Comments on: Ask the White Guy: ‘Illegal’ Is a Dehumanizing Term

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 02:19:42 +0000

You’re a idiot. Everything’s a conspiracy to you, and words mean what you want them to mean, Illegal alien is exactly the right term, and enforcement of the law is the basis of our society. Period. Full stop. Print it. It’s pinheads like you who make childish arguments like this that have gotten us into the mess we’re in now.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 09:10:25 +0000

Luke,

Great article as always.

You say this: “Regarding Spanish – I don’t think it’s a bad thing for taxpayers to fund English as a Second Language schools. The benefits of increased productivity and a more cohesive society would more than offset the expense.”

It is an excellent idea for American high school students to seriously buckle down and learn Spanish well. I speak Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese fluently and let me tell you: I have access to an abundance of business partners in the Latino community here and around the world.

A prediction for you all: Spanish will become the “business vernacular” within the United States.

The Roman empire manifested a similar linguistic dynamic. I cannot recall exactly which one, but, one of the largest immigrant groups to the Roman empire brought with it a language that took root within the Empire and among her citizens. This language was learned and spoken by many Romans who in turn created commerce and trade with that immigrant group.

Now, fast forward thousands of years, and look at America: here we are. By 2050, the population of Spanish speakers in America will be around 40%, according to US Census data.

My advice to monolingual America is to learn Spanish or begin to feel very, very left out of conversations and possibly business transactions.

I know that I am not ashamed of being multilingual, nor do I think I am better than anyone else. I was indeed a bit miffed when in the recent movie Robin Hood, with Russel Crow, the multilingual character was portrayed as a spying, thieving, conniving jerk.

The take-away here is multifaceted: do not be afraid of people from other lands or cultures; learning another language does not make you a traitor; not knowing another language does not make you stupid or less-than; learning a language creates an appreciation for diversity that diversity training cannot, meaning that when you take on another culture’s language, you take on a tiny bit of the culture as well.

Remember: languages are LESS like codes for one another and more like distinct personalities and ways of being.

-A Teacher

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 16:49:07 +0000

Excellent comment by the guest who coined the term “economic refugee”. I think it will catch on.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:08:56 +0000

I have a somewhat different take on this. I know several families who are undocumented–and they are not all from Mexico. These are honest hard-working people who work long hours and live in substandard conditions, sending money home to support their families. They are much more like my dirt-poor Irish ancestors who came to this country to do jobs no one else wanted to do than we modern Americans are. What’s happening now is that those who looked the other way when they were profitable, are now talking law enforcement.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 13:43:15 +0000

It’s funny… the only arguments here stating that there’s no offense in the term “illegal” coincide with comments about the paramount importance of “The Rule of Law”. What they fail to grasp is that it’s our idiotic laws that created this problem. It would not have been hard to issue temporary work visas when our demand for cheap labor began to ramp up in the 1990′s… oh, except then we would have had to pay the workers minimum wage. The Mexican economy was never any great shakes, but it was NAFTA that made them and the rest of Central American have to compete directly with the USA, which inevitably was going to lead to great influxes of labor across the border. The same thing has happened in the EU… all the construction workers in Germany are Polish, Hungarian, etc.
The comment about Japan/Europe, etc. is really the only one that matters. Consumer spending makes up about 75% of our economy, and cannot function without an ever-increasing number of people who provide labor, AND create demand for goods and services. Immigration is the ONLY possible way to save Medicare and Social Security, as birth rates currently won’t support our entitlements. We don’t currently issue enough visas to allow enough immigrants to enter in order to finance these and other entitlements, which means the law FAILED. To fall back on “you have to obey the law” now is ludicrous. Controlling the border is one issue (militarizing it is not necessarily a good answer, unless you like lots of dead bodies), but the whole idea that we can deport 11 million+ people is just, frankly, stupid. We would lose uncountable tax revenue, the deportation costs would be unfathomable, and it’s a violation of international law to split up parents and children via deportation proceedings (a law I’m inclined to agree with).
And for those who draw comparisons to cultural clashes between Arab, Turkish, and N. African immigrants in Europe… that’s the best thing about America: you move here, you have some kids, those kids go to college, speak English, put on a suit, and go to work…. and THOSE kids, we all call Americans, regardless. America’s ability to integrate into our culture, while people still retain some of the traditions and cultural attributes of their home country is what truly makes this country great. In opposition to our way of doing things, there are 3rd generation people of Turkish descent living in Germany who still aren’t German citizens. America’s willingness to integrate everyone into our social and economic fabric is the only advantage we have against the new state-controlled free-market economy of China; I highly suggest embracing it. Especially if you plan on retiring any time soon, and want SSI or Medicare.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 10:06:43 +0000

