Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Class not Race

(For KayDub)
 Those who first came to America from Europe never had a problem with oppression - their only problem was with being oppressed.
As soon as those newly arrived became those in power their only goal has been to keep others from having the same freedoms to which many had grown accustomed.
Many former proles became the new aristocrats.
 First and second class passengers entering New York and New Jersey were usually allowed to enter the country with little more than a cursory shipboard inspection.
Those who traveled in third class were processed through Ellis Island.
Of the 12 million who were processed - only 2 percent were denied entry due to contagious disease or any other factor which would have caused them to become a burden to the government.
 Race is not the only factor taken into consideration when it comes to those allowed into the US.
Even the Irish are having problems becoming American citizens.
http://www.irishvoices.blogspot.com/

There are currently over 881,000 citizens of African origin now living in the US.
The quota for those seeking entrance from Africa now stands at 1100 persons per year (Excluding Egypt).
These African immigrants outperform all other immigrants groups when it comes to educational attainment.
48.9% hold a college degree (almost twice the number of native-born whites) and 19.4% hold at least a Masters Degree (more than twice the number of native-born whites).
After WWI, Congress passed stiffer laws to reduce the number immigrants allowed to enter the US.
But many from south of the border were allowed to bypass such laws in a sort of wink-wink arrangement with those given the task of enforcement as long as it benefited American companies.
http://www.therealnews.com/t2/
NAFTA benefited American corporations but harmed small American companies and workers as well as causing the conditions under which most from south of the border were forced to come to the US.

By saying that I am against the recent race-specific laws of Arizona but in favor of better enforcement of our current immigration laws - I see no conflict.
In tough times - people protect their resources.
This is seen in countries where refugees have overwhelmed the indigenous population or in ghettos which have had a rapid and overwhelming change in demographics.
The more natural ebb and flow of those rising and falling in class is too much for the prevailing traditions, institutions or cultures to peaceably absorb.
I'm not saying that people should not be allowed to immigrate to the US.
(In fact, such immigration has always been the catalyst for the growth and evolution of American society.)
What I'm saying is that those who break the laws are in no way justified in demanding that new laws be enacted to accommodate their disregard for our current laws.
I'll give anyone almost anything they may need - I just don't like it when someone tries to take the same from me.
(If I see a hungry man on the street - I'll buy him lunch and give him a few extra bucks. If the same guy assumes that what is mine belongs to him and tries to rob me - I'll give him a few extra buckshot in the face.)
Sure, immigrants may have an argument in favor of more rights - but they are no position to demand them.

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