On Immigration.
Immigration is a concern that is getting quite a bit of attention of late. The Minutemen are only one of the reasons for this. The other is a concern our borders are so lax people bent on carrying out an act along the lines of 9/11 can get in quite easily. Some people are concerned because of the effect immigration has on wages and salaries and some are concerned about what immigration does to our culture.
All too often the debate comes down to simple (not even creative or original) namecalling. Xenophobe is one name I see way too often. The usual related names also come into play.
The first thing the left needs to recognize is the problem of illegal immigration. If a person comes into this nation improperly, without the proper paperwork (forged, ill-gotten, or fraudulent) , via jumping the border etc they are illegal! Do not try to come up with soothing euphemisms such as undocumented workers or whatever, let us be honest let us call them illegal aliens (okay, illegal immigrants is fine as well, the emphasis though is on the first word).
Too often the debate is framed by the left as between kind hearted folks and racist xenophobes (a tiring game plan). Ohh, those awful racist rednecks only want white Christians in this nation!
Most people realize this nation is a nation of immigrants. They realize what makes America what it is today is our liberal immigration policies. What they do not want however are completely open doors.
Our nation has cycled between little immigration and periods of open immigration. Most likely this is because the nation decides from time to time to let the new flock assimilate before having to deal with another group of immigrants.
A story I read has it that in Manitowoc in the early part of last Century it was not uncommon to hear German being spoke. The time has long passed since most people hear German on a regular basis. However, we now frequently hear Spanish and Hmong. The key to success in any land is being able to communicate in the vernacular. Communicating in Hmong or Spanish may be fine around the house or in the neighborhood but get outside that community and you need to learn the language and mannerisms of the people you are dealing with. So, assimilation is important not only for the host society but for the immigrants as well.
I don't debate illegal immigration. It is...illegal. However, as you may have seen it is quite another thing to debate proper levels of immigration. When it comes to levels of LEGAL immigration we should be more liberal. Face it people, there are jobs Americans will not do. I hate to say it but true.
A buddy of mine told me in his hometown there was a slaughterhouse. He said most of the workers were immigrants (Mexican, Ukrainian, Asian of various sorts etc). He told me the pay there was good, in fact better than most other jobs but Americans did not want to work there. They would settle for less pay in a cushier job. Others I have talked to express similar experiences.
A guy I was visiting was working at a nursing home around Springfield Illinois. He was Filipino and said his American workers (he was a manager type) were not nearly as hard working as the Filipinos under him. The Americans "called in" more often and were otherwise not as hard working. Claudia notes the same thing at her job.
This is only going to get worse as our population gets older and older, also remember the older the population gets the more it is going to demand services. Who is going to provide those services at a reasonable cost?
Remember opposing illegal immigration is not the same as opposing immigration. I support The Minutemen 100%, I support stopping immigration 0%.
All too often the debate comes down to simple (not even creative or original) namecalling. Xenophobe is one name I see way too often. The usual related names also come into play.
The first thing the left needs to recognize is the problem of illegal immigration. If a person comes into this nation improperly, without the proper paperwork (forged, ill-gotten, or fraudulent) , via jumping the border etc they are illegal! Do not try to come up with soothing euphemisms such as undocumented workers or whatever, let us be honest let us call them illegal aliens (okay, illegal immigrants is fine as well, the emphasis though is on the first word).
Too often the debate is framed by the left as between kind hearted folks and racist xenophobes (a tiring game plan). Ohh, those awful racist rednecks only want white Christians in this nation!
Most people realize this nation is a nation of immigrants. They realize what makes America what it is today is our liberal immigration policies. What they do not want however are completely open doors.
Our nation has cycled between little immigration and periods of open immigration. Most likely this is because the nation decides from time to time to let the new flock assimilate before having to deal with another group of immigrants.
A story I read has it that in Manitowoc in the early part of last Century it was not uncommon to hear German being spoke. The time has long passed since most people hear German on a regular basis. However, we now frequently hear Spanish and Hmong. The key to success in any land is being able to communicate in the vernacular. Communicating in Hmong or Spanish may be fine around the house or in the neighborhood but get outside that community and you need to learn the language and mannerisms of the people you are dealing with. So, assimilation is important not only for the host society but for the immigrants as well.
I don't debate illegal immigration. It is...illegal. However, as you may have seen it is quite another thing to debate proper levels of immigration. When it comes to levels of LEGAL immigration we should be more liberal. Face it people, there are jobs Americans will not do. I hate to say it but true.
A buddy of mine told me in his hometown there was a slaughterhouse. He said most of the workers were immigrants (Mexican, Ukrainian, Asian of various sorts etc). He told me the pay there was good, in fact better than most other jobs but Americans did not want to work there. They would settle for less pay in a cushier job. Others I have talked to express similar experiences.
A guy I was visiting was working at a nursing home around Springfield Illinois. He was Filipino and said his American workers (he was a manager type) were not nearly as hard working as the Filipinos under him. The Americans "called in" more often and were otherwise not as hard working. Claudia notes the same thing at her job.
This is only going to get worse as our population gets older and older, also remember the older the population gets the more it is going to demand services. Who is going to provide those services at a reasonable cost?
Remember opposing illegal immigration is not the same as opposing immigration. I support The Minutemen 100%, I support stopping immigration 0%.
posted by Marcus Aurelius at 8:47 PM
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