About Those Damn Mexicans
So there's this buzz going on right now on the left. Bush has made a political mistake and turned his so-called base against him. Some on Free Republic call for his impeachment. And I say, if only someone on Free Republic could spell impeachment...
Now's our chance. Finally we can get the higher ground by getting tough on immigration. We can take the Democratic Party away from the Move Ons and into victory by building this high wall and kicking immigrants back home. It's not just our right, it's our duty, now more than ever.
But why is that? We get our opinions or at least our water-cooler topics of conversation from the media. Why are we talking about immigration now and not four years ago? Simple. Four years ago we were busy debating the sanctity of marriage. Why haven't we talked about illegal immigration twenty years ago? Because we were talking about crack cocaine. Why haven't we been talking about damn Mexicans until now? Because we were talking about AIDS. And about hunger in Ethiopia. And the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And Iran and Lybia and Vietnam and inner-city violence and drugs and the morality of euthanasia.
And now? We have endless wars all over this crumbling planet, inner-city violence rises and wage decreases, people still go hungry due to economic policy dictated by the greed of the few, and people still die of AIDS. Yet somehow we dare talk about illegal immigration.
They're destroying our culture and our way of life - What culture are you talking about? I don't like to watch cars driving around in circles. I don't like backyard fireworks. I don't like wrestling. But it doesn't destroy my culture, just like my activities don't destroy your culture. When they cancel a Nascar race for an emergency discussion about Nabokov we'll talk. Meanwhile, drink your beer and shut up.
Security!!! Now more than ever!!! - It's been said before and I hate to repeat the obvious here, but the 9/11 attack wasn't done by illegal immigrants. This country was relatively safe without a wall, and it will continue to be relatively safe. People die from preventable car accidents, from an ill-conceived war on drugs, from poverty and hunger and even from boredom-driven suicide. People die. It's a fact of life.
They're stealing our jobs - Spend more time looking for a job rather than going online. Go to school and learn a trade. Become a philosopher. And what's so wrong about having people driven to work and succeed in a country that has lost its sense of self-pride? Democrats love to put their heads in the sand and hope for the best. They apologize to people in other countries, saying "Don't blame me. I didn't vote for him." But they're just as guilty as the Free Republican ignorant xenophobes, because one day they woke up, and not knowing why, they said, "Maybe he does have those weapons." The next morning they woke up and said, "I'm all for equal rights, but why do they have to call it marriage?" And yesterday they woke up, after five hundred years of illegal immigrants coming to this country, and they said,
They don't even speak English - Then teach them. Help them. You'll feel better about yourself in the morning.
20 comments:
THEY TOOK OUR JOBS! De durkur durr!
Anyway, the US doesn't really have a culture. All that stuff you mentioned is primarily in the South. How can they destroy something we don't even have?
Based on what I've seen from much of American culture, I won't be sad to see it go.
Nascar, American Idol, 24-hour coverage of Paris Hilton going to/away from jail... Fuck that. Mexicans can have that shit.
Ha! I didn't even see your comment, Woozie. Great South Park bit.
Great post! I think we have a culture alright, a culture of patriotic ignorance. God forbid Americans embrace some fresh blood and maybe learn something new. No, it'd be much better for us to embrace being almost the only country in the world whose citizens only speak one language and who instead of wanting to grow in our knowledge would rather wave flags and cheer the idea of making english our "official" national language. Go America, be proud of our ignorance!!
I was so scared when I saw your title. Whew, thank god we think the same way. My best friend is half Mexican; my aunt think that Mexicans are taking over her town -- and that they'll knife you if you look away for a second. The two of them manage to get along but it's a tight situation. I think everyone should remember that we are already a melting pot - Mexicans added to the mix or not.
I think we are talking about illegal immigrants and, er, Paris Hilton because some people don't want to talk about the mess we have created in Iraq.
But, I could be wrong.
I was asked about immigration today, as if it were a simple yea or nay kinda thing. Maybe it wasn't asked that way, but I took it that way.
I responded by saying that the situation needs to be legislated one issue at a time. The wall, in one bill; amnesty, in one bill; guest worker program, in one bill; etc. (I think a lot of things should be legislated this way.)
