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Illegal immigrants make us teach spanish in our schools

May 11, 2012 by Leave a Comment

They make us teach spanish in our schools- 

What this means is they really don’t know what they are talking about. This is more ignorance than hate, although hateful people use this as an argument to try to add to the credibility of their position. How this all came about is they either overheard it from a friend or walked by a classroom and heard the teacher teaching in Spanish.

How to respond-

Quite frankly I too was a little miffed when I walked past my son’s classroom and heard the teacher of another class speaking spanish. It wasn’t until much later that I learned they only do that for a few years, while they teach them english. If you’ve ever taken a foreign language you know they ALWAYS use your language as a basis for communication. If you walked into a french class and the teacher refused to speak english, you would learn french much more slowly, especially when you got tired and frustrated at not understanding very much of what was going on and were getting poor grades because of it. They aren’t teaching spanish as much as using spanish to teach them english.

They may counter with the argument, “We shouldn’t have to spend money to hire bi-lingual teachers to teach them english.”

Answer: A bi-lingual teacher costs the same as an english only speaking teacher, but now you are helping an immigrant learn english, which is really what you want in the first place– less spanish speaking people in the United States.

If they won’t stop there, then move along. You just shot down one of their favorite arguments and now they’re going to hit you with all the other ones until your ears bleed.

Filed Under: Education, Hate, immigrants, Immigration Myths, Immigration's effects on citizens

Illegal Immigrants are a burden on our medical system

May 11, 2012 by Leave a Comment

They get are a burden on our Medical System- 

What this means is immigrants are so poor they can’t afford medical coverage through their employer, so they just go to the hospital, and skip out on the bill.

How to respond- 

Millions of  Americans live below the poverty level too, and they make up the vast majority of people who can’t pay their medical bills. Should they be denied medical treatment because they are too poor as well, or are we just singling out the few undocumented immigrants? Also, why pick on the minority population of people who are doing something you don’t approve of? Because it’s really not about the medical system blight. It’s about race.

 

This is a common argument used by people who don’t like Latino’s.

What they really mean is immigrants are so poor they can’t afford medical coverage through their employer, so they just go to the hospital and skip out on the bill.

 

<strong>How to respond- </strong>

 

Millions of  Americans live below the poverty level too, and they make up the vast majority of people who can’t pay their medical bills. Should they be denied medical treatment because they are too poor as well, or are we just singling out the few undocumented immigrants?

 

If you are really concerned with picking up the tab for someone’s medical expenses, why pick on the smaller group of people who are doing it? Because it’s really not about picking up the tab for medical expenses. It’s about race.

 

If this doesn’t stop them cold, nothing will. You can show them the infographic below, taken from a study done by Kaiser Permanente– not any political or otherwise biased organization– but that won’t help. If someone insists on taking this stand, they just don’t like Latino’s.

<a href=”http://southoftheborderbook.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/image2.gif“><img src=”http://southoftheborderbook.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/image2.gif” alt=”” title=”Uninsured in America” width=”500″ height=”375″ /></a> The real picture of our Medical System

 

Filed Under: Hate, immigrants, Immigration Myths, Immigration's effects on citizens, Medical

Illegal Aliens come here to sponge off of us taxpayers

May 11, 2012 by Leave a Comment

They come here to sponge off of us taxpayers-  

You don’t have to listen very closely to hear the hate in that statement. What they’re really saying is undocumented immigrants are all a bunch of lazy people that do nothing but live off of our social services.

How to respond-

I always tell people who try to use this argument that I haven’t met any immigrant who came here to collect Social Security or Welfare, or Medicare, or Unemployment . . . and not just because they aren’t even eligible for these programs.  Immigrants come here on their own dime, with hardly more than the clothes on their backs, to find work and earn a better life than they could at home. (Just like our immigrant ancestors did.)

