Frankly, there were a lot of folks saying it better than I could. Anyway, this is rather predictable.
After Protests, Backlash GrowsI'll be blunt. Illegal aliens need to either keep their heads down to avoide hassles from the ICE - or they need to go home. Demanding - DEMANDING - rights, when they broke the law getting here in the first place, doesn't impress me one bit.While a series of marches focused much of the nation's attention on the plight of illegal immigrants, scores of other Americans quietly seethed. Now, with the same full-throated cry expressed by those in the country illegally, they are shouting back.
Congressional leaders in Washington have gotten bricks in the mail from a group that advocates building a border fence, states in the West and South have drawn up tough anti-immigrant laws, and ordinary citizens, such as Janis McDonald of Pennsylvania, who considers herself a liberal, are not mincing words in expressing their displeasure.
"Send them back," McDonald said. "Build a damn wall and be done with it."I've worked for immigrants. I've worked with immigrants. When one of my co-workers from Africa's Ivory Coast got naturalized, I congratulated him.
I've got no problems with folks who want to immigrate, who want to follow the law. Apply, come over, learn English, learn the history, go through the procedures... and become a citizen. Glad to have you, welcome to the dream.
This... DEMANDING legalization, while carrying Mexican flags, while promoting the Aztlan movement, while threatening to take back the Southwest if not allowed citizenship - that just doesn't cut it.
Well, I think ANSWER was looking to provoke a backlash. They may well get it - but not quite what they expect.
J.
Comments (2)
For me, the face of immigration will always be Mitzuhara Izutsu, who was the father of Sarah's best friend Mana. The family had come to the States from Japan in 1996, sent by Mr. Izutsu's company, for 3 years. Mr. Izutsu, incidentally, was a topnotch programmer of CNC production machines.
While they were here, they did everything they could to get permanent residency, with the hope of becoming citizens. To no avail. They had to go back in early 1999.
Sarah and I saw them off at the airport, the only of their friends that did. A lot of people think that Japanese people are unemotional (as it happens, they think the same of us; neither EXPRESSES emotions the same as the other, but the same emotions are definitely there), but Mr. Izutsu was crying. Literally. He and his wife had acquired attitudes sufficiently American that they did not want to take their daughter back to Japan. Why not is a tale for another time...
Anyway, they had done everything they could to follow the law, and they failed, and they followed the law and went back. The notion that these people, who wanted so desperately to become Americans, failed because they followed the rules, while the illegal aliens are demanding forgiveness for CONSISTENTLY BREAKING THE LAW and flaunting the rules that the Izutsus followed, is intolerable to me.
Posted by John C. | May 4, 2006 4:29 PM
Posted on May 4, 2006 16:29
I think a lot of folks are finding it intolerable, John.
We're pretty much a law-abiding nation. And even when the laws don't make a particular amount of sense we'll put up with it because the laws are applied pretty much fairly across the board.
Yeah, we grumble and gripe, but we know the laws are the same for all. (Or should be.) When one group gets special favor in the eyes of the law, it grates.
Your friend Izutsu followed the rules. Rightly or wrongly, he followed the rules and abided by the decisions made by the folks who arbitrated the game. It sucked - but because it was 'fair' it was tolerable.
And now folks who not only didn't follow the rules to get here are demanding the rules be set aside for THEM?
No. I've sent e-mails to my representatives and senator expressing my thoughts. The idea of a general amnesty ranks right up there with slapping aluminum dope on the Hindenberg skin fabric - in hindsight it was a Bad Idea that should have been apparent from the first - and there's already been amnesties in the past that didn't help 'stem the tide'.
I'm sympathetic with those who want to come here. But starting out by breaking the rules doesn't exactly endear them to me - quite the contrary in fact.
Hey, I understand why they want to come - but why should they get preference over folks who have waited for years to get here LEGALLY?
J.
Posted by JLawson | May 4, 2006 11:46 PM
Posted on May 4, 2006 23:46