A NC Reader Sees Double Standards At The National Association of Hispanic Journalists

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10/17/09 - Saturday Forum: A Canadian Reader Says New York's Non-Assimilation Problem Is Low Wages, Not Culture; Matthew Richer Replies; etc.

From: John Pershing (e-mail him)

On September 15, 2008, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists issued a press release urging the mainstream U.S. English language media to abandon terms such as "illegals" and "illegal aliens."

Attribution for the press release, which can be read in its entirety here,, is given to Executive Director Iván Román.

To express my dismay, I called Román. But, as I expected, he did not reply.

Several days later, after leaving another voice mail for Román, I sent an email to NAHJ's general address here requesting that his staff forward it to him. [Email Ivan Roman directly]

Here's a slightly edited version:

"It is not my intention to belabor any issues related to the etymologies of terms such as 'illegal alien', 'illegal immigrant', or 'illegal' when used by the Main Stream Media to describe the tens of millions of non-citizens residing in the U.S. and who are possibly working or committing crimes.

"Nor am I going to belabor issues related to language, logic, doublespeak and ambiguous meanings. Many others have gone before me and have thoroughly dealt with those subjects.

"I have travelled throughout Latin America and have a grounding in Latino culture that is better than average for an American of European origin.

"When covering stories involving foreign-born persons, the Spanish language news media in Latin America invariably highlight their subject's foreign origins. 

"On any kind of story involving a crime or a scandal, the foreigner's nationality and immigration status are a prominent component of the article, often included in the headline.

"Given my experience with Latin America's contemporary journalism and referring you back for a careful re-read of your suggestion on reforming modern English, I would think you would find yourself wrestling with some issues of cognitive dissonance."

Although I spoke with one of Román's assistants, I'm still waiting to hear from him.

I'm not surprised that he avoided me. What argument could Román have for promoting such bias?

Pershing's previous letters about Main Stream Media deception, his substitute teacher experiences, and the value of the VDARE.COM hyperlink format, are here, here and here.