Political Correctness and Illegal Immigration
February 9th, 2008I’m really getting sick of political correctness. This is straight up Newspeak. Has anyone bothered to read Orwell?
Now there’s a new politically correct word for illegal immigrants. It’s “undocumented workers.” What a load of bullshit!
Illegal immigrants are here illegally. People who hire them should be fined heavily. They do illegal work, they undercut working men and women, and employers don’t have to pay benefits nor follow safety standards when hiring illegal immigrants. This is a deliberate attack on the working class by the rich to undercut American workers. To add insult to injury, the rich media elite will call anyone who questions illegal immigration “racist.”
And for the love of God, can we please stop saying “this is a nation of immigrants?” I’m getting so sick of hearing that. You know why? Because (besides Iceland) EVERY nation is a nation of immigrants. You think in the world’s history, people didn’t move around?
I guess nobody has ever changed their country, EVER, except those who came to the United States of America. There are no people of Chinese descent in France. There are no people of Dutch decent in South Africa. There are no white people at all in Australia. There are no Germans in Brazil. There are no Italians in Argentina. There are no Jews in Russia. There are no Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia. There are no Nigerians in England. And there are no Burmese in Thailand. No. None. Nobody ever changed their nationality except in America.
Lastly, don’t lump illegal immigrants with legal immigrants. I’m so sick of hearing them lumped together. I have utmost respect for legal immigrants. They go through loops and hurdles to become American, and are often more patriotic and vote more than even native born Americans. Most importantly, they do their best to assimilate. That’s something illegals refuse to do.
Hi. This is La cremiere, I could not change Kitem’s login. Anyway, you’d be happy to hear that in the UK, they now advertise to encourage people to tell on illegal immigration and illegal hiring, employers face 10 years in prison and a hefty fine. This should discourage illegal immigration. PS I’m not racist, I’m a legal immigrant to the UK.
at the end you bring up a point i think is too often lost in the whole discussion, that being all the maddeningly winding obstacles the legal immigrants go through to be here. i have one friend who had to enroll full time in college after she’d gotten her degree and when she had an infant because someone incorrectly filed her paperwork for a student visa when she had actually filled it out for whatever you need after you graduate. she had done things correctly but some bureaucrat goofed and then SHE was threatened with deportation as a result. there is another local case where a couple came here legally, had children, were on the citizenship track and now are detained for deportation again because of some bureaucratic snafu and change in laws that they were first told did not apply to them and they have now found out does. these are local business owners who are good members of the community and who give generously to local charities. when i hear about amnesty for the illegal immigrants it infuriates me that people who play by the rules put up with so much hassling and threats and perhaps all for naught in the end.
I didn’t realize how widespread this problem was until a year ago. The gov’t conducted a raid on several meatpacking plants in southern MN. A couple hundred illegals were deported, and the businesses fined.
NOW, we’re hearing about what a tragedy this was. Families were split up when their breadwinners were deported. The authorities allowed illegal mothers to stay here with their kids, who were born here (which makes them legal citizens). I’m sorry, but that was their choice to split up their families. Nobody was preventing them from returning to their countries of origin with their deported relatives. Obey OUR laws if you want to live here!
I was also amazed to learn that 1/2 the kids in Tweety’s daughter’s kindergarten class couldn’t speak English! This happened in northern WI!! I always thought that ESL was only a problem in our southern, border states.
MN and WI also have a problem with Hmong refugees. Gang warfare was a way of life for many of them, and they brought this strife with them. They also refuse to follow our game laws. Our game wardens have caught Hmong with car trunks FULL of songbirds they have killed. They also don’t comply with our hunting seasons, legal game limits, or posted land. These tensions have led to several fatal tragedies. Once again, if you want to live here, you MUST obey OUR laws!
This is one area that I agree with you about. I come at it from a different perspective, obviously, because I see what happens in the education system. I see the drain. ELL programs and special education programs cost money that illegal immigrants don’t pay into, but their children use and benefit from them. Why is the CA school system so short on funds (which will be even worse next fall with the billion or so being cut from education)? This isn’t the only cause, but I challenge anyone to deny that illegal immigration is at least one of the causes.
