A Dallas Magazine says “hire a day laborer” as a must-do for fun

Someone told me I had to read DMagazine’s story “The Dallas Must-Do List.”   FYI, DMagazine caters to rich, white people in Dallas.  I mean really rich. It even bragged about it in 2008.

The magazine listed 52 things you must do.  As I started going through the topics—I didn’t see anything I didn’t know: ride a bull, drink a frozen margarita, eat a Neiman Marcus popover, and party at the Byron Nelson.

But then suddenly I see “Hire a day laborer.”  Really–they had to go there. 

This is what Wick Allison, the publisher and editor-in-chief of  DMagazine and his staff think is a “must- do” in Dallas.  Of the hundreds of things you can do in this North Texas city, that’s the best they can come up with.

What a warped, pathetic sense of humor.

No matter what your opinion is about day laborers; these are hardworking people who stand for hours and hours in hopes of getting work.  Do those arrogant brains at DMagazine think these workers like standing in terrible weather to get work?  Do they really think these day workers like to get abused or cheated out of pay for their labor?   That does happen.

I think it is disgusting that Allison and his sidekick, Tim Rogers, the magazine’s Executive Editor think it’s something fun to do in Dallas.   They write:

“Look for the vacant lot with mustachioed men sitting on stumps by the cyclone fence of wind-trapped Funyuns bags. Arrive early in the morning for the best workers. If they’re motivated to get up early, they’re motivated to work hard. They’ll swarm your car, which can feel a bit like a nascent siege, but it’s normal.”

I’ve been a reporter in Dallas more than 17 years.  I know Allison and Rogers.  I’ve been on journalism panels with Allison, and even interviewed him once for a television news story.  He’s always been nice to me, but then I was on television at the time.

I’ve met Rogers once.  I’ve never been impressed by what he’s written in the past.   He mostly spews mean-spirited messages to get attention on his blog. 

What I do know is both Rogers and Allison are out of touch with the general public, especially those who are not wealthy.  It’s easy for these two guys to make fun of day laborers, because they live in their ivory towers.  

Here’s what reporter Sam Merten of the Dallas Observer once wrote on Rogers after the Executive Editor attacked the Observer for doing a good, solid, investigative story on a costly Dallas city project.  I guess Rogers didn’t like it, because he had just written a piece in DMagazine gushing over the creators of this expensive project.  The fluff piece Rogers wrote was no comparison to the excellent investigative journalism by The Dallas Observer.  

Merten writes:

“Maybe Rogers has a hard time understanding people who don’t have an average household income of $344,000, a net worth of $1.7 million and a $540,000 house. Maybe he resents going bald. I dunno.”

DMagazine never covers our huge Latino community in Dallas.  Like I said these guys are out of touch. 

The magazine could have done a story on how some of its wealthy readers hire day laborers to save a buck.  It’s no secret in Dallas.  How about the impact of day laborers in Dallas?  DMagazine wouldn’t touch those subjects, because that would take real journalism to get the job done. 

Odds are Allison and Rogers don’t even have Latinos in their circle of friends.  Ok maybe si son ricos.  I bet you they don’t even have any Latinos writing for their glossy magazine. 

Like most publications, Dmagazine has probably lost subscriptions because of the internet. So in its desperate attempt to attract readers—Allison and Rogers go after the day laborer.  They go after the little guy who can’t defend himself against DMagazine.

Take it from me—Dallas has decent people, and they respect people who work hard, no matter what background.  I even know some of those affluent people who read DMagazine and have at one time or another hired a day laborer to take care of their yard.  You don’t see them making fun of the plight of the day laborer.

Hey Allison and Rogers, read the lastest U.S. Census results; Latinos are 50 million strong! We’re doctors, lawyers, students, judges, reporters, athletes and yes—day laborers too! 

And guess what we read magazines, but I’m one person that has NEVER bought DMagazine and never will.

Got an opinion on their list? DMagazine’s receptionist will take your emails.  receptionist@dmagazine.com

Lou Dobbs: He’s back—now what?

Lou Dobbs has surfaced on the Fox Business Network.  I wonder if his divorce from CNN has humbled him or maybe given him a different  outlook on issues affecting immigrants and Latinos.

It’s been a while since he’s been on television getting all the attention.   Well, there was that controversy in October 2010; when  reporter, Isabel MacDonald with The Nation said she learned that Dobbs had hired undocumented workers to work on his horse farm in New Jersey.  He denies the accusations.

If you’ve been living under a rock; Dobbs was on CNN since the 1980’s.   I remember him as a financial guru on CNN’s Moneyline.  That’s where th guy made a name for himself.

By the tail end of his career at the Cable News Network he was very right winged and very anti-immigrant.  Most times—just plain ugly about undocumented workers.  I’m still shocked he is married to a Latina.

Much of his mean spirited rants were sensationalized inaccurate information about undocumented workers.  In May, 2007, 60 Minutes called him out on numerous inaccuracies on his Dobbs reports.   Here’s a portion of the interview:

Stahl: Well, here’s what they say about you: that you distort the figures, that you exaggerate and that you aim to inflame just to get ratings

Dobbs: Oh really?

Here’s more on the 60 Minutes Show and more fact checking by the group, Truth in Immigration:

I thought Dobbs was going to surface as a politician.  It sounded like he was headed that way when he resigned in November 2009 from CNN.   Here’s what he said on his last show.

“Over the past six months, it has become increasingly clear that strong winds of change have begun buffeting this country and affecting all of us, and some leaders in media, politics and business have been urging me to go beyond the role here at CNN and to engage in constructive problem-solving as well as to contribute positively to a better understanding of the great issues of our day and to continue to do so in the most honest and direct language possible,”

Though Dobbs has been hired to do a business show called “Lou Dobbs Tonight” at Fox; I get the feeling one way or another this guy won’t be able to stay away from talking about undocumented workers.  Remember that’s what got him ratings over at CNN.   He’ll need good ratings to keep his job at Fox.