pent up anger and for a moment of selfish satisfaction, the rioters destroyed lives. The situation with illegal Mexican immigrants on Staten Island is just another unfortunate example of an ethnic succession dotted with violent attacks.
Stephanie Azzopardi
