Anti-Migrant Hate: December 2007 Archives
In her Washington Post op-ed, "The Right Road to America?", Yale Law Professor Amy Chua compromises with hate. In an attempt to forge a middle ground between tolerance and toughness, she makes deals with the devil. The net result is an argument that rests on nativism. Chua makes the fallacious argument that, within nations, "pluralism and diversity" leads to "violence and instability". Reading her op-ed, I couldn't help but be reminded of the lunatic mission statement of Frosty Wooldridge's website (Another front for NumbersUSA):
Dean Allen, a plump and friendly fellow sporting an American-flag tie, told me that he runs something called Spirit of Liberty; he's also helping Witherspoon's campaign. "Some of these people may be coming in here to get jobs washing dishes, but some of them are coming in here to hijack airplanes," he explained. "If you're down there trying to look at the people coming across the border, maybe a lot of them are just motivated by economics, and they want a job washing dishes or cutting grass. But I can't tell Jose Cuervo from the Al Qaeda operatives by looking at them, because they cut their beard off. It's like trying to get fly manure out of pepper without your glasses on, you know? I mean, not a racist thing, but they're all brown with black hair and they don't speak English and I don't speak Arabic or Spanish, so if they don't belong here and they don't come here legally, I want to know who's here."
Anytime someone prefaces a statement with, "I'm not a racist, but . . ." make sure to turn your bulls%#t detector up a notch or two.
It's alarming to consider that much of the animus and fear behind anti-migrant politics right now is apparently attributable to a simple case of mistaken identity. It bears repeating since it hits me in the face like a sledgehammer: "They're all brown with black hair and they don't speak English and I don't speak Arabic or Spanish."
Translation: They're different from me in ways I don't really
understand but that worry me, so they'd better make sure they keep their distance.
I don't usually post on the weekends. But, in managing Citizen Orange's comments, I came across the tactics of another despicable anti-migrant troll. Not only is this troll so cowardly that IT refuses to identify ITself, but this troll has engaged in misrepresenting ITself as one of Citizen Orange's beloved bloggers.
The troll commented here and here.
Pretending to be yave begnet, this troll has engaged in spewing anti-migrant and twisted logic, which I refuse to answer, because of the underhanded way in which IT has identified itself. This is the sort of hate that we have to confront online, and in real life. It is in anonymity that we are confronted with the true hate and cowardice of the anti-migrant viewpoints that are responsible for the suffering of millions.
I've written this post and published these cowardly comments, and expose the world to what the pro-migrant blogosphere has to confront on a daily basis.
[Image: uploaded by schlupcav to Flickr]
There’s this thing about rich people. They need poor people to work for them. In this country, often those poor people are immigrants. Some of those immigrants may not have their papers in order. But the richer you are, the harder it’s going to be to avoid employing some immigrant labor that is not work authorized (a concept that didn’t even exist in the U.S. until 1986).
(Boston Globe Photo)Massachusetts has been buzzing with the news that Mitt Romney was caught employing migrants staying in the U.S. illegally, yet again.
The Boston Globe broke the story last night, and David at Blue Mass. Group was quick to jump all over it. After the Globe inquiry, Romney quickly fired the landscaping company and his Republican rivals have been quick to jump all over it.
My favorite quote came from a member of the Fred Thompson campaign:
Rather than just sit back and laugh at the political theater, I thought I'd delve into a deeper analysis of Romney's hypocrisy on this issue."First Mitt Romney was FOR illegal immigrants working on his lawn, and then he was against it, then for it, and now I guess he's against it again," spokesman Todd Harris said in a statement. "Sounds like his position on amnesty."
Having trouble? How about if I write them out and link to them:
Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM), Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CCIR), California Coalition for Immigration Reform (CCIR), Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), National Immigration Law Center (NILC).
Still having trouble?
On the bright side, New York is trying to make it easier and safer for immigrants to report crimes.
Gracias a Nezua y Tomás.
Dobbs's popularity results from filling the vacuum spineless establishment Democrats are leaving in their wake. In the absence of strong progressive leadership, Lou Dobbs has been able to twist populist rhetoric into anti-migrant hate and economic irrationality.
Make sure to sign the petition to boycott Lou Dobbs over at boycottdobbs.us . Let him know that the people he claims to represent will not stand for his harmful rhetoric. His words divide and degrade human kind.
I also want to thank Max and the Marginalized for giving me permission to use their music in the video. Check out their myspace page to hear more music. Their only asking for a donation of 50 cents for each downloaded song. Not bad for quality work like this. The lyrics for Dobbs-inspired song, "Weeknights at Six" are below.