Although this is often blatant hate, and usually argued by a devout Latino hater, it is still possible they just overheard a friend or relative say this, or saw some of the anit-immigration website or propaganda and fell for it. When someone you know and trust says something, or if you see it in print, you tend to believe it.

Try not to get too upset. Let them know that if someone doesn’t have a social security number, they are not eligible for any of those services. Some states may allow for a modicum of medical services or food stamps be afforded to people living below the poverty level, but this is extremely minimal and not something you would risk your life to get here for.

If your first few attempts to be logical fail, move along. Don’t let them drag you down into their depressing and angry lifestyle.

Filed Under: Hate, immigrants, Immigration Myths, Immigration's effects on citizens, Social Services

Illegal Immigrants don’t pay taxes

May 11, 2012 by Leave a Comment

They don’t pay taxes- 

What they’re really saying is they don’t like latinos, and this is the best argument they can come up with. They heard someone say it, or read it somewhere and it validates their anti-latino mindset, so they never bothered to check the actual facts.

How to respond- 

Over 75% of undocumented immigrants pay taxes, and most of that is money they can not benefit from. They cannot collect unemployment, or social security, and many of them cannot qualify to file a tax return and according to Standard and Poors

“Each year, for example, the U.S. Social Security Administration maintains roughly $6 billion to $7 billion of Social Security contributions in an “earnings suspense file” — an account for W-2 tax forms that cannot be matched to the correct Social Security number. The vast majority of these numbers are attributable to undocumented workers who will never claim their benefits.” 4

If this fact from a completely unbiased organization who got their facts from the United States Government, then they are hopelessly lost in the anti-Latino rhetoric and continuing the conversation with logic and real statistics is worse than futile; it could actually make you both angry and heated, which neither of you really needs anyway. Give it up. Take your educated and unbiased mentality to a safer,  more nurturing environment. Life is too short to argue with people who won’t listen to facts or reason.

 

http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/apr2006/pi20060407_072803.htm

 

 

Filed Under: Hate, immigrants, Immigration Myths, Taxes

Hate Decoded- Series

May 11, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Hate is one of those social crimes that every society is guilty of, but few people want to be openly associated with. Sometimes it lives in shadows and secrets. Sometimes it is coded and boasted about like a badge of honor. Each flavor of hate, from which there are many, has it’s own special language.

 

There has always been a distrust, or dislike for things that are different than ourselves. Each immigrant population that has come to this country has had to live with the darker side of their new communities, until such a time as a newer, more vile immigrant population takes it’s place as public enemy #1. Our current winner of this auspicious award goes to the latino population.

 

Since there is little room for logic or enlightenment inside someone who’s spirit is full to the brim with hatred, it is the misinformed I hope to speak to, as well as the latino population themselves. We all need to be aware when someone wears a mask of civility, but in reality they harbor no good will.

 

This series offers a list of words or phrases, some of which are used by people who hate our Latino population but wish to be viewed as being compassionate or fair. Some are blatant hate speech that the speaker feels just in delivering. Directly following this term or phrase is an interpretation of what it really means, often revealing their true intentions.

 

This list is by no means exhaustive, but rather ongoing, so if anyone has seen other words or phrases that are being used to disguise their true feelings towards Latino’s, please feel free to add them in the comments below this article. If I can, I’ll add it to this list.

Illegal Aliens- While this term has been the lingua franca for generations it is now a staple in most hate speech you see and hear today, often intended to be an insult towards Mexicans, and all other Latino’s by proxy. As such it is now being frowned upon by the more favored, “Undocumented Immigrant.” Technically when someone comes into this country without inspection (the actual technical term is EWI, or Entered Without Inspection)  they did enter the country illegally. Not being a citizen they are also technically an Alien by definition. It is easily understandable how this term became so standard in our lexicon for years, but with all the negative connotations implied today, people who use Undocumented Immigrant are making a conscious effort to use a more respectful term towards a part of our society that is already dealing with difficult issues on many different fronts. People who refuse to change their language and continue to flaunt the “Illegal” and the “Alien” aspects of a group are in effect continuing to insult a group of people they consider to be inferior to themselves.

