I appreciate this article for making visible the strong predominantly white, nativist organizing that happens throughout this nation.

However, I think in criticism we should be careful to not use illiteracy as a marker of stupidity and ignorance, a caricature which is strongly linked with all poor and working class communities. Throughout the history of this nation there has been a certain character of racism amongst white working class communities that is rightfully terrifying, but we must remember that it has been fueled by those with power in this nation to make it nearly impossible for poor and working class white folks to organize in solidarity with communities of color.

Leaning on this caricature often hides the nature of national xenophobia and violent anti-immigrant sentiment that can be found across classes and educational experiences throughout police forces and communities in every part of the land we now call the United States. Something this blog does an exceptional job at uncovering regularly.

thanks, keep on fighting,
-dedicated reader

You make an important point Kate, but I have to say that if English only is someone's main point, it seems to me that the irony of imperfect English coming from such quarters is appropriate to point out. Which version of official English should we adopt? The incorrect one? Poor white communities have indeed been screwed by The Man, but this sign is clearly not a question of illiteracy but of simple lack of attention to detail. People of color and racial justice activists are never allowed to get away with such things.

This reminds me of a joke Margaret Cho told many years ago about some person taunting her by calling her a "chink" (Chinese) and her yelling back that she was a "gook" (Korean) and that if they were going to say something hateful they should get their terms right. When it comes to racism it's often not so much the hostility but the stupidity.