Open Letter to Mayor Bloomberg on Betsy Perry's Anti-Immigrant Post

Dear Mayor Bloomberg:

It looks like your campaign is starting to gear up as I am beginning to see television ads detailing how you plan to make New York City a great place for everyone to live and carry on efforts begun over your last eight years in office.

I am writing today because, unfortunately, I am not sure that all of your appointed public officials feel the same way you do. Recently, I came across an article written on the Huffington Post by New York Commissioner for Women's Issues, Betsy Perry entitled Montezuma's Revenge: Can the Best Thing About Mexico Really Be Beverly Hills Chihuahua where she implies that the best thing about the recent outbreak of the swine flu is that it might be just the excuse we need to close the Mexico border. It also asserts that "between guns, kidnapping, and drugs the poor country can't catch a break--and maybe it shouldn't."

Given the high number of immigrants living, working, and contributing to the rich culture of New York City, Ms. Perry's article makes light of the serious need for immigration reform not only in the state of New York, but at the federal level, and the complex problems facing Mexico--many of which have been co-created by the United States. It also promotes the worst kind of xenophobia.

The article also casts a bad light on the New York City Women's Commission and makes it difficult to believe that the Commission is working on the behalf of all women.

Mayor Bloomberg, I believe the article was meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but I can tell you it has alienated many of us who are working to improve the lives of women and take serious the struggles facing Mexico and immigrants.

I wish you all the luck in your upcoming campaign and look forward to working with you to make the city an even greater place for all New Yorkers.

Sincerely,

C. Nicole Mason, PhD
Executive Director
Women of Color Policy Network, NYU Wagner

Comments

[LatinAmericano]

Thanks Dr. Mason for your prompt and appropriate letter to the Mayor. Although I WILL NOT be supporting another 4 years of Bloomberg (8 years is enough!), I think he was right in asking Betsy to immediately resign her post.

It's amazing to see how certain Anglo people show their true colors when they feel really comfortable or pushed to the edge. You would think and hope that they get it....that the world has changed.....that this is not only an Anglo planet.

Betsy may have not realized that she arrogantly CROSSED all HUMAN RESPECT and DIGNITY boundaries by verbally abusing Mexico, its people and by extension offending 580 million Latin Americans, another 40 million American Latinos including one third (about 3 million) of the NYC population which she supposedly represented before she was forced to resign her NYC post. Not only Mexicans are outraged at this racist ethnocentric remarks, but also Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, Panama, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador and the entire Caribbean.

As a Colombian American, I feel deeply offended and outraged. I am glad her hypocrisy is not serving our diverse city any longer and hope she won't be offered any posts in public life.

Betsy clearly has doomed her career in public life, but this was a ploy of her own making...

---Out of the crooked tree of humanity, nothing entirely straight can be built. (Inmanuel Kant)

[Ann Coleman]

Betsy Perry resigned from the Women's Commission today- and none too soon after her thoughtless and offensive remarks. Hopefully she will learn her lesson.

[milbank]

If Perry had an dignity, you would not have had to make that request as she would have already resigned.

"...I believe the article was meant to be tongue-in-­cheek...." Too bad Fox News didn't know what a talent for comedy she had when they tried to put up their version of "The Daily Show."