 

How to combat this- Whenever you read or hear the term Illegal Alien, stop them right there and let them know that there is a more polite and respectful way of addressing this group of individuals: Undocumented Immigrant. Let them know that using illegal alien is comparable to other disparaging terms that have been used against other minorities in this country and are no longer tolerated. A word of caution: Some people may not be aware that the dialogue has changed and are using the term out of ignorance and habit.  If you Google illegal alien today you will come up with millions of results. Try to educate, not humiliate and infuriate.

Filed Under: Hate, immigrants

What Apple Computers problem with Mike Daisey has to do with our Immigration conundrum

May 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment

 

I have been a big proponent of Amnesty for our immigrants in the country illegally. My reason has always been, “We knew they were here, we bought products made, harvested, delivered by them. We enjoyed many services they provided us and not once did we take a stand and boycott a company because we were getting a good price because of immigrant labor. We are complicit in this whole problem. Our immigration debacle exists solely because of our demand for good prices and the governments inability to create systems to allow our industries to get the labor they need legally. Because of our participation, no, our creation of this problem, we owe it to the immigrants to create a system where they can stay here legally.

 

A recent interview by two reporters discussing the recent Mike Daisey fiasco makes this point very well. Ira Glass from “This American Life” that broke the false story about Apple Computers, and later retracted it, speaks with Charles Duhigg of the New York Times. 1

 

“Charles Duhigg: … do you feel comfortable knowing that iPhones and iPads and, and other products could be manufactured in less harsh conditions, but that these harsh conditions and perpetuate because of an
economy that you are supporting with your dollars.
Ira Glass: Right. I am the direct beneficiary of those harsh conditions.
Charles Duhigg: You’re not only the direct beneficiary; you are actually one of the reasons why it exists. If you made different choices, if you demanded different conditions, if you demanded that other people enjoy the same work protections that you yourself enjoy, then, then those conditions would be different overseas.”

 

 

We are not only the beneficiaries of illegal labor, But we are the reason it exists in the first place. If we would have demanded the U.S. Government get us the labor we needed to supply us with the labor that affords us this lifestyle, we would not have this problem today.

 

Picking on the immigrant and trying to put all the blame on them for this situation would be the same as putting the blame of poor working conditions in China on the laborers themselves. (had there really been poor working conditions) Amnesty or a Pardon, or whatever you want to call it, is really the only honorable way out of this mess. It’s time to stop picking on the worker and take responsibility for this mess, and fix it before it gets any worse.

 

 

 

1 You can read the whole story here   http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/03/18/apple-and-the-daisey-affair/?hpt=hp_t3

Filed Under: Business, Economy, Employment, Ethics Tagged With: ,

An Argument for Amnesty

May 10, 2012 by 1 Comment

 

Although our laws have changed many times over the years, our attitudes towards immigrants have remained the same, even while admitting we are a “melting pot” country and that immigrants made this country all that it is today.

 

We have always had a need / fear relationship with immigrants. Our history of laws tells this story quite eloquently.

 

During the gold rush, California was awash in asian immigrants who came here looking for opportunity. We needed cheap laborers to build the railroads, do our laundry, cook, work in mines, and any other hard unwanted work. We weren’t too pleased with our immigrant workers, but they served a purpose so we put up with them, until gold became scarce and the competition for work made them more undesirable. We really liked to single out our asian immigrants, imposing more rules and limits on them than any other immigrant community. We even specifically banned Chinese in 1892.

 

Currently we are demonizing the Mexican immigrant, and grouping all other latino immigrants in with them by proxy.  As with the Chinese, we liked them when times were good. They did the hard and dirty work and made our lives much easier, but ever since jobs began to get scarce, we needed to blame someone for what ails us and they look like the easiest target. After we get over demonizing Latinos, I am sure we will find another immigrant base to focus our anger and responsibility on. If history does repeat itself, my money is on the Chinese. They seem to be our favorite.