I truly believe immigration is huge. With gays, they can either marry or they can't--there is no homeland security issue, no living wage issue, no language issue, etc.
I really worry about how we are going to solve our immigration concerns.
Thank you for pointing out the real problem (Democrats who think they are good for the world just because they vote Democrat.)
Woozie, it's the first time I see this video. It makes my post a bit redundant, no? Anywho, I suppose Nascar is too much of an easy target, but in principal I was trying to say that a culture, whether it is monster trucks or poetry evenings with cheese and crackers can't be destroyed, and that there's no such thing as "An American way of life." And that's true for any other country.
Brad, yea, I think I took the easy path here with Nascar (I just loved that picture. It has everything: beer, boobs, and babies in front of fake backgrounds). In the end, though, even if we had ten times as many immigrant Nascar would not be facing extinction, and the same is true for PBS pledge drives.
Leo, there's always been good bad immigrants. (While the poor immigrants were sent to Ellis Island to stand in line for English proficiency and medical tests, the rich people on those same boats were taken straight to Manhattan.) People now seem to think past immigration was all good while South Americans will destroy the US. At some point Irish immigration was supposed to destroy America. They are responsible for Bill O'Reilly, though.
Jennifer, that sounds like a tough situation there. Poverty brings crime, and a lack of opportunities brings about desperate means of survival. But we're just making it worse. We take the most vulnerable group of people in this country and we say they shouldn't get health care, their kids shouldn't go to school, and they should always live in fear of deportation. Seems like all we do is make it worse for everyone involved.
Shelli, that's what I think. We woke up one day and started talking about Mexicans. It's just a part of the whole "9/11 changed everything" bullshit that people bring up when they have no real argument (Abortions are bad because post-9/11 we've learned to appreciate life. I heard that one before.) God-forbid we have free health care in this country and a military not in the hands of shareholders. We'll get to that as soon as we deal with those Mexicans.
durante, immigration has always been huge, but recently it has taken a more specific language and skin color. I don't believe it's an issue of homeland security, and I don't believe this is an issue of language. It's definitely not an issue of culture. It's about money, like everything else.
Good post (and comments). I can't think of anything else to add.
Who Hijacked Our Country
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I worked in Bilingual Education for 8 years, then ran a support system, non for profit for children of immigrants in American urban schools. I can't even discuss this issue rationally; it infuriates me. All I ask is that people spend some time socializin in their homes, going to church with them, seeing the jobs they work (often 2 to 3) and then we will discuss hijacking jobs and living off the fat of the land. Grrr!
Money is at the heart of every issue. More people need to talk about it--views would change, for better or for worse.
Shouldn't our government be talking about Paris Hilton? That's what truly matters, all the other stuff is just fluff.
I have very few problems with immigration, you know, me being an immigrant and all. Although, I'm not an illegal alien. Which kinda sucks, I'd love to tell people I was an illegal alien, it sounds like such a fascinating dangerous thing to be...
Tom, thanks.
Enemy, that's what it is, blind hatred and ignorant fear. And people talk about it in terms of "What can we do to make their lives worse?" convinced that it would make their own lives better. And it's always the same thing. As if the "institution of marriage" got a boost when gay marriage became an issue.
durante, sure we need to talk about the immigration issue. All Western countries need to talk about it; they all use illegal immigrants as cheap labor to be thrown out and demonized when the time is right. My issue is that we need to talk about it honestly, aware of the fact these people didn't sneak through to harm Americans but were let in by the government turning a (temporary) blind eye.
Sebastien, the discussion about immigration is only there so the public would turn its attention from the travesty of justice in the Paris Hilton case. Noam Chomsky is on the case.
And of course, me and you are good aliens.
I would do practically anything to be able to see a Chomsky-Hilton debate. Probably wouldn't rival his Foucault debates for intellectualism, but holy shit it would be hysterical.
I'm here in the Midwest.
Yes, immigration has an effect. It's not only the new Mexican-American but the Asian-American, the Bosnian-American, etc.
Then, let us not forget those who have not yet entered the USA yet, the Asians, the Central Europeans, the Northern Africans, etc.
