Immigration...

I find it ironic, we in the west use the world as our playground, our to use and visit whenever we like, but do not extend the same privledges to the people who actually need to move.
Immegration has tightened up so completely over the last couple of years. I'm not sure if any country will relax already astronomically tight borders. If immegration can't be more accessable to the disadvantaged, we need to as a planet, make questionable nations safer and more condusive to better living within their own borders.
My heart goes out to this boy, I do hope he can be rescued. He sounds as if he's suffered so much.

I agree with you, Ceili; it is completely selfish. Yet, if you look at the history of Western interests in the East, Africa, South America, etc, all you can see is exploitation; taking as much as one can without giving back anything. Look at the US, who say that they were above this, being a land of immigrants itself; Eisenhower thought himself just to have the democratically-elected Patrice Lumumba (written about in The Poisonwood Bible) slaughtered. People feel all high and mighty because of having 'civilised' things like elections; elections, though an essential part of a Western democracy, result in almost half of voters ending dissapointed, with no equilibrium, and little power of the individual. I find it sad that missionaries and the like killed African culture to a certain extent, because of their cultural arrogance... a culture has to be sufficient to the people for it to survive, and until intervention, it did. I know the dangers of overcrowding- probably why I'm getting out of the UK, eventually (perpetual student disorder stops this at the moment), but the least we can do is lend a hand if it be needed. After all, wouldn't we expect the same, if we were in their position? Still, by the nature of man, there will always be disequality.

Ed Anger writes a political humour coloumn for the American tabloid Weekly World News, called 'My America.' One of my favorite pieces was his description of his trip to France. He said he hated France because it was all full of foreigners. To me, that pretty much sums up a gross portion of the American public. Sadly, I also think that a lot of Americans who read the Weekly World News probably think he is being serious.

I highly recommend his compliation book of essays: "Let's Pave the Stupid Rainforests and Give Schoolteachers Stun Guns, and Other Ways to Save America."

You would say that most Americans are like that?? God! In a nation of immigrants, who gets to slam the door on whom?

Fooling the general consensus with that kind of humour makes him sound like my kind of humour read . I did something very like that in 6th form college (equivalent of the last two years of High school.) I got death threats, offers of marriage, and something telling me to go to Norwich. Some people have too much time on their hands and not enough understanding. I'll try to root him out in my Waterstones; thanks for telling me about him.

I agree. There is way too much greed in the world.

I know... it's one vested interest against another, and the strongest one always wins...

Anyhow...

Who's for helping with the execution of a Cultural revolution?

Here is a classic Ed column on immigrants (heaven knows how anyone could take this seriously):

BRING A FOREIGNER HOME FOR THE FOURTH OF JULY . . .


EDITOR'S NOTE: There's no holiday bigger than the Fourth of July at Ed Anger's house - and this classic column, which first appeared on this page in 1984, proves how serious America's No. 1 citizen is about Independence Day.



Nothing gets me more pig-biting mad than a bunch of foreigners coming to this country, settling down, taking our jobs - and then refusing to learn how to talk and act like Americans.

Let's face it, they don't make foreigners like they used to.

Fifty years ago, the immigrants who fled to this wonderful land of freedom couldn't wait to learn how to talk like a native.

But this latest batch of foreigners are too lazy and ungrateful to try to fit in.

If I had my way, I'd kick these funny-talking free-loaders out. But we all know that the simpering liberals won't let us.

Nothing gets a bleeding-heart wimp blubbering faster than kicking a newcomer to this country in the butt.

Since we can't get tough with these immigrants, I figure the next best thing to do is for us red-blooded patriots to take the foreigners in hand and teach them how to be Americans.

That's why the theme of this year's Fourth of July bash at the Anger house is: Bring a foreigner for a red hot and a brew.

Normally, our friends come to our Fourth of July party dressed as famous people from American history.

Along with a barbecue and fireworks, we recite the Declaration of Independ-ence and tell stories of the American Revolution.

This year will be the same except all our Amer-ican guests must bring a foreigner.

The only rules are: No talking chili-pepperese or any other foreign lingo while at the party.

No eating with chop-sticks. And no more than one kind of foreigner.

Let's face it, if we let two Latins in, they'll be off in a corner jabbering away in chili-pepperese for the whole day and never learn a thing about America.

The only hitch I ran into was when I told Uncle O.V. Potter about the shindig. When I said it was O.K. to bring a Japanese, Uncle O.V. ex-ploded.

"But we're still at war! They won't be happy until there's a Toyota in every garage, and McDonald's serves sushi."

I understand Uncle O.V.'s concern.

He's convinced that every Japanese tourist to this country is really a spy.

And let's face it, every Japanese tourist I've ever seen is carrying a camera.



Published on: June 26, 2001

Hahahaha . Especially the Japanese spy thing and 'chillipepperese.' That is inspired. Yet, taking in mind the strange world in which we live, I knew that people would take it for face value. For some people, 'irony' never really caught on. For some people, this would /be/ their mode of beliefs, which is rather frightening. Ignorance comes to mind...

I'm definitely going to look for that book--- and for enraged responses to his works!

IMO, most Americans aren't against immigration drom. The recent talk is about a lot of angst over ILLEGAL immigration.

If people want to come to the US I have no problem with that. I do expect them to check in and obey the laws while they are here though.

True, illegal immigration is a big problem, but it should not breed the kind of contempt that some people do have. Some people are too scared of being sent back to check in, although I agree wholeheartedly that they should.

I think, more than anything, that England is one of the countries most against immigration...

Update on the boy: the SCA office told me that the boy was put up in a hostel for the night. At least he's not on the streets. He semt to be frightened as no one could understand him, and he kept on asking for 'la dame.'

Oh, geez......yet another "I-hate-Americans" European.

The USA has zero problems with immigation and/or immigrants. Everybody in the this country was once an immigrant.

EU countries like France, Germany, Holland, etc., have some very serious problems with both immigrants as well as the entire concept of immigration, so lay off the US and reserve your hate for what your OWN people are doing, OK?

katya8, you are a bit incorrect. The Native Americans were not immigrants, they were original settlers, thereby making them Native, hence the term, and we can see what happened there. I also don't see anyone here who is anti-immigration on this thread, unless of course you completely misunderstood the original post.

That's completely off-the-mark.

If I hated Americans, well hell, I wouldn't be here. I even have American in me, so there .

Anyhow, I wasn't manifesting my evil European hate against Americans (quite the stereotype in itself). In fact, I said that it was not the US,

[quote][it is] England [that] is one of the countries most against immigration... [/quote]

This whole damn issue was about ENGLAND'S treatment of immigrants, and when it did come to Americans, I was talking about the minority. From being a minority in my own country (French-Irish), I have nothing but sympathy, and nothing in the way of an Anti-US prejudice, as I have no real nationality to hold on to patriotically.

Perhaps if your line of thinking were not so fundamentally flawed, you would have seen that. The belief that America does not have a problem with immigrants is, at best, myopic. It does; every country does. I never did suggest that everyone is Anti-Mexican, but there is a huge Anti-Mexican belt of people. And don't tell me that there isn't, for there is.

Perhaps if you weren't so prejudiced in the 'European= Evil US-hating bigots' department, you would have read what I said and not jumped to the minimum of baits. Every country has a distasteful minority, but that reflects little on the majority of people. So back off before you start criticising me for something I did not say.