Fear of a Black Planet

I guess we're not the only country with immigration issues. French President Jacques Chirac spoke publicly today about the need to develop Africa economically. (Wow, really? You think?) He should have just stopped there, and it all would have been cool. But then he goes on to say:

"If we do not develop... Africa... if we do not make available the necessary resources to bring about this development, these people will flood the world," he said.

I think I understand where he was trying to go with this, but still. Don't use the whole "If we don't to this, then this will happen" argument when it applies to human beings trying to escape an environment of poverty and oppression. It's like he's trying to tap into some level of fear in the French, saying that some catastrophe --- a flood of black people --- will befall humanity if we don't "help Africa."

Africa does need help, this is true. But he could have approached it from a more humanitarian angle rather than characterizing an entire group of people as if they were some natural disaster, and that we should be afraid of them.