03-11-2008, 12:47 AM
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#5 (permalink)
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Eponymous
Location: Central Central Florida
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SecretMethod70
Illegal immigrants aren't here illegally just because they can. Trivializing the situation by reducing it to one single adjective - illegal - doesn't magically make the issue a simple one. It also demonstrates some serious ignorance and lack of empathy. Often times, illegal immigrants literally risk their lives to come here, either on foot, or by dealing with some very shady characters (called 'coyotes') in order to get across the border. .
So it takes a special kind of tunnel-vision to minimize the issue to one sentence: "They're here illegally." It takes a special kind of cold-heartedness not to recognize that it makes no sense to compare illegally immigrating to speeding while driving. People don't put themselves through so much hardship to come here just because they have no respect for our laws. They go through that hardship because they feel that they have no choice. They literally feel as though coming here to work is a matter of survival for them and their family. Waiting a decade to get in legally - if they're lucky - is simply not an option. In a decade, it may be too late.
Beyond the law lies the ethic of human compassion. We cannot simply look at whether or not someone is here illegally, but we must ask why they are here illegally and what we can do to help their situation. Fixing our immigration procedure so that it is shorter and less complicated is one important step in the right direction. We should also greatly increase or entirely remove immigration quotas. Ultimately, if you're really concerned about security, we should completely open our borders. It'd be much easier to find criminals crossing over if they weren't mixed in with a bunch of people who just want to work so their family can eat.
Incidentally, you want to know why you come across as racist to some people? For one thing, we're all capable of comprehending the word 'illegal.' That you feel the need to CAPITALIZE it nearly every time you write it places truly undue stress on the term. This might normally be overlooked, if it weren't for the fact that 'illegal' has become a rather common epithet these days. 'Illegal' is an adjective; it is not a noun. Calling someone an 'illegal' or referring to a group as 'illegals' is denigrating, plain and simple. So, when you feel the need to constantly capitalize the word 'illegal' and use it as a noun to refer to people, frankly it does come across as, at best, ignorant, and at worst, racist. That's not to mention the characterization of illegal immigrants, as if the only reason they risk their lives to come here illegally is to steal our jobs and damage our infrastructure.
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Thanks for saying it just right. ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
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Mark Twain
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