posted by Sam and Michelle
Post your 450 word (minimum) comment and 100 word (minimum) response to a classmate. You should be responding to the lectures about immigration. You can write anything you want about whatever you hear in the lectures.
23
Jun
Lesson 13
The topic of immigration always catches people’s attention, whether they agree with what’s going on or not. As Dr. Richards mentioned, immigration is not a democratic or republican issue, IT”S AN ISSUE! I’m going to be honest, I absolutely cannot stand Glenn Beck. He is annoying, and I usually don’t pay attention to anything he has to say. (No offense to anyone who likes the guy) But, anyways, immigration has always been a controversial subject. I honestly think that when some people hear the word immigrants, they think of mostly Mexicans, but obviously the statistics in the lecture proved otherwise. I think what is most shocking about the lecture was when Dr. Richards spoke about the dog, Congo. If it were any other person, or child, the dog would have been put to sleep, without a question, and I’m pretty sure no law would be established to spare his life. It’s just crazy. Of course that is racism, without a question. Maybe he shouldn’t be here illegally, but he is still a human being, who was working, minding his own business and attacked for no reason.
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kac5293 Reply:
June 30th, 2010 at 9:08 pm
immigration has always been a controversial subject. Glenn Beck does try to obey the Constitution and most people find him ignorant or annoying to listen to, just because he is a republican, but most people do not really fully listen to what he is saying; they do not pay attention to the context of his speech. I believe he does not present the immigration strong enough. I agree, that immigration is not an issue based upon if someone is a republican or if someone is a democrat, it is an issue that everyone has an opinion on. immigration has always been a controversial subject.
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rmb5202 Reply:
July 4th, 2010 at 10:26 pm
I agree that most people just assume immigrants are Mexicans cause I know I surely did but the facts do show and prove otherwise. I am not the biggest fan of Glenn Beck either but I think I have that opinion maybe because it is just me being bias because I am a democrat and agree with most of their biases. The example of the dog, Congo was brilliant yet also rather sad. It proved a great point because immigrants do get attacked for just minding their own business and it is sad. It kind of sucks though because illegal immigrants are here without permission so although I feel bad for the man, being fair would be to kick them out even though they have a better life here recardless being fair is being fair. He got some money which is fair and good but honestly he was here illegal so there is really nothing that could be done. Overall, the example of the dog definately showed racism and I honestly felt really bad for the man.
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That guy that was going on a rampage made my ears bleed. It is easy to get mislead and respond to the issue with such hatred. It just goes to show how ignorant and cruel people can be. There is the notion that individuals that are immigrants are taking up the work that no one will do, but there is also the idea that they are illegally in the United States. There are those that are just regular people minding their business and doing their jobs hoping to get a better life, and there are those that are smuggling drugs into the United States as well. So, I personally think that this is a difficult situation to handle, but of course we must not judge. It is what it is. Usually anything that has to do with the KKK just gets on my nerves, and we all know how they feel about everyone and anything that is not white, so I’m not even going to go there. I think
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Dr. Richards did a good job at pointing out that people are people, and should be respected for that, and treated without judgment. It’s so hard though for many to open their eyes to see what is going on around them. The issue of immigration has changed even more now that the new law was passed. I personally don’t know what is to come of it, but I am only hoping for the best. A couple of days ago I watched a girl on CNN protest the new immigration bill. She was kicked out of her school for refusing to leave the campus when asked to go.
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lmbrown2006 Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 3:23 pm
The point you made of Dr. Richards making a good point of people are people in this issue is the truth. When I read your comment I remembered a friend of mine had to go to a DUI training program and on the last class you brought a guest and you went on a tour of the county jail. When we got into the jail and we went around the corner there was the gym area, inside the gym the size of a basketball court was hundreds of bunk bed and hundreds of illegal immigrants I couldn’t believe my eyes! Hundreds of men stuffed in a gym surrounded my glass walls, they were dressed in a whole different jail outfit from the regular inmates, they couldn’t speak English and they all ran to the glass when they seen us yelling in their language as to say “get us out of here!” And needless to say the gym area had been taking away from all the inmates to house the immigrants there. Now I went home with the thought in my mind “immigrant or not and inmate or not aren’t we all people, human beings?” Rather it be jail or not shouldn’t we all be treated fairly.
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This girl was an illegal immigrant, and was facing the issue of losing her college career because of being one. This kind of situation is tough. Many think that it’s justified because she shouldn’t be here anyways, but there are those that feel for the girl and go in the opposite direction and sympathize with her. However you may feel about the issues of immigration, I think the most important thing to know is that there are those that are going to fight for what they want, and all we can do is stop getting in other people’s business, and let whatever happens happen. I honestly don’t know how else I feel about the situation, other than we are just to see people for who they are.
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aks5248 Reply:
July 4th, 2010 at 10:49 pm
That guy who posted his rampage and the quotes that have followed just go to show the steps that we still need to take to subdue racism in America. He is obviously uneducated about the whole term of illegal immigrants. The comments are also an example of what I think is one of the most obvious forms of racism that anyone can show. And of course the guy doing the video has to be white which shows everyone that all white people are racists. Obviously a lot of us (including American citizens of color) are upset with the illegal immigration issue today. But video posts like this have absolutely no place in the race talks to solving the problem today.
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Immigration, especially illegal immigration, has always been and will always be a topic that will be debated. I took a class last semester with professor john iceland about immiration, and a lot of it was factual based, but we would have discussions during the class as well. most students did not have much to say when it came to legal immigration, but when it came to discussing about illegal immigration, that is when the classroom got heated. It used to get me upset and frustrated when I would hear these hippie people in class saying "well these [illegal] immigrants need to provide for their family as well and need to keep them alive…" I do not understand what people do not get that illegal immigration BREAKS THE LAW!
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and if it breaks the law, then they get punished. so pretty much what they were saying, and what everyone else is class says about illegal immigration (being on the OK side of it) is that it is alright to break this law. if that is the case, and someone felt that it is fine to break this law, then who is to say where and when to draw the line? why not kill a thousand people too? yes that may be a little extreme but I am just trying to prove a point. its funny because in any other country, you could be killed or sent to jail for entering illegally.
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its only in the united states that we have stupid people BRAINWASHED believing that it is ok for them to enter into this country. I personally believe, and I know there are a bunch of other people out there in this country that believe the same exact thing but they are afraid to announce it to sound "racist," but that mexicans feel that we, Americans, took a part of their country for them and now they are trying to over populate our country with their people to try to take it back. People do not realize the importance of obeying the Constitution and following it strictly.
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jav5188 Reply:
July 3rd, 2010 at 1:51 am
I couldn’t agree with you more. I feel like people out there don’t realize what this country is coming too when it comes to ILLEGAL immigration. Our ancestors did it the right way. I am not talking about the Pilgrims and the Native Americans. That is a completely different story. I am talking about the immigrants that came through Ellis Island; those immigrants that did it the right way. I am kinda ticked that some stupid Americans are being brainwashed to believe that what the Mexicans are doing, standing on a corner, looking for jobs, coming over here and taking these jobs that other people could have is truly ridiculous.
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DrCandle Reply:
July 4th, 2010 at 1:20 am
7/4/10
Although I don't agree with illegal immigration we must not forget WHY our ancestors "did it the right way". They migrated here legally because the United States made it very easy for them to do so. We needed labor so we opened the gates and allowed immigrants to come here very easily, many of them were hopping on whatever boat they could and I'm sure many would have come anyway even if it was illegal. The reason so many illegal immigrants are entering now is simply because our regulations have become ridiculously strict. A job is a job, it's not reserved for us it’s reserved for whoever is willing to take it.
