I got an e-mail yesterday with an analogy that tries to clarify (one perspective) on the illegal immigration situation in America. I’ve posted the whole message and my reply elsewhere, but the analogy itself, and my counter-analogy are included below.
From the original message:
Let me see if I correctly understand the thinking behind these protests.
Let’s say I break into your house.
Let’s say that when you discover me in your house, you insist that I leave.
But I say, “I’ve made all the beds and washed the dishes and did the laundry and swept the floors.
I’ve done all the things you don’t like to do.
I’m hard-working and honest (except for when I broke into your house).[…]
Why can’t people see how ridiculous this is?! Only in America …..
From my response:
Maybe this would have been a better analogy?
Let’s say you break into a house.
Let’s say you evict the current occupants, then ship them off to some really undesirable place you don’t want (yet).
Let’s say while you’re at it, you rape and murder many of them.
Let’s say you then kidnap and enslave some other people to level the old house, and build you a bright shiny new house.
Let’s say while they’re at it, you rape and murder a few of them.
Let’s say once the house is done, you throw the slaves out with nothing but the shirts on their backs (and no land for them either)
NOW Let’s say I break into THAT house.
Let’s say that when you discover me in “your” house, you insist that I leave.
But I say, “I’ll do the work you don’t want, and I’ll pay rent, and I’ll contribute to making the house better.
I’ve done all the things you don’t like to do.”
I’m hard-working and honest (except for when I acted just like you in the beginning).
Have I mentioned that I’ll pay rent?”So basically the lying, thieving, rapist, murdering, kidnappers want to evict the maid for breaking and entering.
Leave a comment, and let me know where you stand on illegal immigration in the U.S.
Your second analogy is a little bit off the mark, because “I” did not break into the house, my “Great-grandfather” did. I am really sorry about that, but it happened a long time ago. Now I do have a front door, and if you ring the bell and ask politely, I will let you in as an honored friend.
But when you say,“I’ll do the work you don’t want, and I’ll pay rent, and I’ll contribute to making the house better. I’ve done all the things you don’t like to do. I’m hard-working and honest (except for when I acted just like you in the beginning). Have I mentioned that I’ll pay rent?”, well that’s super, but you still broke into the house, and you don’t want to speak my language or participate in my traditional activities, and if you aren’t hard-working and honest, then you are just mooching out of my fridge and medicine cabinet. Someone has to pay for those groceries and medical supplies.
Read more here: http://shoulung.wordpress.com/2007/02/27/victor-hanson-on-the-infiltrators/
Thank you for your time.
Your second analogy is a little bit off the mark, because “I” did not break into the house, my “Great-grandfather” did. I am really sorry about that, but it happened a long time ago. Now I do have a front door, and if you ring the bell and ask politely, I will let you in as an honored friend.
But when you say,“I’ll do the work you don’t want, and I’ll pay rent, and I’ll contribute to making the house better. I’ve done all the things you don’t like to do. I’m hard-working and honest (except for when I acted just like you in the beginning). Have I mentioned that I’ll pay rent?”, well that’s super, but you still broke into the house, and you don’t want to speak my language or participate in my traditional activities, and if you aren’t hard-working and honest, then you are just mooching out of my fridge and medicine cabinet. Someone has to pay for those groceries and medical supplies.
Read more here: http://shoulung.wordpress.com/2007/02/27/victor-hanson-on-the-infiltrators/
Thank you for your time.
As far as the “ring the bell and ask politely” bit, we only have that policy if you’re from certain countries. The number of legal aliens allowed in from countries like Haiti and Mexico is *very* limited. Basically we insist on only letting people in who have a job lined up (or manifest proof that getting a job will be easy). That’s not exactly the standard that our fore fathers intended.
As far as wanting to speak the language, participate in traditional activities, and mooching, I think that’s a gross generalization and there’s no proof that any given illegal would do these things. Since illegals cannot get welfare, medicare, or attend public schools it’s hard to imagine how they would meet your criteria. IF an immigrant could apply for any job which they qualified (instead of just low playing positions that hire illegals under the table to save costs), then many more of them would have health insurance and pay income tax.
Even peoples that immigrated 100 years ago still maintain their own traditions (and sometimes language). I speak an odd amount of yiddish considering my background (neither parent is Jewish or speaks any yiddish). And I’ve been to a potlatch and caber-toss (not at the same time). Immigrating does not mean you have to immediately forget where you’re from or your heritage, but using that as a reason to keep people out is just plain silly.
