Get back to work, mofos
(note: this is going to get ugly. I’m not advocating abuse of human rights or racism, but if you feel that I am, then please call 1-800-GFY-HARD to register a complaint. Thanks!)
Whether or not the current crop of illegal immigrants belong in the USA is a question I will not address here. I have my views on that (and they’re fairly liberal and generous), but my thoughts on that matter have nothing to do with the protests in the news.
I’m just a little pissed off at these protests and walkouts, and not in the least because I was inconvenienced at all. I may benefit on some level from cheap immigrant labor, but in whatever way that I do, it didn’t manifest itself at all as an inconvenience on the day of any of these protests. Instead, I just got to see brazen, misplaced entitlement on a grand scale on the news. And that just twists my pubic hairs like nothing else.
Photo by Jesse Chan Norris
Thousands Turn Out, but Support Is Mixed Among New York’s Immigrants (New York Times)
Here’s a report that’ll reinforce some stereotypes out there. Some lessons from the article:
* Most immigrants - the ones who aren’t Mexican - would prefer to use their time doing what they came here to do. And they did not come to the United States to protest instead of make money.
* Hispanics are whiny and irresponsible. But they’re not lazy! Why, they marched all day!
How much of the above is satire? Not enough of it, sadly.
I’d say that the cited Asian and European immigrants continued working yesterday (for the most part) not because they’re too stupid to realize that their rights are being stomped upon. On the contrary - I think they’re smart enough to know that they have responsibilities that they must fulfill. Just like most people from most cultures. They understand that values of responsibility are a requirement for acceptance in our society, and that’s just the way it is. Their own cultures reinforce this. They are free to protest and/or leave if they disagree, but it is not part of their basic human rights to demand a change or abdicate those values in advance.
What’s different about these immigrants who are protesting? It’s not genetic. Rather, it’s cultural. It is something that is spread in their communities through thoughts and ideas. For this cause, they think that they’re entitled to live here whether we, as a society, have accepted them as welcome or not. They think that they deserve the privilege to protest, and that privilege stands above and beyond their work obligations. They think that courtesy isn’t important, as they’re obviously willing to screw over their employers, the customers they work for, and anyone who’s trying to get around town in the middle of their big, ungainly protests. But they forgot who’s in charge here. If they think they can act discourteous to the rest of society to get what they want, then, frankly, they’re really fucking stupid *. They seem to think that American society is biting the hand that feeds them, but they got a little mixed up with whose hand is feeding who. In doing this, they’re just adding to the image damage over the years accumulated by the massive influx of illegal immigrants, and their constant and highly visible disregard of our laws and values. They are showing, again, that they intend to take out of society more than they add.
*(and I’ll say that about any large-scale protest effort. Streets are for driving, not marching. Parks are for relaxing, not shouting. Go find a field somewhere if you want to run your mouth in front of a crowd about how much the President/war/government/abortion laws/etc. suck)
I must add the Hispanic community is doing themselves a huge disservice by encouraging (or, alternately, by not condemning) behavior like this. I’ve witnessed that the Hispanic immigrant community makes for the majority of these protesters, and it’s apparent that they’re taking this on as their “power movement.” But they’re failing to unify all immigrant cultures on this issue. They’re standing alone, and they’re betraying their honest, naturalized countrymen by perpetuating an “us-vs.-them” mentality, a situation that exacerbates racism and stereotyping. I think the Hispanic community needs to back away from this battle, and quickly, if they do not want to continue to be held unfairly accountable for all of the damage on society this situation has wrought. And there need to be massive changes in Hispanic-American culture if they truly believe that this is proper behavior. A relevant American saying goes something like this: Do not shit where you eat.
Walkouts and protests are not illegal or punishable by law, but in this case they are highly questionable tactics for an unrealistic goal. Immigration reform is happening because the current situation is unacceptable for society; petitioning for the status quo is only going to reinforce the idea that most illegal immigrants are parasitic opportunists. I support human rights, but this is not the right way to fight for them. People who want to be part of our society should respect and observe the values that support our society, not values that are self-serving. The rest should either keep quiet or leave, it’s that simple.
(update: abstaining from further extended commentary, all I have to say about this article is that it’s spot-on, and in some spots hysterical. I can envision Trent Lott, with a big rope and a group of Mexicans…)