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Yes, Glenn Beck does try to obey the Constitution and most people find him ignorant or annoying to listen to, just because he is a republican, but most people do not really fully listen to what he is saying; they do not pay attention to the context of his speech. I believe he does not present the immigration strong enough. My mom is an immigrant and I guess that makes me more intollerant of illegal immigration. I see it as, if she and her family could come over here to America, LEGALLY, then so should everyone else. She waited like she was supposed to to come here, and did it the right way. What I fear when it comes to Mexicans coming into this country illegally is that they are taking advantage of the American system and bringing us down with them. People do not realize how they are probably laughing at us saying "oh stupid americans they do not realize how much we are taking advantage of them…"
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macwpsu429 Reply:
June 30th, 2010 at 10:03 pm
I have to say I agree with you and I don’t feel the least bit guilty of saying it. It is ridiculous the amount of illegal immigrants in this country and I feel nothing is being done about. More recently in California, the new immigration laws put into place were hammered and butchered. Too bad. I believe that California’s proposed laws actually might have done some good in this country. I never followed through until the end result but I believe that checking people and their status is fair.
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macwpsu429 Reply:
June 30th, 2010 at 10:03 pm
If you don’t belong in this country, you don’t belong. I am sure that there is a long ridiculous process to go through to come to this country; however, there is a process for a reason. I am sure people come to this country illegally trying to make a better life for their family and everything else. However, I know many people that scam the system. I know people that pay people off thousands of dollars to have them marry someone to make them a citizen. These two people will act like they love each other, live together, etc., for 5 years I believe it is, just so that person can have their family come here from another country. What the heck is that. The only worse thing is that our government isn’t even smart enough to realize people do that. I agree with everything you said, the law is a law for a reason, it is to protect us and keep us safe.
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AttemptedLife00 Reply:
July 5th, 2010 at 12:31 am
Personally I feel that your comment "if you don't belong in this country, you don't belong" is nothing if not ignorant. I don't advocate for illegal immigration, as it is illegal. If the federal government deems one illegal activity to no longer be an issue, than there is nothing stopping the other laws from being justifiably breeched as well. However, in recognizing the "wrongness" so to speak of illegal immigration, we must also recognize the reasoning behind which these people are coming to our country. I think a statement regarding "who belongs" in this country is borderline racist in that no one "belongs" or "doesn't belong" short of their legal status here. In my opinion, your statement gives off the impression that you are a spoiled American without the capability to acknowledge the lives that these people are leading prior to their immigration.
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nrd5040 Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 9:48 am
7/2/10
I can relate to what you said about immigration as my father came to the United States in the 1950's from Italy. My grandparents dreamed of a better life here and they worked very hard for many years in order to provide a better life for thier family. However, this experience has made me more tolerant of illegal immigration. I do not support illegal immigration but I do understand that the majority of the people crossing the border are trying to create a better life for themselves and their family just the same as my grandfather. I think that all immigrants that come here are trying to take advantage of the oppurtunities that this country offers.
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Blueskies21 Reply:
July 3rd, 2010 at 7:58 pm
7/3/10
I agree – I’m sure the process is not an easy or fun one, but it needs to be done. We have immigration quotas and laws for a reason. Illegal immigration is not acceptable and, I too wonder where we draw the line. I have no problem with people immigrating to the United States, but it needs to be done legally. I have a few friends who immigrated here and some had to wait multiple years for everything to be cleared. That to me seems more responsible, they did everything that was asked of them and waited their turn. I know those families wanted a better life for themselves and their children, but they entered here legally, and I don’t think there is any excuse as to why people can’t enter legally.
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DrCandle Reply:
July 4th, 2010 at 5:24 am
May I ask where your mother immigrated from?
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kac5293 Reply:
July 6th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
she came from sicily
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Sunday July 4th
I have to say I am guilty of being one of those people that can’t stand when people don’t speak English! That just drives me nuts! This is America Speak English darn it!!!! I will never forget that man in Philly who had a restaurant; he actually put a sign up that said Speak English. Don’t remember whatever came from that. I don’t understand why it isn’t a rule or regulation when people come to this country they have to speak English. There is nothing more frustrating than calling a customer service line, and dealing with someone who you can’t understand!! It doesn’t matter what customer service line I call, phone, internet, cable, bank, anything, it is someone that doesn’t speak English. Typically the conversation starts out “Excuse me” “Pardon me” and gradually makes its way to “Can you repeat that,” and eventually ends up “What the hell are you saying!” and hang up.
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bsa5057 Reply:
July 5th, 2010 at 1:27 am
Well there had been many attempts to make English the official language of the United States, but the issue I believe you should consider is that the United States, unlike other countries, is a country of immigrants. People immigrated to this area, and English was brought to this land like Spanish, German, Hebrew and many other languages. And I don’t believe the first generation immigrants who came years before we were born were perfectly fluent in English. They spoke English with heavy accents that were influenced by their native tongues, so I think it must take time for these new people to get used to the language, and instead of criticizing why they do not sound American by their accent, I believe it is better to give them a chance to integrate and feel that the American people are welcoming them, which may ease this transition from their former culture and language to this new one.
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cym5201 Reply:
July 5th, 2010 at 4:26 am
I totally agree with you. And I have called myself racist against non-Americans. It burns my bridges to go to a place of business, where I can't understand a word they are saying. Then they'll get upset when you say excuse but I don't understand. The 2 nurses at my job are African and sometimes when they are speaking thier words run together, they'll see my facial expression and slow down. Sometimes i'll even say, speak English, I don't understand. We all just laugh it off, since this is now the standard joke in our office. However, if you don't speak English, or if we as Americans go to other countries, don't get upset when someone ask can you repeat yourself.
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That isn’t right, but it’s frustrating. At my moms work, the owners are Egyptian; they walk around all day talking in Egyptian. It is funny; you know when they are talking about you because the only thing in the conversation you understand is your name. They can’t change that! My mom will tell them to speak English, they just laugh. Growing up my best friend was Spanish; when I would go to her house it was awful. Her family only spoke Spanish and refused to speak English. I would be sitting on the couch, “what did they say,” “what is she saying,” because I didn’t have any clue. It was amusing but yet it was also uncomfortable. It was uncomfortable to be around people and not know what anyone is saying. On the other hand, my mom and dad travel a lot to other countries, and they have no clue what the other languages are and they walk around talking English. I am sure people think the same thing about my parents when they hear them talking in English.
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. My dad wanted to take a trip to the Holy Lands, the travel agent informed him that the tour group would be surrounded with guards with machine guns and that it is common for people in those countries to come up to you and spit on you if they hear you talk English. “Those” people hate “us” people. I think that shows that we aren’t the only country full of discrimination and hate I suppose. Needless to say, mom and dad won’t be going there. It isn’t more of a freedom or a biased that I don’t like when people don’t speak English, it is simply frustrating when you can’t even understand someone. It isn’t right of me to think that way, but oh well, I do.
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SaraMae22 Reply:
June 30th, 2010 at 11:54 pm
I think that your comment is very interesting. I know that feeling of being uncomfortable. i have gotten my nails done several time and they don’t speak English, as a matter of fact I don’t know what they are speaking but I know when i get them done I’m always like excuse me, uhh what did you say. Personally I think that immigration is okay but they should at least know the language of our country. When we travel we try to learn the language or have some understanding of how to speak so that we can integrate into their society.
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ViciousVirgo Reply:
July 5th, 2010 at 2:23 am
I can understand your frustration when it comes to people that you can not understand. I wrote about this on more than one occassion. With me, it is frustrating when i can not understand the person but it also frustrates me that some businesses over here, a country who's language is primarily english, hires people to operate and run things who do not speak this language. I feel as though if the native language is english, people should speak it if they are giving me a service. I think if i were to go to another country and speak my english, it would frustrate a lot of people if their language isn't primarily english. it is just a matter of who you pick to run things over here.