I also get tired of PC’ism. Call a spade a spade. Oh, that’s right, we can’t because it’s a lawsuit waiting to happen. :-/
BTW, I like your new layout.
Well said! I need to make a comment about the Republican party. As conservatives they should be preserveing our society by opposing illegal immigration. This use to be their stand. It no longer is. The republican party is no longer conservative but globalist. Their allegiance is to the corporations, not the American people. As the corporations are becoming more and more international, the republicans are in essence, GLOBALISTS. In the past 7 years we have been rules by globalists not conservatives, thus the massive transfer of our jobs and our wealth to China. No conservative would allow this to happen. The next time you hear a republican condidate brag about being conservative, don’t believe him. Very few our. We have too few Ron Pauls in the republican party.
Kitem - My mother was a legal immigrant here. She had to go through so much paperwork, waited many years, finished up her Masters Degree here, and knows American Civics better than most Americans. She had to in order to pass the Citizenship test.
I’m glad they’re starting to crack down now in the UK. It would really affect Working Class folk the most.
Lime - That’s exactly my point. LEGAL immigrants have to go through loops and hurdles while illegal ones just come in, steal a Social Security number, forge a few docs, and then have a bunch of anchor babies. Legal immigrants get treated like crap while illegal ones get Working Class jobs. And Bush wants to give them amnesty? I’ll fight that one tooth and nail.
Tshsmom - Obey OUR laws if you want to live here!
Exactly. Plus the poaching thing you bring up is really bad. The reason we have limits is so these species don’t go endangered. With poaching, the species are in trouble.
And ESL is an entirely different topic. A huge waste of money, and usually a lot of cool things like art, shop, music, etc., get cut because of ESL.
Notta - I was mentioning to Tshsmom art, shop, music, but completely forgot to mention special needs. That’s exactly why our system (California) is broke. Illegals.
And thanks.
Geopax - That’s because they’ve become a bunch of wimps. Ron Paul, Duncan Hunter, and Tom Tancredo are the only ones who still have a pair.
I hate globalism. My favorite job I’ve ever had is in India. And my former boss said the 2 guys who replaced me are idiots. He’s been complaining about them for years (we’re still in touch). The idiot CEO got a multi-million dollar bonus while cutting more than 1000 U.S. jobs and sending them to India.
Totally agreed that they’re not conservatives. They’re poseurs. We need more Ron Pauls.
I agree that we need to crack down on the use of illegal immigrants. However, just to play Devil’s Advocate here. Say we crack down, round them all up, send them home and penalize the companies who hire them.
What’s to stop those companies from just moving to Mexico?
Also, just to challenge your assumptions about the “nation of immigrants” argument. Yes, it’s true that every nation has immigrants. However, the US is one of the very, very few that considers immigrants “Americans”. If you go to Europe, someone who moved to France from North Africa is considered an immigrant, as are their children and grandchildren born in France. They are never fully accepted as “French”. It’s a very different thing here in America where we have no real definition of what it means to be “American” other than citizenship.
Laura - I actually think that’s a good thing. America is about ideals, not a race or ethnicity. You and I look very different and I think it’s a good thing.
As for companies moving to Mexico, I’d rather see companies in Mexico than China. Mexico needs a stronger Middle Class. It’s such a beautiful country. I’ve been all over that country except down Baja and very little in the Mexican part of the Sonoran desert. If Mexico had a strong Middle Class, it wouldn’t be so corrupt.
I think if illegal immigrants were sent back, most of the companies who hire them can’t exactly move to Mexico because they need local workers, like corporate farming, construction, and hotel and restaurant work.
“This is a deliberate attack on the working class by the rich to undercut American workers”
Not a lot of people have the foresight to see that ZS.
I am not sure about illegal immigrants refusing to assimilate though - I think that is something they are unable to do because of their illegal status and why they are in such a vulnerable position and easy to take advantage of.
I think the people who are involved in the transit and subsequent employment of illegal immigrants should be punished hard - they are the ones causing and feeding off the misery. The illegal immigrants themselves I think are only trying to improve their lot.
Miladysa - Yes, and that’s why I’d put the harsher penalties on those doing the illegal hiring.
