Race. The word has taken a high visibility exam in the past year, has it not? It always has been this "under the radar" thing. We felt it, thought about it, pondered about the changes needed to be made, yet it remained -for better or worse-, in the closet of discussion until Mr. Obama did his race speech and it was "release the hounds" time; everybody jumped in after the elusive fox. All the networks including the major cable channels were trampling over themselves to put hour-long specials on the air. NBC did an interesting piece called "Finding David Wilson" where a black "David Wilson" traced his roots all the way to a white "David Wilson" plantation in the modern day south. Touching. All the talking heads put race front and center in their "talking points" and before you knew it race was in the middle of what is considered a seminal moment in American politics. I've never seen the populace so willingly delving into this self-flogging moment. My October 27th posting called "Its the wiring, stupid" made even more sense to me as I watched with mild amusement and fascination the nation having a full pledge discourse on the topic. Then I made the mistake of getting on a mental tangent that took me to race as it applies to the immigration discussion (still) being held in this political cycle...., and one thought laid into the other like moss on a redwood's north side...
I started to ponder things and began looking at socio-politics as the related to borders in other parts of the world. to correctly gauge comparisons and have apples to apples examples, one must look at places where 1st world countries (like us) have a 3rd world country at its border (like Mexico). What if our southern neighbor countries were all of "white" European descent and culture?, and were mostly Caucasian?.... What if Europe itself was there and not Mexico. What if say, Denmark, Finland and Belgium were right across the Rio Grande instead of Tijuana, Sonora and Rosarito? Think of the possibilities and ramifications as it applies to today's socio-politics. Is it really the idea of illegal immigration that most of America is harping about? or is it the type, culture or racial mix of illegal aliens to which we particularly disapprove? Would the cross-border problems of health, drugs and language be as blatant? or would they be more palatable? If a bunch of "Inga Bjornson's" and "Sven Ikea's" were coming across dropping blue-eyed and blond anchor babies, would we we as intolerant? What if Great Britain was across the border and since they all spoke English there would be no issue of bi-lingual schooling needed; would that change our opinion? I have to confess that I paused at the idea and wondered if I would have the same visceral reaction to a culture that mimics my own coming across, rather than the implied "invasion" of illegals that some portray due to the fact that they are all brown, don't speak the language and (for the most part) come to gain the economic advantage instead of integrating themselves into the bastion of Americana...
Remember when the wall came down in Berlin?.... After the initial euphoria and celebration of reunification, what happened? Was there not a massive backlash from the West Berliners against their eastern brothers and sisters? Were they not treated like dog meat in spite of being of the same race, culture and language? Did they not piss on them due to the perceived "lower class" status and the massive hit to social programs? .... sound familiar? What about when the iron curtain fell and a myriad of Soviet satellite countries found themselves fending for themselves? did they reach out and touch someone? of did they circle the wagons to those of similar design and ejected anybody else that looked or spoke differently? When Israel became a country back in the 40's, did the displaced Palestinian territory emigrants feel welcomed in warm Arabic fashion in the bosom of Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt? or were they put in refugee camps hoping to dump their "Arab brethren" into somebody else's lap?....
Maybe I just answered my own question.... maybe I would still feel the same way about social services being stretched to breaking points and schools busting at the seams to handle the cultural cauldron. Maybe. But I have to admit, if I saw her swimming across the Rio Grande wanting to "come to America"..... don't think I would not toss her a life ring, shower her with confetti, Chocolate bom-boms, a night at the holiday inn express and a tour of Disneyland; ... oh yeah, and putting lotion on what has to be terrible sunburn in those silky-skinned shoulders of hers...
Ok, were'd that rant come from?.... my estrogen levels must be wavering ...
7 comments:
I imagine I’d find an illegal alien who looks like her more palatable. At least until she began sucking up taxpayer money, demanding we add Lithuanian or Swedish, or whatever language to the ballots, and marching to add some part of the USA to whatever her nation of origin was.