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July 4th
This lesson was very interesting because I think that it’s a topic that many people have an issue with. In our minds we think that because someone moves to the United States they are expected to conform to the culture and society but that’s not always the case. Americans think that immigration is a horrible thing and yes i admit that i was one of those people who thought why you are coming to this country you have your own to live in. However, i really didn’t understand why there are coming until now. In my eyes American is great but to these people it’s like heaven. They have so many opportunities to make their lives so much better. Their dream is to come to American and make money for their family; they sacrifice their lives to make themselves better. It made me mad when I heard that people were calling immigrants lazy however, in fact they are not lazy they walked thousands of miles to come to the land of the free and work for next to near pennies. People get so mad when they here immigrants working in the United States but yet why are they getting mad. I think that they are lazy and don’t want to get out and find a job so they are going to complain about immigrants working. These people who come to this country do the jobs that we as Americans don’t want to do. If they need the money let them work. It’s almost like these people are damned if they do and damned if they don’t., no matter what these immigrants do they will always be complained about. I have stated this before about our country, most people who have come to this country are immigrants and have traveled here because they want different opportunities then what their country can provide for them. So why do we have an issue with immigration if we all are technically considered immigration? I wish people would think before they say something. Another thing that I found interesting was about language. Yes I am guilty of having an issue with people not speaking English. One time I was standing in a line in Florida and this group of people all they spoke was Spanish and I found it very annoying. I don’t know why I found it disturbing but I know that when I left the comment of this is America speak English came out of my mouth. Now looking back on that comment I think that I was young and didn’t understand the foundation of this country. We are all unique and without different people in this country I don’t think we would be the land of the free and have so many different cultures to call home.
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crr171 Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 4:59 pm
I also agree that this is an interesting topic because many people have an issue with it. And most of the time they have a strong opinion about it. I also didn’t realize why they were coming to the United States. But after listening to this lecture they are coming here for a better life. They want to have the “American Dream”. Most, if not all, of the immigrants are living a better life in the United States than they were in their native country. And I don’t think that immigrants are lazy. In fact, many of them do the hard and strenuous jobs that other American citizens don’t want to do. And these immigrants will do the job for low wages. So they aren’t lazy. They just want to create a better life for their families.
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dancediva2191 Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 9:10 pm
Posted: 7/1/10
Due: 7/4/10
I think it is so true that when immigrants come to the United States we have very high expectations for them to blend in. I am not so sure that Americans think immigration is a bad thing, as long as it is legal. I think it’s when it is illegal that Americans have an even bigger problem with the immigration. Isn’t it interesting how we are all immigrants in this country except for those that are of Native Americans, and yet we complain when more immigrants come to the country? Our ancestors came to this country for the same reason people are coming here today, so what is the big deal? Why should we limit the opportunities for these people when they are willing to work so hard? We shouldn’t. I couldn’t agree with you more when you say that our country is the way it is today because of the different cultures and backgrounds of all the people, all of the immigrants, that make up this country.
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COLOUROFCHANGE Reply:
July 2nd, 2010 at 8:30 am
Reply Due Date July 4, 2010
Hi SaraMae,
I do agree with you about people saying immigrants are lazy. They are far from it and they will live in any condition to provide for their families either in America or back in their home country. I have an issue with the amount of money the Government spends on the welfare of these individuals. I don't think they should be treated unfair, but if there are policies that are supposed to enforce illegal immigration just make sure they apply to everyone. The agency ICE actually knows how many immigrants can be released into the United States by their agency. It is all calculated by supply and demand. tens of thousands of immigrants are housed everyday in the United States and the tax payers are supporting them for the business people on Wall Street who are tied with in with the Federal Government.. I can also relate to the language issue you have. I do not think people should drop their cultures when they come to the United States and I believe they should be allowed to practice their cultures but it depends on the context of the display. I don't hate a lot of things however, I hate going into a place of business where the people are capable of speaking a language other than English and they use that language in the presence of individuals who most likely will not understand them. A great example is an Asian nail salon or Dominican Hair Salon. That sends a bug up my behind. I hated it so much I hunted for a nail salon for weeks until I found one that was American and their primary language was English. I am not discriminating against the use of the language, it is just a lack of etiquette, just like people who pick their nose. (it's their nose, but dude do it privately). Great Post SaraMae!
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I like looking at the slides during the lecture and seeing what pops in my head when I think of what the slides say. I read the intro slide for the immigration lesson to my roommate and she began laughing and it made me wonder why. I admit, I gave a little chuckle but then we took the time to analyze why. The intro slide says “They keep coming,” and when I had a conversation with my roommates I asked why was it funny and what were the reasons we agree with the statement or why do we feel it is true. The first couple of things that came out of their mouths was that they automatically assume Mexicans and Asians are the only form of immigrants and went along to say that they come over and take all of our businesses. Getting back to the intro slide, they feel as though that is exactly what is occurring with them. They come over here in so many ways illegally and then they are able to establish businesses.
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A few lessons ago I talked about how some accents bother me because in America it Is frustrating to have to struggle to do business with people who are not from here. My roommates agreed but they also realize that sometimes the people are not necessarily from other countries but right here in America.
When I looked at the other slide that compared what I like to think of as the good vs. bad immigrant, I began to think on a broad scale. You have the immigrants who come over here to honestly make a living and try to better their lives for their families and children and then you have some that come over here and conduct the same dirty business that they do in their own countries. It is horrible to me that we mix all of the immigrants into one category. I think this is how a lot of prejudices begin.
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It also makes me think do a lot of people know what an immigrant actually is. I finished talking to my roommates and I began to wonder if this was a form of racism and discrimination. A lot of people do not wish for immigrants to be here even if their intentions are good. Some people do not support a lot of businesses because they are run by immigrants or people that are assumed to be immigrants. I also noticed that when I am out with my friend, if something goes wrong at a fast food restaurant or any establishment that is run by a foreigner, they automatically throw racial slurs at them and begin talking about how they are illegal immigrants.
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07/04/10- Lesson 13
I must say the political cartoons at the beginning of the lecture made a very impressive point. It pretty much turned the tables on the current view most Americans have on illegal immigrants. I especially enjoyed the Homeland Security shirt with the Native Americans. I never quite paid attention to the fact of how much we as a country needed immigration to function properly and not fall into the ways of socialism. If we want to maintain our ways of free market capitalism we must rely on immigration to function. The lecture definitely made me realize that it is not a political issue it is plainly just an issue. This was obviously seen that in 2006 when the politicians started rabble rousing, the borders were constricted and the fruit harvesters could not obtain workers to pick fruit and ended up losing 10 million dollars. I feel that the government should have reimbursed the fruit growers that had lost a substantial amount of money because of this. The analogy of the spicket that the Doctor used to describe what the country tries to do with immigration summed it up perfectly. In order to operate under free market capitalism, we need to determine the right amount of water that needs to flow in order to operate the way we do without the overabundance of immigrant flooding that so many seem to have a problem with. Regarding the case of Congo The Dog in Princeton New Jersey, I definitely feel that it is racist, because if the dog had attacked a caucasian american, no one would be fighting for the dog's life, no citizens and certainly no politicians. When I lived in Florida I would hear about instances of dog's unprovoked attacking humans who were all United States citizens and in every case the dog was put to death, and it wasn't a white thing either because most of the victims were black individuals. So in the case of the man raking leaves and being attacked it is definitely a case for racism. It has become very evident to me that in order to successfully maintain a healthy economy, immigration is very necessary. It was pretty neat to see the networks of migration and the fact that immigration occurs in waves. We also can't expect that immigrants will entirely integrate into our culture and forget theirs all together. Whenever I see videos on immigration dealing with hundreds of people crowded on ships and then coming to ellis island or other various ports, and spending a week to a month on ships, I always wonder how they would look at cruises today and people go on ships as a form of leisure leaving for the places they were escaping from.
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07/04/10-Reply to SaraMae22
I agree with you Sara, many Americans feel that when immigrants come to our country they are fully expected to give up their culture and all aspects of it in order to assimilate to our way of life as Americans. People get upset and say that immigrants take up too many jobs, but in reality they are all the jobs that Americans complain about or do not want. It seems that most Americans want to have their cake and eat it too. Many of these people are trying to make a better life for their families back home so in effect are not lazy at all and overcome extreme odds to even lead a meager life in this country.