Actually, in California, there are a lot of illegal immigrant protesters who want everything here in Spanish. That’s why I mentioned the refusal to assimilate. If I were offered a job in Sweden for instance, I guarantee you that in 6 months, I’ll be linguistically functional in Swedish.
I’ve been very clear about my stance on the issue of PC and illegal immigration. I really do feel bad for families that have come here and have to be broken up. I can just imagine what it must be like to suddenly lose my father. Families such as these have rolled the dice and came up snake-eyes; and as harsh as it is, it can’t be blamed on a government and its people for enforcing its laws by deporting law breakers. Ultimately responsibility has to rest with those that smuggle across the borders.
And as for Laura’s comment about companies moving to Mexico, I’m all for it. At least it’s honest and above board. I liked your reply too. How nice would it be to have a stronger economy in Mexico. Hell, it might be just the answer. Reverse the curse as they say here in New England. Maybe the flow would start the other way.
Bookmarked!
Scott - I think the jobs in Mexico would be the answer. I hate that they’re going to China. I don’t like China (the country, not the people). They have nukes pointed as us, they’re communist, and they’re always trying to poison us. Mexico has no nukes pointed at us and they’re our immediate neighbor.
Leslie - Be right over.
Zombie said: “Laura - I actually think that’s a good thing. America is about ideals, not a race or ethnicity. You and I look very different and I think it’s a good thing.”
- this is very true, and I agree that it is a good thing. But you can’t use the ‘nation of immigrants’ term to equate that all countries have immigrants because what it means to be an immigrant in Belgium or Australia is VERY different than what it means to be an immigrant in the US.
“As for companies moving to Mexico, I’d rather see companies in Mexico than China. Mexico needs a stronger Middle Class….”
This would be above the board, and more honest. But I don’t see how it connects to your argument of fighting illegal immigration to help the American working class. It just seems that this solution would hurt just as much and therefore maybe illegal immigration isn’t the root of the problem so much as it is the fact that Americans simply aren’t educated properly for the types of jobs that will be available in the global economy.
Since the new PC term for Illegal Aliens is “Undocumented Workers” I heard that the new PC term for drug dealers is Unlicensed Pharmacists.
I should actually clarify that last point now that I think about it more. Take away the illegal immigrants, you’re still left with the concept that the cheapest labor available will be used - in Mexico, China, India, Thailand, wherever. But it certainly won’t be California or Kansas. The jobs that *will* be left here are the ones that “unskilled” laborers aren’t qualified for or low paying service jobs. So the real issue isn’t fighting the global economy - it’s here. It’s happening. There’s no stopping it. The real issue is ensuring that Americans are in a competitive position within that economy. *That* has very little to do with illegal immigrants and has everything to do with education.
Granny - That’s classic.
Laura - You can slow down globalism simply by taxing outsourcing and dropping Most Favored Nation status for China. It’s really simple. It’s just that politicians aren’t willing to do that because they mostly come from the Upper Class, who benefits from globalism the most.
If we have to outsource jobs, send them to Mexico, not China. I want a Middle Class in Mexico. But once again, too much money is to be made by trading with China. It’s greed vs doing the right thing.
You cannot train people to avoid globalism. It’s not possible. I have almost 2 degrees in two completely different fields. My job is not safe. Nobody in my profession has a safe job. It could go to India at any moment without notice. Education is not the answer. I’ve had six years of college already and I’m not going back to school to get more education.
Plus, I’m smarter and better trained than the morons in India who got my job. how do I know that? I knew them, and I refused to train them out of general principle. My boss, who I kept in touch with, used to complain to me all the time about how much of blockheads they were and how he wished they would have kept us.
So it’s nothing about education. This is all about greed.
You can have Americans build a house. They’d build it to specifications and follow all the zoning laws and environmental regulations, and follow safety standards and union regulations (if those apply for that area/company), or you can save money by hiring illegal aliens and not pay benefits, not have to follow safety standards, not have to deal with the union, and look the other way when it comes to environmental regulations.
So as I’ve said, it’s greed, plain and simple.
Ahh - yes ZS - I understand the point you were making and totally agree with you!
