BYRON DE ARAKAL -- Between the Lines

We have a problem, folks. In recent weeks, a whole herd of people have

been galloping around Costa Mesa on high horses tossing around the

dogeared card of racism. And I’m bothered by it. Not because I’m a closet

Aryan secretly goose-stepping around the house in jackboots. I abhor the

ignorance and fanaticism that fuels the hatred of any people, whatever

the stripe of their ethnicity.

But I hold in equal low regard high-minded demagoguery that seeks to

make the battle against racism an industry, particularly when it is

hypocritical rhetoric. Too many of us lob the incendiaries of bigotry and

racism into issues where they do not exist and do not belong.

Nevertheless, since the election of Chris Steel to the Costa Mesa City

Council by more than 10% of our population, the air of debate in this

town has been positively abuzz with righteous indignation. The cancer of

racism is creeping throughout Costa Mesa, the prevailing headline seems

to read. And you don’t have to scan between the lines too closely to see

the city’s high horsemen are accusing Steel and his policy positions of

leading the charge as if he and they were the Nazis marching down the

Champs-Elysees.

Yet, is anyone really listening to what he is saying? Or does he

merely make convenient fodder for an anti-racist cottage industry?

The most recent case in point rises from the smoldering debate over

citizenship requirements for appointees to city commissions and

committees. Following the suggestion of the ever-outspoken Martin

Mallard, Steel asked City Atty. Jerry Scheer to check on the legality of

screening commission and committee appointees for U.S. citizenship. And

in rode the racism police.

Steel was accused of targeting our Latino population, of trashing the

heritage of the brave civil libertarians of our nation’s history who

fought for -- and often died in the attempt -- the eradication of bigotry

and racism. But Steel was doing nothing of the sort. He merely inquired

about the legality of requiring U.S. citizenship to serve on committees

and commissions that often influence the expenditure of taxpayer dollars

or set the direction of public policy. If that is racism, then it is

codified and institutionalized in the city’s requirement that parks and

recreation commissioners be registered voters, which by definition means

citizenship. Who do we call the racist for writing that bit of law?

Nevertheless, nobody bothered to probe Steel further. When I asked him

if legally documented noncitizens should be eligible to serve, he said,

“If a documented noncitizen applies, they should be considered.” Which is

to say, if a committee or commission applicant is here legally and is

paying taxes, that candidate is entitled to an opportunity to serve this

community.

“Racists” just aren’t the thugs they used to be.

It is clear to me, after several conversations with Steel, that he’s

not inclined to cut much slack to folks whose residency in our community

is illegal. Who would? And who cares where they fall on the ethnic

rainbow? They’re behaving illegally. But because many of those who have

taken up residency in Costa Mesa without legal documentation are Latino,

the high horsemen of anti-racism have a target in Chris Steel.

All of this is troubling to me because it is blatantly unfair to Steel

and patently hypocritical. Do we say our City Council is racist if it

continues to pursue a Westside redevelopment plan, which will inevitably

raise property values, increase rents and thus push hundreds of

low-income Latino families out of their homes? Do we say the City Council

is biased against Asians because it passes ordinances cracking down on

prostitution in massage parlors and acupuncture clinics?

Certainly not. We say they are responsible leaders upholding the law

and the quality of life in our city. Doesn’t Steel deserve the same

quarter?

The harsh social truth that prevails in our city is that many of those

who reside here illegally are Latino. That does not make all Latino

people bad, only those who are breaking the law. Those are the folks

Steel is after.

If Steel’s agenda to raise property values, cut down density, reduce

illegal residency and improve our schools makes him a racist, then we are

all racists. Given that, we would all be better served if the high

horsemen would dismount, and we would all start listening to one another

a little more carefully.

* BYRON DE ARAKAL is a writer and communications consultant. He lives

in Costa Mesa. His column runs Wednesdays. Readers may reach him with

news tips and comments via e-mail at [email protected].