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07/04/10-Lesson 13
This lecture was quite shocking. The cartoons at the beginning of the lecture really turn the tables on many Americans current way of thinking about immigration. You could apply what is happening now to the events that happened to the Native Americans many years ago. I really enjoyed the homeland security shirt with the picture of the Indians posing with rifles. We owe much of our current way of life and support of free market capitalism to immigration, which I had not previously thought about. And arguing against immigration is indeed a support against socialism. I did not see this really until the Doctor brought up the Pear farmers in California. And the fact that immigration is not a Republican Issue or Democrat issue but just an ISSUE. That needs to be handled. When the politicians get together and fight about it rather than look at it and see how it helps us and how we need it, problems occur. This was seen when the pear farmers could not hire enough immigrants because of border constraints that came from when the politicians were bickering back and forth to see who had a tougher stance on immigration. I feel that the government should have reimbursed the fruit farmers the 10 million dollars that they had cost them because of acting like children and not paying attention to the real issues at hand. I do feel that the support for Congo the Dog not being put to death is indeed racism in it's purest form. I can attest to the fact first hand that if he were an american Citizen the dog would be as dead as Abraham Lincoln. When I lived in Florida I would hear about dogs attacking people unprovoked constantly and pretty much all cases were those in which americans were attacked. Black or White the dogs were put to sleep so this is clearly a racial issue dealing with immigration. It was quite interesting to see the waves of immigration over the years and the networks and reasons that they come about. I always wonder when I see footage of people immigrating many eyars ago on ships what they would think of the cruise industry these days and the fact that Americans cram on ships as a leisure activity in order to vacation to the destinations that those immigrants were trying to flee in search of a better life. In the past I would say that I was very against immigration feeling that they were more like invaders and liabilities rather than a significant portion of our economy. I now see that we need to figure out how much water needs to be running from the spicket at all times for the benefit of our country and our people immigrants or citizens.
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Before this lecture I never thought about the fact that business controls immigration. But the more I thought about it, the more I agreed with Sam’s statement that business controls it. It is a business issue because most immigrants will work for much less money than other US citizens. And many immigrants are just looking for work so they will take jobs that many people Americans don’t want to do. For example, I work at a dry cleaner. I work in the front of the store and work directly with our customers. However, all of the people in our plant cleaning the clothing are Mexicans. The plant is hot. The hours are long. And the pay is very little for the amount of work that is done. There are not too many people who would do all that hard work for such little money. But the Mexicans that work there are just happy to have a job and earn money for their family. Without these workers at the plant, people would not get their dry cleaning back as quickly and they would also have to pay more for it. This ultimately keeps business going because without customers there would be no need for any workers. And without employees there would be no business. So immigrants defiantly help out businesses.
I also think that the reason that such a high number of Latin American and Caribbean immigrant have a less than a high school education is because it is easier for them to get to the United States because of their proximity. It is most likely easier for them to cross the boarder illegally than say someone from Africa. However, it was interesting for me to hear, yet again, that African immigrants have the highest percentage of immigrants with advanced degrees. Immigrants from African need to have an advanced degree or wealth to come to the United States. I personally think that the United States should hold the same standards for everyone to be allowed into the United States. But then again I do not have a lot of knowledge on this subject matter. It’s not that I don’t care, I am just not really interested in this subject.
I also agree with Sam when he says that the industrious people migrate. They have to be hard working and fearless to pick up their lives and migrate. I could never imagine moving to another city yet alone another country. But they do it because they think that coming here will give them a better life than the one they had. And I truly think that in many cases immigrants in the United States are living a better life than the one they had in their native country.
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brisnug Reply:
July 4th, 2010 at 10:41 pm
Your example of how business shapes the issues of immigration is perfect. It is true that by your boss paying lower wages to the Mexican workers, he is able to charge a lower price to his customers. If he had to hire American workers, then he would also have to pay them higher wages. He would then be forced to raise his prices for customers in order to keep the same income rates. I disagree with what you said about upholding the same standards of people allowed to come into this country no matter where they are coming from. This would not solve the illegal immigration problem either.
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I have to say the subject of immigration is one that I don’t get anyway. It is an issue but what I don’t understand is why the immigrants illegal or not are treated so poorly. I mean if they are caught here illegally they are jailed and mistreated until they are deported, why? If they are caught here illegally explain to them there is a process to being here and take them back to the border and that be that, why mistreat them first. How bad does that make our country look when they are already thinking they can have a chance to make it by coming here. I mean aren’t we all still human beings created by GOD. And the immigrants that are here legally they followed the rules to be here but why are they still liked down upon as if they did something wrong.
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. I hear a lot at work and I work in a very big hospital but I hear many employees so about different doctors things like if you can’t understand other language why be hear, go back to your own country, or that they are plain out rude and ignorant just because they are in the US and I think this is so wrong I mean what did they do to be mistreated. Shouldn’t be a choice, if you want to be a US citizen do it by the rules if you do it illegally you will be sent back until you do it right. I don’t know but I was always told I was too kindhearted, lol! And this KKK video, it was so disturbing to me again noting but violence. How does violence by anyone make something right? And immigrants can be of any nationality and if some of the first immigrants were white and they were mistreated when they came here why would you turn around and start a group of people to mistreat everyone else for not be like you. But they are not all cracked up to be what they think they are meaning, and this is a true story
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My uncle, and we are black, first dated the daughter of the head man of the KKK, what is that the loyal knight or exhulted knight or something and after a year of them dating they got married and at the time she was 23years old and my uncle was 52 years old. Now not only did they get married my uncle lived with them on the KKK compound for years they also had a baby and within the past 5 years moved into their own place. Although she had two other children that still live with her parents on the compound but the kids do visit with them in the summer and holidays. But my uncle told us often that her father or any other members of the KKK there never bothered or was disrespectful to him.
Lesson 13 due 7/4/2010
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ktb5071 Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 8:29 pm
So what you saying is, your black uncle, got married to a KKK member’s daughter, had a child with her, and then the whole family moved onto the KKK compound and not once were they harassed?? Would you mind elaborating on this because in all the time I have heard about the KKK, I had the understand they despised black people and Jews. I am Jewish, so I have always been scared to the core of them. Was your uncle scared? If not, can you explain why not? Also, what is this compound you speak of? It sounds like that compound in Texas for the polygamists. I’m just really interested to hear more about your uncle and to hear if he is just so lovable that they made a special exception for him, or if the values of the KKK are different today?
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lmbrown2006 Reply:
July 4th, 2010 at 2:21 pm
Yes everything in this story did happen and it's funny because my uncle and his family are at my home visiting for the holidays. We were always scared for him we would often tell him if he came up missing we know what happened to him. But he said they never bothered him and he didn't bother them but i'm sure somewhere within himself he had to have some fears. "The Compound" as they called it was there own land they purchased and 6 families (all related KKK members) built their homes on it. But from speaking with them just last night I have learned that the family members are not actively involved with the KKK anymore, I don't know for how long but his wife stated that her father went into a depression when her sister was killed by a drunk driver, which her parents divorced because of his treatment towards people. Her other children still live with her mother and they are all in contact often they all still live in the same town and she sees her father every weekend but they haven't spoken in over 2 years.
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lmbrown2006 Reply:
July 4th, 2010 at 2:28 pm
But in my opinion I don't think that their values has changed I just think they know with so many different cultures and races this day in age that they know they are out numbered because although we are all different those different cultures and races with pull together for a cause that is right. To me this is a learned behavior my youngest children go to school there is a boy in their class that constently calls them the "N" word and anything else assoicated with being black and the school does nothing because the teacher doesn't actually hear him but they are only 11yrs. old he has to be learning this behavior somewhere other then school.
