In light of the recent string of bias attacks in Port Richmond, Bronx State Sen. Ruben Diaz Jr. led a rally with community activists from Brooklyn calling for unity between the African-American and Hispanic communities. However, State Sen. Diane Savino and Assemblyman Matthew Titone of Staten Island say Diaz should stay in his own district! Titone came prepared for the shouting match that erupted on the steps of a local church, and while holding up a black wig and a high heeled shoe, said, "If they are going to act like media whores, they should at least dress the part." Because what better way is there to solve hate crimes than to call people names and tell them to go back where they came from?
Savino chimed in, saying, "He should be worrying about the 14 shootings that took place over the weekend in his district...He has decided he knows better than the people who live here." And amid Titone's shouts of "Where were you yesterday?," Diaz tried to ease the tensions, saying, “We should keep fighting together. We should not be hurting each other." Diaz is the chairman of the New York State Senate Puerto Rican/Latino Caucus.
However, Port Richmond residents say all the politicians have it wrong. Arlene Quick offered this bit of logic: "They are trying to make this a black and Mexican thing. The media, the elected officials, the 120 [Precinct] are doing that. We don’t condone them jumping Mexican youths. But we are not going to be a target because a few Mexicans got beat up. They own all the stores on Port Richmond Avenue. I patronize their stores. I just purchased a birthday cake for my son from one of the bakeries. Why don’t they employ any blacks in their stores?" Black people getting upset that Mexican people don't hire them sounds an awful lot like a black and Mexican thing, but what do we know? We're just media whores.