Mr. Visconti, your opinion on this topic is very one-sided and doesn’t show that you’ve looked into the problems that legal or illegal immigration brings to any country. Everything is not black and white (sorry if that’s an offensive term to you).

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 15:22:42 +0000

I also find the hate-filled and small-minded spewing of bile to be rather chilling. I appreciate Luke’s examples of how to deal with such people. It has seemed obvious to me for some time now that border “issues” are mostly on our southern border. It is equally clear that it has something to do with standard of living – very similar between the US and Canada to our north, but greatly disparate between the US and Mexico to our south. In talking with my brother about this issue, he suggested the term “economic refugee” which seems just right to me. Perhaps use of this term would allow for more nuanced discussion and give another perspective to this conversation. Keeping the focus on immigration status, which is either legal or illegal, doesn’t easily lead to talk about all the many gray areas. Some might think that this is a semantic argument or (worse) “politically correct”, but I think our words are very powerful. What picture does the term “economic refugee” call to your mind? Now contrast that with your mental image of “illegal alien”. Different, right? The discussion of and solution set for issues involving economic refugees is different, too.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:19:57 +0000

Luke,
I wonder if your readers understand the gravity of your comment “we will not suffer the decline of an aging population like Japan and Europe are going through.” I think you are refering to the fact that the United States does not have a birth rate sufficient to sustain our culture without of our Hispanic communtiy.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 13:27:39 +0000

I was both enlightened and enraged by this article. I shudder to think that there is another motive behind this stir of negativity surrounding immigration reform. I am ashamed that anyone called American would conceive of such an attrocity. America is a land built on the backs of immigrants from all walks of life. Some were taken from their homeland but nevertheless we the people built this land. We must put reforms in place that are fair and just. We must consider the circumstances and a way to address the immigrants who are here that remain undocumented. Mass deportation or concentration camps cannot be on the table. Collaboration and solutions with our bordering neigbors must also be factored in. Sweat shops in foreign countries who produce American products have to be closed. We have to stop buying those products and bring the jobs home. I am outraged by some of the comments here because they are so black and white. I would ask you to look in the mirror because many of the “illegals” look just like you. They come from your ancestors’ homes and they are not all brown from Central and South America! Your grand and great grandparents would be ashamed of you! One thing that hasn’t been mentioned in the string are the thousands of children arriving under the guise of adoption who are really household slaves. While we’re fixing the problems, let’s add this to the list. If we keep rolling on the current course, don’t be surprised where the next bomb blasts come from. It could be anywhere because our policies give too much of the world a reason to hate us. God Bless America and may He have mercy on the small minded souls who think this is as simple as “there illegal and that’s that! I hope your numbers are few because Americans are better than this.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 11:27:58 +0000

illegal is just what it means in this article about the immigration influx, e,g, here in this country without the proper documentation to be here. It doesn’t matter if you’re from Mexico, Cuba, Africa, China or around the world for that matter. If you’re here in this country illegally, then the laws of illegal entry should apply just like they would in any other unlawful act. It doesn’t matter how hard you wok, and or if your services are needed within this country, following the procedures on how to be here is what’s important.