I’m not saying that we should just open our borders completely, but the standards used in allowing immigration need to be changed to allow a wider range of people a better chance to join us legally.
As far as the “ring the bell and ask politely” bit, we only have that policy if you’re from certain countries. The number of legal aliens allowed in from countries like Haiti and Mexico is *very* limited. Basically we insist on only letting people in who have a job lined up (or manifest proof that getting a job will be easy). That’s not exactly the standard that our fore fathers intended.
As far as wanting to speak the language, participate in traditional activities, and mooching, I think that’s a gross generalization and there’s no proof that any given illegal would do these things. Since illegals cannot get welfare, medicare, or attend public schools it’s hard to imagine how they would meet your criteria. IF an immigrant could apply for any job which they qualified (instead of just low playing positions that hire illegals under the table to save costs), then many more of them would have health insurance and pay income tax.
Even peoples that immigrated 100 years ago still maintain their own traditions (and sometimes language). I speak an odd amount of yiddish considering my background (neither parent is Jewish or speaks any yiddish). And I’ve been to a potlatch and caber-toss (not at the same time). Immigrating does not mean you have to immediately forget where you’re from or your heritage, but using that as a reason to keep people out is just plain silly.
I’m not saying that we should just open our borders completely, but the standards used in allowing immigration need to be changed to allow a wider range of people a better chance to join us legally.
I found the last comment from Shoulung as well and in light of what has happened not too long ago in Bedford, MA, I thought I’d give my “two cents”.
I read the last comment and the associated link. Believe me when I say that I can understand the “infiltrator argument”. I have family about 15 miles from the Mexican border. Thus, what I read in that blog was not news to me.
I’m not good at analogies so I’ll just say it straight up: closing the border won’t really solve anything because that doesn’t solve the real problem.
The last comment is very reflective of a common attitude among many Americans: no sense of connection from one generation to the next. Other non-western countries understand this much better than we do. They understand that a nation’s identity, its character, is continually built on one generation to the next.
So I find it ironic when we say, “Sorry, but that was my Great Grandfather who did those things” because it shows just how culpable we are for this “immigration problem”. One only has to look at all the possessive pronouns in that comment to see how inward and uncompassionate we have become.
I think if we really examine ourselves we will see the truth: this country has for so many years ignored the “immigration problem” until it was no longer an economic convenience. Then when it became a “burden”, it was so easy to morally justify actions like rounding up 300+ immigrant workers in Bedford, MA separating mothers from their children. Morally justified, how? We rationalized it because in our hearts we were already callous: “Sorry, that is not my fault. It is not my generation that is responsible for the way things are.”
Just my two cents but I think Sandro’s analogy hits the mark. In fact, I think it hits closer to the “heart” of this country a lot more than we would like to admit.
I found the last comment from Shoulung as well and in light of what has happened not too long ago in Bedford, MA, I thought I’d give my “two cents”.
I read the last comment and the associated link. Believe me when I say that I can understand the “infiltrator argument”. I have family about 15 miles from the Mexican border. Thus, what I read in that blog was not news to me.
I’m not good at analogies so I’ll just say it straight up: closing the border won’t really solve anything because that doesn’t solve the real problem.
The last comment is very reflective of a common attitude among many Americans: no sense of connection from one generation to the next. Other non-western countries understand this much better than we do. They understand that a nation’s identity, its character, is continually built on one generation to the next.
So I find it ironic when we say, “Sorry, but that was my Great Grandfather who did those things” because it shows just how culpable we are for this “immigration problem”. One only has to look at all the possessive pronouns in that comment to see how inward and uncompassionate we have become.
I think if we really examine ourselves we will see the truth: this country has for so many years ignored the “immigration problem” until it was no longer an economic convenience. Then when it became a “burden”, it was so easy to morally justify actions like rounding up 300+ immigrant workers in Bedford, MA separating mothers from their children. Morally justified, how? We rationalized it because in our hearts we were already callous: “Sorry, that is not my fault. It is not my generation that is responsible for the way things are.”
Just my two cents but I think Sandro’s analogy hits the mark. In fact, I think it hits closer to the “heart” of this country a lot more than we would like to admit.