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This lecture was really “eye opening”. I feel really dumb for always thinking it was a republican issue while failing to recognize that it’s not, nor is it a democratic issue…and I should have seen that in response to each party’s lack of “success”. I always thought “oh they find a way in somehow” but that isn’t really the case, they are subtly let in, and now thinking about it, I feel like if the government (which they don’t) really truly didn’t want anymore immigrants, they would have been able to put an end to it. I personally am not opposed to illegal immigration, I don’t know why I don’t, I probably should be a little bit, but it’s a matter that doesn’t negatively affect any aspect of my life. The only time I have really experienced the world of immigrants was through the woman who cleans my parent’s house. She is an illegal immigrant (shhh) and her brother who used to come to help was one as well but the government somehow found out he was illegal and I’m pretty sure he was put in jail for a little, but I do know he is back in Mexico now. When I learned that I was incredibly upset. Also, a few months ago this truck of Latino (I don’t know where they are from) worker’s ran into my car and they didn’t do any damage besides a small nick on my bumper, but they were stressing that I was going to ask for their information and I’m assuming it was because they were illegal, and I have a soft side of the illegal’s so I said “este bueno” with my poor Spanish and did a “phew” signal on my head and then told them “vamanos”. If it was anyone else but a group of illegal immigrants, I probably would have gotten their information but because of my past experiences with them I have, like I stated, a soft side for them. That truck of men could have been a truck-full of raging a-holes but I assume the best, and think they probably are a group of struggling people, who happen to be “illegal” workers in America to support their family whom they never get to see and probably don’t like their lives very much. Who knows what the real story is, but I do know it’s wrong to make people feel so unwelcomed, unwanted, etc. when they really didn’t do anything besides what most families live for, which is to support their loved ones. Whether their illegal or not, they are people too who have a lot of people depending on them more often than not, and maybe this is just the privileged girl in me talking but I like having them around. They add character to my white life and never have I ever met a first generation latino man or woman who isn’t caring, loving, and all the other synonyms that are associated with those words.
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Posted: 7/1/10
Due: 7/4/10
I think the beginning of the first lecture was so important how Dr. Richards pointed out the original immigrants did not assimilate to the way of life in America at the time. The Native Americans that were already on the land had to experience these newcomers who expected the native people to change their ways to be like the intruders. Now how is that fair? Wouldn’t it be interesting if the people in America now had to change their ways when new immigrants came in instead of wanting the immigrants to be like us? It is the different backgrounds and the melting pot of cultures that gives America its culture and livelihood, why would we want to change that and make everyone the same?
I know that there is a quota and only a certain amount of visas handed out every year, but we all know that we need these immigrants in order for the country as we know it to survive. So why can’t we “give” those who are working here illegally those visas. I really think people just have a problem with the term “illegal” in the phrase illegal immigrant. No one wants to do anything illegal and get caught, so why can’t we just make these immigrants legal? I think the problem is that people don’t like the term illegal. And some people probably just don’t like immigrants, but when you put the two together it just makes it worse. So make the illegal immigrants legal, we need them anyway. Many of you are probably going to say that can never work because then the US would just be handing out visas to everyone and it would be a mad rush to the US, so it may not be plausible, but I do think something should be done. These people are mostly coming here because they want to better their lives and are willing to work to do so, and after they work hard, they should be granted citizenship.
I think the story about the dog is absolutely ridiculous and clearly racism plays a part in this story. That dog attacked someone, it doesn’t matter who the dog attacked, it matters that the dog attacked someone. The dog is obviously dangerous and should be put to sleep. And then the rant on illegal immigration just bothered me because he just does not know his facts. Don’t speak if you don’t know the truth. What was more disturbing were the clueless people commenting on the video.
It is interesting to look at immigration leading to transformation because these people are coming here because they are hard workers and want to better their lives. It is the amazing stories like Jorge Munez who worked his way from the bottom, and is not close to the top, but has realized that people along the way helped him, and now he is helping the people who need it the most because they are hard working people. It is interesting to see how history is cyclical because back in the day when our ancestors came to the United States, they all moved to the same areas because being surrounded by people of the same culture was helpful and they helped each other out. This is still going on today. We cannot just throw away our backgrounds and culture, it is what makes each individual unique and what makes the United State unique. Yes, people will always have a problem with illegal immigrants because they think it is not right, and yeah it is illegal, but like so many other things discussed in this class, the solution is unknown but we know there must be a change.
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Due Date July 4, 2010
I do not believe in illegal immigration however, the laws that are enacted are useless to combat it as Dr. Richards pointed out in the lesson. Looking at the other perspective, which is legal migration. At this time in the United States, no one else should be coming in, as the United States cannot provide jobs and other subsidies for the legal citizens that are already here. This is not to say I do not believe others should come into this country but now is not the time. I am also going to make rectification of the dialogue in reference to migrating to the United States. Yes, Whites did have it hard when they came to the United States as they worked hard and depending on your nationality, you were sometimes treated like the African American Slaves. However, I have to say AGAIN that African Americans who originally came to this country DID NOT WANT to come here to obtain a better way of life!!!! Yes, the treatment was undesirable on the ships that Whites traveled on as my great-great Grandmother came into the country the same way from Greece. Nevertheless, Dr. Richard’s cannot compare the treatment received on those ships compared to slave ships, where they were not free to come on deck and they were chained and shackled in small dark quarters. It is incomparable and I am offended by the comparison as it is a slap in the face to the millions of Africans that loss their lives in route to a country they did not seek for betterment. Although I stated my reasons for why illegal aliens and legal immigrants should not enter the country at this time, it is not up to me to judge the people who get here and they should all be treated fairly while in this country. In addition, the only people who should discriminate against anyone coming to America are the Native Americans because it is still their land. Just because you steal, something and keep it for 500 years it does not make it legally yours. What amazes me even more is the discrimination among the races in America that all struggled. E.g., how can the Irish hate Blacks or Italians when they were all discriminated upon during the earlier years of American society by the English? I must agree with the point of legal citizens paying taxes for health care and related benefits for illegal immigrants once they arrive in the country it is unfair because millions of Americans do not have Health Coverage and cannot get assistance to keep their homes. This brings me to my final point on the topic. Why are Haitian refugees returned to Haiti immediately after being captured trying to cross the southern border and other south border countries are not? This includes the laws that are granted to five other nations for temporary status in America, which includes two African countries. I have a real issue with the political disparity the American government displays. E.g. Cuban refugees are detained in jails by ICE and then a decision is made to release them into the community or deport them. Haitians don’t have that option they are immediately deported, even with the ongoing crisis…If one group can’t enter them there should be NO visitors allowed!
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Immigration is one of the hottest subjects in today’s society, next to BP oil of course, and to me, I find that immigration to be interesting before Dr. Richards talked about it. I personally found Glenn Beck to be a great example of how this topic is not a republican issue, democratic issue, it is just an issue. I myself, growing up and living through the trauma that some friends went through with 9/11 I have a very different feeling about the topic of immigration. I feel like it is too easy for people to come into this country and do what they want. Here is my background story. I am still currently young. I am only 18. When the attacks on the World Trade Center happened, I was just starting 5th grade. I lived in northern New Jersey and from my house; I could clearly see the WTC. This event overall traumatized me for days because I knew one person that died in the attacks and two people that should have. This is why my stance on immigration is as it is. I feel that if you want to come into the United States for an extended period of time, one must go through extensive tests such as background checks and previous jobs must be presented as well.
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. I feel like since the US has been under attack as recent as the Times Square bombings and the Russian espionage case, we must take all measures possible to make sure that we are safe.
I also feel like we cannot take the blame anymore for what our ancestors did and as much as Dr. Richards wants to push the point that we are on “red land”, I am not taking the blame anymore. I cannot take the blame for the things that my happened six generations ago. I feel like the problems aren’t with the immigrants from Asia, Europe, or even Africa. I feel like the one place where we need to pay all of our attention to is the Mexican border. It is the main place where these immigrants are coming over illegally. Sure, my ancestors came over here as well, but my ancestors did it through Ellis Island in New York. They went through physicals and tests so that they could be put in a better opportunity. I understand where you might say don’t these Mexicans have every right as your ancestors? Well, they should but only if they do it legally.