How about those who have no home anymore: the Middle Easterners with rubble for homes, the Asians with more rubble for homes but for may be different reasons, the Africans constantly fleeing to another, then, another place to stay, etc.
In each case, I am somehow affected. But, in economic terms, it is difficult to find a single high point, given the huge amount of lines of reference.
Back to the Mexican immigration situation: Mexicans get lower pay than other immigrants or Americans. This is true here in the Midwest. They are expected to work with fewer and shorter breaks. They are very often passed over for promotion and pay raises.
This action on the part of Corporate America affects the skilled worker as well as the unskilled laborer, Mexican immigrant or American.
As we all who work for a living can see if we open our eyes, as we all learn about the inequalities, it is simple to understand our importance to "The Man". It's not us, (the American) and them, (The Mexican immigrant).
So...
I will ask everyone to sing with me John Lennon's song, "Imangine".
"Imagine there's no country. See it if you can."
Brad, Chomsky's books are great. Very readable with no pretentious language--just the simple painful truth. But as for his televised lectures, I think I would rather watch The Simple Life.
Moonlitewine, I agree that illegal immigration is a problem here, if only for the cynical way corporations use immigrants to lower wages for everyone in the US (which explains why corporations are happy with the status quo). I acknowledge the fact you are affected by illegal immigration.
(and thanks for saying no one really knows how we are all affected. Would more people have jobs if all illegal immigrants left today or would the economy collapse and less people would have jobs?)
We have two options: stop illegal immigration (for whatever excuse we find--security, culture, language, fairness to legal immigrants), or help those already here to survive with dignity. As the first option is impossible, we must solve this problem with honesty and political courage. (Maybe from the Democratic Presidential hopefuls? But why help people who won't be able to vote for you?)
i dont think thats a fair conclusion about american culture..
to my mind.. american culture is about relentless confidence.. its about energetic ambition.. its about leading a life that is well rounded and based on few regrets.. its about your neighbour being whatever they are and however they may be as long as you get along..
i think an influx of immigration may well change american culture.. a - through dillution and b - through polarisation..
the first is an obvious affect even if it is not always bad.. in fact it may be great.. because the dilluting substance may bring a lot of other great features that currently do not exist.. but americans who are cautious are right.. having said that the better approach would appear to be not to resist the people seeking a better life but rather was to support the strengths of american culture today and to share them.. for if anything - this is a great way to reinforce them..
the second issue is that of polarisation.. a bit like optical physics..
once something hits you - you have a reaction of sorts.. and if you are travelling at an equivalent "ethnic/cultural" speed you'll bounce back or even if you have no culture.. they may well reach a stand still as they try to figure it out and you'll be propelled directly into self definition.. like two snooker balls..
similar things happened in australia - as a reaction to te asian immigration wave - or in israel wave after wave after wave and now we have a fully fledged highly intricate and instantly recognisable culture as a result (in both for that matter)..
the point is change is inevitable when you bring in a new factor.. but its the quality judgments that you attach to the change that make it more or less digestable.. denying it is not good either..
my view is that we are better acknowledging and harnessing and collaborating..
all the rest is merely a matter of policy.. rightly or wrongly..
wondering if this makes any sense at all :)
Lirun, thanks for that comment. Now, first of all, I don't have anything against American culture. What I'm saying is that just like Nascar fans are not threatened by my cultural preferences no one should feel threatened by the culture of new immigrants (and of course immigrants, even if--for the sake of argument--they all came from the same country, still don't share uniform cultural preferences). I think dilution or polarisation don't apply here because I don't believe there is a monolithic American culture.
As for your view of America, I think that for people who don't live here America is always more about a representation of wishes and fears, but people who live here really just deal with day-to-day stuff. The US is about relentless confidence and energetic ambition, but it's also about relentless despair and energetic apathy. More than anything, America is about contradictions more than it is simply Nascar, Star Wars, Sundance Festival, NASA, South Park, or The Price is Right--and none of these things
is America by itself, and none of these things faces any threat from immigrants.
Immigration is an issue now because the economy is not and has not been good for a few years. That's always when immigration is an issue...people need to have a scapegoat.
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