Amen. Years ago when I lived in SF, I had an issue with a store worker who didn’t speak English and could not help me with my issue. I said as I left that I think if you get a job here in a position where you need to interact with people, you should speak the language. My “friend” called me John Rocker as in being racist. I was PISSED off at that. Like you, if I were to move to another country I’d learn the language.
And rewarding companies for outsourcing jobs to “low-cost countries” just pisses me off. Also, I completely agree about Mexico.
Miladysa - Yeah. The unfortunate thing is, if they’d play by the rules and assimilate, we’d welcome them with open arms. I myself am a child of a legal immigrant and saw that American born folks wanted to know more about my mother’s culture. I thought it was cool.
Kathleen - That’s so silly (being called racist). If I were to open up a guitar shop in Poland, I’d learn Polish first, before even opening the shop. Or at least try my hardest to learn it.
Oh yeah, I’d get rid of tax benefits for outsourcing. That would be one of the first things I’d do if I were running this country.
I’m not talking about education as in “training.” It is unfortunate that most people consider education nothing more than job training anymore. I’m talking about education that can produce people who are creative thinkers rather than people who only know how to take directions from others. Read Robert Reich’s “Work of Nations” - that’s what I’m talking about.
The types of jobs that are popping up require varied sets of skills, not “training.” Top among those skills is critical thinking.
I couldn’t agree with you more ZS. This is really tiresome on how people on the left always demonize people who rail against illegal immigrants. I also heard a great idea on Savage the other night on how to get rid of some of the illegals, look through the voting records and anyone who has a illiegitmate/stolen ID/SS# should be thrown out of the country ASAP. This will never happen of course because illegal immigrants are a big voting bloc for the Democratic party.
I am in total agreement! All our congressman who do not follow our laws regarding illegal immigration and enforce them are in violation of their oath and should not be re-elected. Playing with words can never make illegal immigration right. We need to return all those who are not legally in this country.
Interesting viewpoint, Ben, when it’s the Republicans these days who are protecting the illegal immigrants and want to grant them immunity.
Laura - I see where you’re coming from, but still, pretty much nothing can protect us against outsourcing. If your job is outsourced and it takes you 6 months to find a new one, your savings would be pretty much gone and you’re dipping into your retirement fund (unless you’re already rich, which most of us aren’t).
I’ll have to read his book. Maybe I should throw out all these Computer Science certifications and do what’s in this book instead. The sad thing is I’m still paying for financial aid for these certs.
Ben - Anyone with a stolen SS# should be thrown out immediately. And not in a nice, friendly way either. That crap does so much damage to our economy it’s not funny.
The sad thing is it’s not just Democrats that are soft on illegal immigration. Bush is soft on it and McCain who will probably be the Republican presidential nominee has a history of being soft on it. He may say he’s tough on it now, but I look at a candidate’s record.
Geopax - The laws are there. It’s just that this current administration refuses to enforce them because he makes so much money off illegals.
Kathleen - That’s what I was saying. This current administration is bad news when it comes to illegals. If I’m not mistaken, the doors are much bigger under Bush than under Clinton. They’re pouring in like I’ve never seen before. We got illegals standing on the street corner all over California.
It’s disgusting. The streets aren’t safe any more. Rape is up. Garbage is all over the place. California’s starting to look like a third world country, which it will be soon. Oh, and the schools are pretty much done. They’re downright fucked. The illegals are ruining them with their gang wars and illegals don’t take education seriously at all. All the money that should be going to other stuff now goes to ESL.
Thank you so much. I immigrated to this country legally in 1982. Then there was some sort of amnesty for illegal immigrants. I asked my lawyer if I can apply for that and was told that was only for illegal immigrants. Because I did not commit crime and obeyed the US immigration laws, I finally became a US citizen after 7 years of going through the channels of immigrant quotas which is a hoax because, one can come here illegally and then have some liberal/socialist demagogues in Congress grant them amnesty to pad their voters’ base.
Ces - Yeah, it’s such a slap in the face to legal immigrants. My mother is a legal immigrant and had to go through loops and hurdles to become an American. It’s so insulting.