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They should be able to come over here but they must have a green card and they must do whatever it takes to become an American citizen the right way. My ancestors did it, why can’t they.
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Mycouchpullsout Reply:
July 3rd, 2010 at 1:47 pm
Blog Response 7/13/10
It is easy to say your ancestors did it but you know any of the troubles they went through? It also depends where your ancestors came from. Sometimes people do not have the resources or the money to become an American citizen. Sometimes it is better to come into the country illegally because they do not have to deal with all the bull that we as citizens deal with. I mean put yourself in an immigrants shoes that has lived in a horrible society and has no money to enter the country the right way. All they want to do is to better their family and their lives just so they can live another day.
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Lesson 13 Blog 7/3/10
Illegal immigration is a touchy subject. I am on the fence about the current situation dealing with illegals. At first I think to keep these people out of the country. They take American jobs and they just cause problems with healthcare cost rising and societal problems. I believe that if these people do want to come over then try to do it the proper way. If you are coming into the country illegally then you are already breaking a law and how can you try to call yourself an American citizen if you cannot even try to enter the country the proper way. We are not trying to keep people out because we do not want them but look at our deficit and healthcare problems; we are just trying to regulate our own problems first before we let other people from other countries come in to live a better life.
Saying that, I do understand why people are trying to enter the country illegally. I will just use Mexico for example because this is mostly where this argument revolves. I understand that these people in Mexico are coming to the United States because they want to better their opportunities. Even if this means if they are working for a low wage this is still better than any work in Mexico. In addition, the Mexican society is not the best society to live in currently. I mean throughout the country you have the drug wars which are killing innocent people every day. So I take these points and I do not try to stay narrow minded but I try to put myself in a Mexicans shoes. I am a Mexican living close to the boarder of the United States. I have lived here all my and have seen the hardships of my family growing up. Now I have a family of my own and we are struggling to survive. We live in a drug infested society where there is at least a killing a week if not more. The only way to be successful, money wise, is to join the drug cartel but then you are putting you and your love ones at risk. You need to get out of the country to keep you and your family safe and hopefully try to better your life. You decide to try to bring you and your family to America because even though you may be poor when you get into the United States, it is still a lot better than dodging bullets on your way home from work and having you heart in your throat because you do not know if your family is alive or drug dealers raided your house for the little things you had and your family is living in a pool of blood.
Just think about that scenario; I mean like I said before, I am on the fence but I definitely can see both sides of the argument. I guess if you are totally against illegal immigration, just try to put yourself in the shoes of a Mexican and maybe your thoughts will change a little just to understand why they try to come to the United States.
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7/3/10
I think it was extremely important that Dr. Richards mentioned a few times that illegal immigration is not a Republican issue or a Democrat issue; it is everyone’s issue. It is also an issue that will always be around. I get the idea that we need these illegal immigrants for the free market, and many business owners are grateful to have them around. But what exactly does the free market do for me? How does the free market benefit me? Illegal immigration is ILLEGAL. Many immigrants go through an extensive process to become legal citizens. If thousands of people go through this process and enter the United States legally, why can’t everyone else? There are thousands of legal immigrants in the United States so it is clearly doable. In my english class a few years ago, we were having a debate on the topic of immigration and if the U.S. should post street signs, banners, billboards, etc, in multiple languages. Half of the class agreed that new immigrants would feel more comfortable and would be better able to adapt if they saw their native language all around. The other half of the class argued that this is America, and our native language is English, therefore, everything should remain in English. Does posting signs and such in multiple languages encourage these new immigrants to learn English, or does it encourage them to continue using their language, since there really is no need to learn English? It was an interesting debate to have and I could see the pros and cons to both sides. One student said that her grandparents immigrated here from Romania and the town in which they live is basically all Romanians, and of course everything is in their native tongue. She expressed that due to this, her grandparents have no idea how to speak English and know nothing about the United States; because of that she said that she does not consider her grandparents to be Americans. They did not assimilate or even try to assimilate into the country in which they immigrated to. I believe everyone has the right to come here for a better life, but it needs to be done legally. We are all human and should be treated as such; we all want a better life for ourselves and our children. In a previous soc class we discussed immigration and talked about how majority of illegal immigrants are those who overstayed the length of their visa. We also talked about how the increase in illegal immigration causes an increase in pollution and poverty. From all the discussions I’ve had on this topic it seems like there are more negative aspects when it come to illegal immigration.
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7/3/10
After this weeks lecture I am left in the same place as I was before on the immigration issue- confused. I cannot say that I feel strongly one way or the other about the issue. The lecture was very interesting as I have rarely heard immigration discussed as a business issue. It makes sense to me that business regulates the number of immigrants that flow into the country as this is how it’s always been done in this country. When business needs labor they seek cheap foreign labor. Our founding fathers and first Europeans to settle America used indentured servants and slaves on their plantations, we used Chinese labor to build our railroads, the waves of immigrants from Europe at turn of the 19th century did all of the unappealing "dirty work" that no one else wanted to do. All of the waves of immigrants were treated with hostility and were used as scapegoats to whatever problems were going on in the country. This holds true today as waves of Latin American immigrants are entering the United States. I feel as if a blind eye was turned to illegal immigration when business was booming but now that the economy is sagging immigrants are blamed for taking jobs away from other citizens. However, all of the immigrants that were once treated with hostility in the past have now become "accepted" into the country and join in on blaming the newly arrived immigrants. There seems to be a pattern and I wonder how the waves of Latin American immigrants will be viewed 50 years from now. At one point in our country's history storefronts displayed signs that read "Irish need not apply" but now the Irish immigrants are celebrated for their industrious nature and hard work in the face of discrimination. Even people who are not Irish love to take in St. Patrick’s Day in honor of the Irish and love of the drink. One day in the distant future we may be taking in Cinco de Mayo as if it were St. Patrick's Day. Throughout history newly arrived immigrants have been perceived as a threat to society but have helped transform of country into a world leader, known for innovation. We are a country of immigrants and that is what makes America so special. We are a magnet for for hardworking risk takers because of our free market system. While I believe that immigration is the backbone of this country I still have some mixed feelings about illegal immigration. I have no solutions to offer but we have to regulate it in some way. We need to know who is in our country as criminals are able to enter just as easily as people who are looking fro a better life. Illegal immigration is allowing the Mexican drug cartels to flourish and creates a threat to security especially in border towns. We need to protect our country but cannot build walls around it to keep everyone out. I am not sure what our current immigration policy is like or what it takes to come here legally. That may be part of the problem and something that we can improve to curb illegal immigration. The Glenn Beck video was an interesting look at our immigration efforts (or lack thereof) and I hope that we actually do something this time around and not wait another six years.
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charlan10 Reply:
July 4th, 2010 at 5:22 am
That was a great example of the word escape goat. Americans constantly want to find an easy solution to their problem and who better to blame it on than illegal immigrants. When is anything really this simple especially when dealing with such complexities as the American economy. Dr. Richards said it perfectly of why there is being nothing done is because business does not want it to happen. People will have different opinions on this whether it is a good thing or bad thing but it is our free market system. People need to stop focusing on lower levels of the totem pole when they have problems and go to the source at the top, because if we know anything in America we know the top control the bottom.
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pennstategirl5 Reply:
July 4th, 2010 at 4:16 pm
July 4th, 2010 12:16 PM
After reading your comment I felt like we were in the same boat. This issue happens to be one where I can never truly figure out where I stand. I found it especially interesting from hearing this issue from a business perspective because I too had never thought about it in that way. I also agree with how you stated that at one point many of our ancestors were doing the work that no one wanted to do and were looked down upon, but now they are just Americans. I don’t know if that will happen with the illegal immigrants we are dealing with now, but it will be exciting to see what time will tell.