 

If we look at our immigrant forefathers, when they first came to this country, they were persecuted and made scapegoats for any problem that the citizens of this country did not see fit to take responsibility for themselves. Because of this, every successive wave of immigrants has had to endure this treatment, until finally they became accepted and the focus on them decreased. This was almost always because of a newer group of immigrants who appeared to be more of a threat than the previous one.

 

For the past several years there has raged a large debate as to what to do with the millions of undocumented latino workers living in our country. Politicians have see-sawed over this issue countless times, promising improvements in immigration policy and then restating their positions after considerable party pressure. It’s like they want to do the right thing, but when they feel like they may be eaten by their own, they retreat to the comfort and protection of their party.  This may be very much our fault too.

 

And that is the point isn’t it? Whose fault is it that they are here illegally to begin with? Should we put the blame for this situation on the people who were just working within the constructs of what they were given, or on the people who created the need but ignored the systems required to satisfy that need? And if it is our fault– if the immigrants had no control over a system that is broken beyond belief and has been for years– then how can we blame and punish them? After all, aren’t we the only ones who can create the policies and institutions necessary to ensure everyone who comes into this country is identified, and we have the labor we need?

 

Lets end the blame game and get on with the solution, which leads me to my original proposition: Isn’t amnesty the honorable way out of this mess?

 

These people have been here for many years and we have never boycotted a single company that made a product for us cheaper because they used immigrant labor. Shouldn’t we give them citizenship should they desire it? At the very least we should make it legal for them to be here and decriminalize a population of hardworking people that aren’t criminals to begin with.

 

This is our mess. We need to take responsibility for it, and fix it, without blaming the pawns in our little blame game.

 

 

Filed Under: Economy, Ethics, immigrants, Immigration's effects on citizens, Laws, Politics

Is Mexican a bad word?

May 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Hate is one of those social crimes that every society is guilty of, but few people want to be openly associated with. Sometimes it lives in shadows behind the scene, sometimes it is coded and boasted about like a badge of honor. Each flavor of hate, from which there are many, has it’s own special language. We all need to be aware when someone wears a mask of civility, but in reality they harbor no good will.

 

I am compiling a list of these terms and phrases along with their meanings and put them together in an ebook. I will also include some suggestions of what to do when you encounter someone using this language in the hopes of guiding our national dialogue into a more constructive direction.

 

Mexican-  This term is used to group all Latino’s into one big group. It’s easier to hate everyone if you just lump them all together. That way it’s not necessary to ask someone if they are from Mexico or any one of the Central or South American countries and then figure out how they feel about each one separately.1 If you Google “immigration” you will find hundreds of articles about there being 11 or 12 million illegal immigrants from Mexico, when really they are only one nation we get immigrants from, and not all of them are undocumented.

 

This is truly unfortunate for the people who are from Mexico, to have their nationality specifically associated with such anger and contempt.  Associating Mexican with illegal alien has become so commonplace that many Mexicans appear surprised and even insulted when the title Mexican is used in their presence. When the nationality of a single race is singled out and associated with condemnation so often that it sounds like the mere mention of the country is an insult, it becomes very difficult to change the dialogue to a more compassionate one, which is what is going to have to happen in order to take the first steps towards any progress in this whole immigration issue.  This needs to be stopped now.

 

 

 

How to combat this-

 

If you are from Mexico, you have every right to be proud of your heritage, just like many Americans who boast of being Italian, or Irish, or Jewish, Polish, Scottish, Welsh, German, French, etc. . . Stand up and take back the name of your country by using it proudly in your speech.  Let the world know that being a Mexican is as good as being from any other country.

