Stupid immigration protesters

I am all for the melting pot if it eases the pain of having someone look at the "machine-translated" restaurant menus.

Good post, I agree wholeheartedly.

 

Let's just Annex Mexico, our soccer teams would improve, and their education system and roadways would get better.

Hell, while we are at it, let's take Canada too.

I could use a little Glaciar skiing.

DD

 

With a open border . .. is that not the basic results

Rocket River

 

Yes,

That is my point......

Kind of a "Sound and Fury signifying nothing" topic.

DD

 

I find it mildly funny that you are making a comparison to France ...the conservatives arch enemy.

Ok, lets take a look at your "assimilation" principal a little more in depth.

Who gets to define "assimilation?"

Is the sole requirement speaking English? How do you define "fluent" english? Is it passing an English 101 class? Maybe a 102 class? We all know the problems we've seen with standardized tests even in our public schools and now we have to expect the Dept of Homeland Security to develop and administer such a standard? Besides, if the immigrants choses to live in a "safe" neiborhood (ie among like-minded people), then many may rarely speak English daily and they'll forget. Is that unacceptable to you?

So speaking English can't be the sole determinate of "assimilation."

Whats next? Will wel dictate where they can live? What foods they'll eat or what type of jobs they can accept? How do you force somebody to participate in our "culture." How would you define "culture" anyway? If you live in South Texas, the culture is very differeant than California, New York or North Dakota. So who defines what is acceptible culture integration? Maybe leave it up to folk in Corpus Christy to decide. Would that be okay for you?

Ideally, maybe you could do some of this stuff but what if the buearacy of Homeland Security goes a little off kilter (we know that stuff never happens. ), then the whole system of "assimilation" gets into really scary areas run by corrupt and/or intollerant people.

This topic of forcing "assimilation" of an immigrant population is a pandora's box. Quit frankly, I can't think of anything more unAmerican than forcing our newest Americans to "assimilate." America is built on immigrants and so far we've turned out ok without an "assimilation" clause in the naturalization process.

Ideally, assimilation sounds good but we don't live in Eden. Just let this idea of "assimilation" fade from your mind. It is a bad idea.

 

its not that you can't talk about these issues, but to blatantly call someone or their idea's racist when the topic at hand has nothing to do with race is ridiculous. this has everything thing to do with what the law says and nothing to do with how anybody feels.

opinion and feelings.

you're right on this point as it's none of my business where any of this takes place or where it happens, for now.

but look no further than Ottomaton's post on the previous page, France is dealing with issues we will have if the different groups fail to come together.

 

double post

 

This topic has EVERYTHING to do with prejudices and racial tolerance. At a very minimum, the racial aspect is a very important subcomponant that can't be ignored. You are fooling yourself if you think otherwise.

But for the record, I didn't call Hayes a racist ...I merely said his idea, however well intentioned, is racist (although I've been corrected and should say predudiced).

The law doesn't say anything about "assimilating" immigrants ...which is what I found objectionable with Hayes's comments.

Thank you, for now.

 

You edited your post. Let me respond to one more of your comments.

This isn't France.

The Latin population is already strongly rooted in America. We celebrate Cinco De Mayo all over the country, signs and announcements are printed in both Spanish and English in the boarder states, we all love to eat Mexican food. How many of us took Spanish in high school? Latins make up about 1/3 of the voting population in cities like Houston and LA and therefore Lantinos are even represented in elected positions. etc etc etc etc etc etc etc.

I don't foresee how we are having a problem "assimilating" these immigrants.

Using the "assimilation" argument is weak weak weak ...and I only hear it coming from Republicans ...therefore I assume it is born from fear, ignorance and/or flat out predudices.

 

again you're right, and same as your previous reply to Ottomaton, there shouldn't be a law dictating how or what exactly constitues assimilation.

i think that is where our agreements end, and my feelings on this issue begin.

the great thing about america in the past is that when immigrants would come here, be it ny back in the day, or some other big port of entry they would group with fellow people from their homeland. they still had a pride for, and held missed their homes and family dearly. but in turn they had a great pride to be an american, they were here to better themselves and were thankful for that opportunity. i think this is what we're not seeing with the illegals. i'm sure many of them are happy to be here, but when you walk in the streets and demand something that you aren't entitled to, and scream about how "you didn't cross the border, it crossing you" that's not assimilating to the american way.

 

I'd be happy if Americans of all stripes could learn English.

 

I can't think of the movie where one guy says to another, "What do you mean you failed English? It's your mother tongue!"

 

One of my friend's little brothers had a French foreign exchange student in his class that would always make fun of him and some of his friends for doing bad in English.

 

I used to work as a GED tutor at a community college. Trust me, there are a lot of Americans who don't know how to write in English beyond a grade school level (and, inexplicably, don't know the function of a minus sign), but they've been able to make it in society. If we're really going to make English proficiency a prerequisite for being American, we need to kick everyone who confuses "you're" and "your" out of the country, and that'd include a lot of people who've lived here all their lives.

Going back to an earlier post - I've been doing a lot of reading up on bloggers' posts on immigration lately, and there was a blogger based in North Dakota railing about how immigrants are taking away American jobs. I looked up the demographic breakdown of North Dakota on census.gov, and would you believe it, Hispanics make up just 1.2% of the state as of the last census - so I have to wonder, how much of this reactionary xenophobia is based on the fact that some Americans have had practically no contact with Hispanics? The melting pot has some uncooked bits in the middle.

 

It hasn't been required since 1776. Why do you feel at this particular time in history that the government should be administering English aptitude tests?

Do you think America will now suddenly fall apart because of the immigrants? Please, somebody explain to me why are you so resistant to the idea of these immigrants not "assimilating."

 

Learning English is not and has never been a requirement and America survived and prosperred.

Please somebody explain to me why the government should be administering English aptitude tests now. While you are at it, differentiate why it hasn't been necessary in the past but it is now.

 

I don't think speaking fluent English is necessary for Americanization, and being pretty much trilingual, I appreciate the US government's attempt to encourage people who speak any language to be part of society.

On voting rights, though, I'd argue that the government doesn't need English aptitude tests, but common sense aptitude tests, and issue these to prospective voters before they can vote. Questions like:

This statement about immigrant races was made by a US Senator in 1924 to justify placing quotas on immigration. Cite prior historical precedent for immigrants entering an already occupied country and enriching it, then reconcile it with the above comment that immigrants did not make America. Please avoid any snarky references to genocide as soil enrichment.'

And if you can't answer the question, then you can't vote. Logistically, of course, it'd be a national nightmare to grade. But not any more ridiculous than criminalizing illegal immigrants, then pushing 11 million people into a corner where they have nothing to lose by lashing out at America.

 

Good post Blind. I agree with everything you said.