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ChelAmelia Reply:
July 4th, 2010 at 10:27 pm
6/4/2010
I also feel confused after the lecture. I thought that after I watched it, my mind would be made up. I would be on one side or the other. I also have never even thought of immigration as a business issue. I was aware that many immigrants are willing to do work for very low prices but I never put the issue into a business perspective. It is so true that people didn’t really care about immigrants taking jobs when the economy was fine but when the recession came about the first to be blamed were the immigrants. I totally agree that we are a magnet for hardworking risk takers. America would not be America without all of the different cultures. Immigration needs to continue to help America keep on growing but I do believe that more measures need to be taken on illegal immigration.
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liz_11o Reply:
July 6th, 2010 at 1:00 am
Well I can definitely relate to how you are feeling, which of course is confused. I also am not sure how I stand on this issue, and frankly I don't think I am informed enough to actually hold a valuable and respectable opinion on the issue. It was however, interesting to hear about aspects of this issue from the business perspective. But although I don't know much about the issue, when I thought about how business is so involved, I wanted to kick myself – duh, the business world is involved with every issue of our society. I just suppose I should become more educated on this subject and be able to learn more about it. Overall, as usual, I did enjoy the lecture.
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7/4/10 part one
I definitely agree with the importance of immigration. I think what needs to be done is a loosening of the immigration policy. Illegal immigration shouldn’t just be allowed however, this is definitely bad as there is no way of tracking a large amount of people in our country. I feel we should do what we did when we needed cheap labor before, set up a system. Allow immigration of immigrants from Mexico to be much easier, but at the same time, strictly enforce documentation and health check-ups as was done with the European immigrants. The immigrants are a very valuable resource we are just ignoring. We need the labor; we also piss and moan about illegal immigrants ruining the country when what is really happening is exposure to a different culture. It’s simple xenophobia. The same people who want immigrants out of the country at the same time would wonder why their homes, lawns, pools etc. are so dirty. They want to work; we need the work to be done. If you complain about them taking your job maybe you should take some community college classes and get something better than manual labor, if that’s not an option, then immigrate somewhere where you can find labor.
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JessOver Reply:
July 4th, 2010 at 7:05 pm
I think there is a difference from allowing illegal aliens into the country for working when there is a need for an increase in workforce than illegal immigrants entering the country with the intent of living here essentially free of the responsibilities of being an American yet demanding the rights of being an American. I agree with the need for additional workforce when necessary but if that is our goal with using illegal immigrants then should there not be something set up for those immigrants to come into the country just for work purposes and when that need is satiated they are readily mandated to move back to their homeland? Would that not resolve many of the problems that are central to the illegal immigration issue?
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Jsiminitus Reply:
July 5th, 2010 at 3:18 am
Ok, yes I do agree with some of what you are saying here. I do think that we need to allow immigration policies to change, and admit more people. I also agree with the idea of check-ups and documentations. Certain business do rely on these people’s labor in order to make their businesses work. I really don’t agree with calling them “resources.” They are still people and deserve to be at least treated as such. They aren’t cattle. They rely on us more than we do them. They are trying to better themselves by any means necessary and its condonable. The idea of them taking peoples jobs and saying tough luck would almost be irrelevant if one were to pass laws and have legal documentations. They would be subject to minimum wage laws just like everyone else. This would eliminate the concept of firing a person who makes minimum wage at a manual labor job in order to hire a cheaper means of labor. I know a lot of people who rely on manual jobs, such as the ones you listed, in order to feed their families. It’s not always as simple as taking a few classes.
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7/4/10 par two
The idiot woman in Texas with the sign on her door definitely angered me. First off I am a supporter of freedom of speech, it’s one of the few freedoms we still have….It is definitely her right to put whatever sign she wants on her house just as much as it is her right to be a fool. It is also my right to tear her a new one for being so ignorant. She actually thinks every single Hispanic person is an illegal immigrant? People like this still exist? Its mind blowing. It seems like she was older hopefully these old ignorant ideas are dying out with the minds that carry them.
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jjlayton Reply:
July 4th, 2010 at 7:26 am
Due 6/4
She definitely was ignorant and doesn’t understand the world. She is old and has old ways of thinking. She also sounded southern; it would be an old southerner with that train of thought. I’m Hispanic so I would have felt like ripping that sign off her house but as it is her right to have it up I couldn’t because unlike her I respect other people and their freedom to live in this country. People like that do still exist, as I know way too clearly. It’s unbelievable to think that there are so many narrow minded people in this world and that doesn’t just go for immigration. They still exist though but hopefully there will be less of them but there will always be those chosen few who will be ignorant and idiotic.
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7/4/10 part three
I loved the video clip of Jorge Muñoz and the amazing things he does every single day. Wow, imagine if every single person did this. It was great just seeing that view in queens of the line. It’s like here’s this big mechanical city, a city that can be very cruel on the poor sometimes, a city in the north so it’s cold at night, and here’s just one human and his family, spreading an enormous amount of energy and love to all these people every single day. What’s his reasoning? “They are hungry so we must give them food” This man is amazing
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Lesson 13 July 4
In my opinion this is one of the major aspects that people over look that pertains to everything in politics. Everybody wants to separate themselves into this group or that group showing why they are different or “better“ than the other people who believe differently than them. As we do in so much in our society today and through history. Racism comes from this mind set, pointing out reasons why they are less. Hitler took this ideology to heart and so many before and after did as well. But our major problem we face today is not democratic ideals or republican ideals it is the power of the corporation, money is power. Current issue of this is how people can not understand why little has been done with banking regulations to take away the possibility of another banking meltdown. It is the same reason as Dr. Richards says with immigration. The powers that be and the free market do not want this to happen. Putting this limitations on what they can and can not do will hinder their ability to make money. Now this is not the same as immigration because as was said in the lecture we do need illegal immigration if we chose to continue with the same way our lives operate. To keep prices low, like Wal-mart, practices like these must take place. However, I think most of us can be in agreement that bank regulations today do drastically need changed. Immigration tends to benefit everybody, but our current banking laws seem to benefit the wealthy and cause the middle class to become further extinct. All that needs to be looked upon is the continuous gap between average American wage and the wage of the wealthy. I laugh every time I see someone on a talk show stating that them possessing all this wealth does not make other people poorer. How could it not? There is only a set amount of monetary value out their for everyone and you possessing an astronomical amount causes me to have less. Now I am not saying they need to give up their wealth, and I am not spread the wealth around and make everyone even. All I am saying is some power needs to come back to the middle class, and the money needs to spread out a little bit. Regulations need to be included to not allow such free will to find every way around any limitation. At the end of the day in my opinion politicians are generally not the voice of the people anymore, they are the voice of the corporations. They allow just enough limitations and other things to keep us from uprising, but in the end they possess the money so they possess the power. The main reason is the cost of running for politics. Millions of dollars are spent on campaigns and that type of money can but a lot of corruption.
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Due 6/4
Why do people have to treat immigrants so poorly? I don’t understand this because we are all immigrants, except Native Americans. Today, as we were driving home we saw a Muslim woman totally covered except her eyes in her religious garments. It was 90 degrees out and my aunt commented on her clothes and how the lady could dress like that in this weather and that she should dress like an American since she’s in America. Even though I understand where her comment is coming from being that it was hot, I do not believe it is her business what anyone wears due to their religious beliefs because we have a right to them. I appreciate and admire people who stick to their religious beliefs so greatly and don’t allow anything to come in between their faith and practices. Also, I don’t even know what dressing like an American is. How do you dress like an American?
The guy in the YouTube videos is completely insane! I went to his YouTube channel and he has 686 videos ranting and raving about things. He actually gets a lot of views and more people than not like his videos, maybe because only racist crazy people would actually give this guy the time of day. This guy must have serious high blood pressure. The whole time I was watching him I wanted to jump out of my chair and smack him through my laptop screen! He really has issues because everything he says is complete insanity and who would want to listen to someone who’s constantly yelling at them.