 

If you are not from Mexico-  Politely stop them and make it clear what country you are from. Your country is just as good as any other too. Every country has something that their citizens can be proud of. Don’t allow people to lump you together with the ones they think they hate, making it easier to disparage your character, customs or heritage along with somebody else’s.  Letting them know where you come from will make it much tougher for them to do that.

 

A word of caution: Some people may not be aware that they are doing this. When even the news media does this it could have innocently been picked up by people who just don’t know better. Try to educate, not humiliate and infuriate. If they purposely continue to use Mexican when they speak of undocumented immigrants, just walk away and let them swim in the cesspool they fill with hate each and every day.

 

Disagree? Did I forget something? Leave a comment below the post. I will curate the best input from the public and include it in the ebook, as well as give you credit for it.

 

 

1 According to DHS Estimated Illegal Immigrant Population for Top Twenty Countries of Origin

and Top Twenty States of Residence in 2009:

 

2009 %

All countries …….. 10,750,000    100

Mexico …………….   6,650,000      62

El Salvador ……….     530,000       5

Guatemala ……….     480,000        4

Honduras. . . . . . .     320,000        3

Philippines ………..    270,000        2

India ………….. ..        200,000        2

Korea ………….  ..      200,000        2

Ecuador ……………    170,000        2

Brazil …………..  …    150,000         1

China …………………..120,000         1

Other ………. …..     1,650,000       15

Filed Under: Ethics, Hate, immigrants

Arizona in the spotlight

May 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The Ariziona Republic, an Arizona news outlet purporting to be, “Arizona’s Homepage” recently published a news article about Immigration waning as a voter issue. This leads me to believe that as far as immigration is concerned, Arizona still has a long way to go to catch up with the rest of America.

 

According to all the news articles I read each day, I have a hard tim believing Americans have suddenly dropped the immigration issue as this article tries to convey. This really sounds like the fanciful dreaming of a wounded and severely damaged anti-immigrant platform.

 

Americans are very capable of keeping more than one topic on their minds at the same time, and I am sure that Immigration is right up there with Jobs and the Economy as one of the top 3 topics Americans are most involved with right now. With the Occupy movement recently grabbing the public attention we see their activism loosely aimed at all aspects of the economy and jobs, with particular attention given to Job creation, taxation, and wealth distribution. And with all the politicians having meetings to discuss immigration and their associated press releases, along with the Mercedez Benz fiasco, I would argue that the immigration movement has actually picked up steam in recent weeks.

 

Arizona, It’s obvious your Senators and Sheriffs like to grab headlines and carry the hard line against illegal immigrants, but what you should really be doing instead of all this political posturing, is listening more and talking less. Then you may just understand what the devil is going on in this country. Immigration issues cannot be swept under the carpet any longer. There will be a steady flow of press releases in the future, and maybe even a few more politicians and sheriffs will lose their jobs before this is over.

 

Arizona Republic, nice try pretending this issue doesn’t resonate with America. Immigration is at the core of who we are and there are a lot of people on both sides of the fence who can’t seem to agree on what to do about the PRESENT state of things. Give it up Arizona Republic. Hard lines and radical views are what got us into this mess, and will only keep us chained to this tragic situation indefinitely.

 

And by the way, how can you credit the byline to Daniel González(?) for writing this article when at the bottom of the article it states, “Republic reporter Dan Nowicki contributed to this article.” On face value it appears that you are attempting to look fair and impartial by using an hispanic name for the byline, while carrying a radical viewpoint.

Can the true message of this article get any more convoluted?

 

 

http://bit.ly/rt8QMT

Filed Under: Economy, Employment, Hate, Immigration's effects on citizens, Laws, Politics

Mitt Romney, the GOP, and America

May 10, 2012 by 1 Comment

I posted a blog entry on September 18th titled, “We Need A Hero,” and I thought I spotted one the other day. Newt Gingrich, you came forward and spoke your mind. You stood a moral ground and said you were “prepared to take heat” for it.

