TILLAMOOK COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS: SAY NO TO RACISM

By Mary Faith Bell, Tillamook County Commissioner
I had lunch with a friend and her daughter on President’s Day.
My friend is a U.S. citizen and a Mexican American. She told me about a recent racist incident she experienced in Tillamook where she and her husband and their daughter were leaving a local business, and a group of teenagers in the parking lot yelled “F*****g Mexicans!”
Just imagine for a minute what it felt like for that dad, a husband and father, to be bullied by teenagers in public and not be able to defend himself and his family. Imagine what it felt like for the mom to role model making herself small before racist bullies, to show her daughter that these white teenagers have all the power.
My friend told me that she urged her husband, to ‘Just ignore them,’ knowing that she was asking him to go against his instincts and let ignorant teenagers badmouth his wife and child in public in their own hometown.

It is not only teenagers who are acting out racist attitudes. Last week in our own building a local Hispanic couple were subject to racist comments about “illegals.” Reportedly the gist of the comments was the false belief that illegal residents receive more public services than do legal residents.
Incidences of overt racism are on the rise because people feel empowered to be inappropriate and hateful by what they’re hearing on the news and online. The person in the courthouse might very well have heard on talk radio or a news channel that undocumented immigrants get more assistance than Americans. That is false information, but it is being spread.
Likewise, the teens who yelled at my friend and her family may have been listening to political hate rhetoric on the news saying that illegal immigrants are ruining America. That is also false information.
In this time of constant misinformation, we must remind ourselves and each other what is true. Tillamook County Hispanic families are good neighbors. They work hard, pay taxes, support local businesses, coach youth sports and belong to local churches. They are our coworkers, employers and employees. As a workforce they are essential to our economy; local businesses of all kinds including farming, construction, logging, the seafood industry, food manufacturing, hospitality, restaurants and social services could not function without them. They go to school, go to college, volunteer, give of their time, talents and resources to help the community.
Our Hispanic neighbors deserve our civility and respect, and their children deserve our love.
All of us are in a position now to decide what we will or will not tolerate in our families, in our workplaces, in our community, and in our own hearts and minds. Please join the Tillamook County Commissioners in saying no to racism, no to hate, and standing up for our Hispanic neighbors.

Here are some available resources from the Oregon State Department of Justice:

Bias Response Hotline (non-emergency hotline)