Had we Europe on our border, or Britain, it would be like having Canada on our northern border. Another Second World people. They would still be more civilized than the Indio-centric societies to our south, and more interested in their own betterment than in pulling down the far more civilized and successful Gringos to the north.
As a matter of race ... show me one single nation that is not bigoted against the outsider. Just one, once the influx of ignorant foreigners begin to affect the internal workings of their homeland. All those European nations that think the USA is sooooo racist and bigoted are now seeing their own stupidity, regarding accepting any and all Third World immigrants into their lands, playing out.
If they want to come to the USA, for economic reasons, reasons of Liberty, reasons of asylum, let them behave as though they are visitors and not invaders. Otherwise I don’t care what their color, ethnicity, or race. Throw them out and don’t let them back!
/end rant
Sorry! Heheheee!
Indio-centric.... I gotta' jot that down and use it. That's the beauty of blogging. Your cemmenters use of words are always surprising to me.
Your points are valid and accepted. I fully agree that although at first the cosmetic appeal of a person may soften your instincts, once the same tax-bleed comes to bear on the economy then the same issues true to one's ideology will surface again.
I resent the Euro's in some way for thinking they are so above the curve of tolerance, ... yet the events occurring in their own yards say otherwise.
Immigration is one of those policies that my party (libertarian) is out to lunch. I am neither a xenophobe nor an isolationist, but i do agree with (drum roll please) Michael Savage on this one. If a country is not Language, culture and borders, ... then what is it?...
Seemingly just a place to live while you gain power. LOL
Welcome back! That is an illegal tha I beleive would be find many sponsors to citizenship!
I am a pig. Not only would I sponsor her, but I would gladly open my home for her to reside. My wife would just have to get over it.
I think you have a valid point in that if illegal aliens all looked like her then there would not be half the outcry that there is today - initially. When the government was stretched to its limit and half my neighbors spoke like an old Tim Conway flick, then there would be issues.
But it has less to do with race than culture. America has been the melting pot and we have thrived from diversity. Those of us in the south love fried chicken, but I also crave real italian and the Irish in me needs corned beef and cabbage. Our favorite restaurants are a mexican place, a sushi place, and a chinese place. I don't mean that flippantly, I mean that interaction with other cultures is a good thing. I have been overseas and enjoy that aspect of travel, but am always glad to return home to MY country and MY way of life.
It isn't about a latino culture being different, it is about a SINGLE culture taking over in America. Remember the 80s and 90s when the Japanese and Chinese were buying real estate and there was a concern that one day Americans would not own America? The same thing applies here, IMHO. We as a society don't mind other cultures and ways of life, we don't want ONE pervasive culture erasing Americana.
Good post.
<<< Truth Pain >>>
OK, you guys are all pigs, but there are some interesting observations here. May I humbly expand on a few here?
America is pretty unique in the world in that we don't have a single shared ethnic background like the French, Germans and even the English. We are a country of immigrants -- my parents emigrated here from Europe after WWII. And as Robert points out, we enjoy food and traditions from many cultures that we have adopted as our own.
We've had waves of immigrants over the years; the Irish, the Italians, Russians and Eastern Europeans, Cubans and Puerto Ricans. So what is different now?
All these groups came to America with the dream of becoming AMERICANS. Once my parents could speak English (sort of) my father forbid us to speak anything else at home. I grew up in a town with a hugely diverse population and what stands out is how all these people worked hard to assimilate to American culture. With great pride and usually heavily accented English, they would declare, "I am an American!" They worked hard, paid taxes and contributed to society in a variety of ways. They did not expect anything more than a chance to succeed. Give them freedom and they would do the rest.
There is a real danger in having groups of immigrants living in this country with no desire to integrate into the communities where they live and work. Who close ranks and hold onto beliefs that are in conflict with American ideals. And when we burden our citizens with taxes to pay for schooling and healthcare and other services when so many of them can't afford the same, we set the scene for burning resentment and intolerance.
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