 

Well you got the heat.

 

Michelle Bachman and MItt Romney both took out their matches and tried to light fires under you so you would no longer be a threat to their nomination bids. Michelle Bachman called you, “The most liberal G.O.P. Candidate on immigration reform.” Which I guess was supposed to be an insult. Mitt Romney tried to put words in your mouth, overstating your position in an effort to make you vulnerable to an attack from your own party. We clearly see what he is made of.

 

Now we see you wavering a bit, stating you are not for amnesty, and 25 years should be the cut-off point for anyone who came here illegally to apply for a “Red Card” which would let them live here, but not as citizens. Excuse me, but 25 years ago was 1986, and anyone who was in the United States in 1986 was offered Amnesty back then. A  25 year cut-off really makes no sense.

 

Mr. Gingrich, you don’t need to back down. There is nothing morally wrong in what you said, and you know it– that’s why you said it.

 

What I am sure every American in this country believes to be true is that have all the politicians we need. What America needs right now is a Hero. We need someone to stand up for what is right, more than for what is popular.

 

At first this would seemingly fly in the face of what Politics is all about, but I beg to differ.  Our greatest statesmen stood on principle when it would have been easier to echo the popular view. Those who did and said what was popular at the moment, will not be remembered long, nor celebrated for their contribution to mediocrity, or immorality.

 

Help us take back that which we seem to lose more of every year–our National Pride. We have screwed up the world economy, we were embarrassingly wrong about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, we don’t know how to get out of Afghanistan, we keep people imprisoned indefinitely without charges at Guantanamo Bay, and we got busted shipping guns to Mexico. (Like we really needed that one.) Every time we go to sleep at night we wonder what new controversy we may find ourselves in the middle of tomorrow.

 

When you spoke up for a Nation that did not believe in breaking up families– I began to see amber waves of grain again. When you spoke up for a nation that values friends and neighbors instead of creating a cultural and social war zone; I caught a glimpse of a “brotherhood from sea to shining sea.” When you said you would take the heat for trying to give us back some National Pride, I clearly saw someone “Who more than self their country loved. And mercy more than life!” .

 

America does not shed her grace on the lazy, or the timid, or the selfish. America needs a great leader now as much as any other time in our history. We are losing world confidence in our financial solvency. Our reputation as a bully to smaller countries goes unchecked despite our best intentions. And our inability to rise above ourselves and get out of our own way when it comes to welcoming “the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free” is tragic. If these words mean nothing any more then they should be stricken from the monument, or forever be the yardstick by which our failure as a great and free country is measured.

 

Mr. Gingrich, I understand that you fear your own party is turning on you, as your opponents would like you to believe. I understand the fear you must be feeling when even your advisors tell you that your position on immigration could lose you the nomination.

 

That is real heat. But fear not; you are not alone. Your opponents feel it too or they would not have shot back with whatever foley was at their command. Don’t listen to the voice in the back of your mind telling you to step away from a position that is morally right.

 

Ten years from now and after, when we look back on this battle, as we have done each time we have fought to defend a moral idea against a false but popular position, you can be sure that you are in the company of other great men in our nation’s history.

 

It takes the heat of a mighty furnace to forge mere rock into steel, and a relentless battering to shape that steel into a sword. You are in a place right now where you can be that sword, a shining example of what is good about this country, and your political competition, which is made of softer, more malleable materials, will be reduced to ashes and relegated to the dustbin of history.

 

So Mr. Gingrich, when you are up late at night, and the day’s events play over and over again in your head, and you end the day with that one all-powerful question: How will the future see Newt Gingrich?” There really is an easier way to ask that question that should make the answer perfectly clear, “Are you a Lincoln or are you a Douglas?”

 

Mike J Quinn

 

Citizen,

The United States of America

 

Filed Under: Ethics, Immigration's effects on citizens, Politicians, Politics
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