I’m half Hispanic and I love my culture and I would be upset if I had to throw it away just because we are in America. I’m proud that my grandparents came to this country and held on to their culture and language because it’s extremely important to me. Knowing that I have that culture and tradition in my life makes me feel a part of a community. If immigrants came to this country and shed their culture, language and traditions we wouldn’t have all the things we have today. We eat so many different types of foods and I know I love different ethnic foods as much as so called American foods. We wouldn’t have all the different types of foods we have if we all disregarded our culture. That would be sad for me since I love to cook …and eat haha. Different language is a benefit to us so I don’t understand why so many people look down at people who speak Spanish. Most Hispanics/Latinos are bilingual and in this industry now that is something that will benefit them.
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BellaBoo54 Reply:
July 7th, 2010 at 11:15 pm
We are all immigrants. I am white and i still believe we are all immigrants, mutts even. No one is really a true American except the Natives. I remember the other day my boyfriend had made a comment about basically being white and the fact that immigrants need to get out of his country. I had asked him what he was and he responded saying he was Irish and German. So i then said, so you don't identify yourself as American, but in the case of being white in your country you then call immigrants non-American even though he had technically referred to himself as an immigrant since he said his ancestry was irish and german. In fact, most of my friend as say they are Italian and when you really think about it should we be identifying ourself as Americans? People in Italy are Italians. People in france are French so why do people in America not call themselves American when asked what they are? It is pretty ironic when we then label immigrants. We are just a bunch of mutts in my opinion!
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July 4th, 2010 12:17 PM
While listening to this weeks lecture the way in which Sam made the comparison of an immigrant compared to a poor college roommate. I had never thought about immigrants in a way that hit close to home like that. Luckily my roommate is one of the wealthy people and it is incredibly easy to live with her because there is never an awkward moment with money. But his way of comparing it to a situation I have, having a roommate, was a great way to think about it. You want to have a roommate who is helpful to you, not one that is not, which is why people only yell at the immigrants when they aren’t helping us out. It is crazy to think how much business controls the immigration policy because it really shouldn’t be that way since the immigration policy affects everyone yet business is what dictates it. When Sam said, “Nobody wants poor people, and nobody wants strangers. Because strangers are odd” I couldn’t help but agree which makes me feel terrible, but in all honesty strangers are awkward. As I heard about the story of Congo and him biting the illegal immigrant and how an assemblyman sponsored “Congo’s bill” I was outraged. I couldn’t believe that they were willing to spare the dogs life and not really even care about the illegal immigrant who was attacked. Yes, they were giving him a nice sum of money but this assemblyman basically is saying that the dogs life is more important that the illegal immigrants, which is not right. The rant we saw throughout the lecture, I tried to tolerate, but the comments people wrote were sickening. I understand that illegal immigrants shouldn’t be here but if big business wants them here, they are going to be here. We can not fix this no matter what policies we put into place because the big businesses want them here in order to help them with their business. I have a tough time figuring out where I stand with this issue because I agree that they are illegal and shouldn’t be in the United States but if they aren’t going to ever leave then I just have to accept that. On top of that we were all immigrants at one point to the United States, that’s what makes us the “melting pot” that we are. On that note though it is true what the man in the video stated about how if there is an ex convict who travels across the border and I decide to hire him to help me he should be deported and I should be arrested. If these are our laws then we can’t throw them by the waste side just because business wants us to.
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samsmith119 Reply:
July 4th, 2010 at 6:23 pm
I agree with you about Congo so a point. The dog should have been put down and ranking him higher than a human being was not only wrong it was insane. On the flip side, I hold no love for illegals. He should have been taken care of like any other human being and then sent home. As far as suing, he should never have been allowed to file a suit in the first place nor won any money as he was breaking the law when he was injured.
As far as business making policy on immigration…ROFL show me 1 single facet of our nation that business does not run. They make sure things get deregulated (my electric bill tripled after deregulation—thanks a ton), they get policy changed so they can legally pay off politicians and call it Lobbying, they make the trade policy to suit them on who pays tariffs and who doesnt and what goods from what nations can come in and what sits and rots on a dock. Business runs it all. It always has, and it always will.
I think I smell my coffee now
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soitgoes00 Reply:
July 5th, 2010 at 2:53 am
July 4, 2010
I too never realized how much we do not want poor people in this country unless they can be exploited. It is like we are saying, “Okay, you are poor, but it is alright if you can help me out and help me prosper.” Otherwise, why deal with the trouble of poor people? The whole roommate example was truly helpful. I agree with you – I would want a wealthy roommate and have had a wealthy roommate. This made for a very easy living situation. I was very disturbed by the Congo video. If Congo was a person and not a dog would the situation be different and Congo be prosecuted? It is sad that we are valuing a dog’s life over the life of an immigrant. No matter what, the immigrant is a human being, and he should be treated as such.
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soitgoes00 Reply:
July 5th, 2010 at 2:53 am
July 4, 2010
Finally, this lecture also confused me on my stance of immigration. How are we supposed to solve this issue if we are all confused over it? Furthermore, it does not help that we are being given mixed messages on this. It is hard to change all of our views (especially the negative ones) on immigration quickly. I think this will be a slow progressing issue, but I hope it can be solved. Guess we have to look to the businesses now…
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I am a firm believer in Immigration. I also believe in the law and process of doing it the right way. Here are some things I have thought about on the topic.
1. Legal Immigration is ridiculously over priced. How in gods name do you expect someone to be able to pay a few thousand dollars when they cant find work or are being paid on a lower economy that the US. I know how much it cost since I had to pay it for my wife in order to become a LPR (Legal Permanent Resident- ie Green card holder).
2. Stop going after the people coming over the boarder. If you had no food and a family wouldnt you do everything you could to feed them? I thought so. They need to seize business' that hire them. Those business' are exploiting them and making a bullshit excuse that they cant find anyone else to do the work, thats a crock. What they can't find is anyone to do it that cheap. If you can not stay in business by paying fair wages then you should not be in business, sell it and work for someone else. If the government takes the business and the assets connected to it (like they do with drug dealers), then no one will hire them.
3. If Mexico is serious about this issue then they can step up to the plate. Lets trade with Mexico….We will create legal work visa specifically for Mexican citizens. They are documented and they can work here in the US for up to 9 months a year. They pay taxes on the money they make here and tracking all that is done via the visa. In return for this Mexico allows US citizens to own owner occupied property and allows US citizens to get the same work visa we offer but in Mexico.
4. Make the filing fees for becoming a LPR or citizen reasonable. And make the work Visa cost nothing the first year but $50/year after that. Allow the fee to be taken right out of the paycheck (and they must be paid by payroll checks) for the following year.
Immigration is a good thing. Change is a good thing. Evolution is a good thing. Someone told me once that they thought the reason Americans dont travel as much as Europeans is that in this country we have most other cultures already here, we just have to look.
Illegal immigration only causes harm and ill will. I know it pisses me off beyond belief since we (my wife and I) did all the pain in the ass paperwork, interviews, fees etc. We lost her green card and it cost me almost another $600 for a replacement. Thats crazy. And thats not taking into account the bureaucratic bullshit that went along with those fees.
I very much enjoyed seeing some of the stats on how immigration really has not changed. The idiot that was in Sweeden and complaining about mexicans not learning the host language cracked me up, but I see that shit all the time when I travel. Americans by and large as dumb asses when traveling. They are overly loud and very ethnocentric. Why in the world would you spend all the time and money to go traveling to another country to buy a big mac (WTF??). And they always assume no one understands them when they are talking shit about the people around them LOL. When I go to visit in Norway (no I dont speak Norwegian) I pick up on the language again pretty quickly. I also keep my mouth shut a lot and really only interject if they have switched to English. As a side note, you would not believe how much food you can eat when you dont talk LOL. When I go to the shops I do my best in Norwegian and I get the point across (since I only spend a few weeks every couple years there I have not tried to learn the language), most the time they will smile and switch to English. A lot of the time they are happy to get the chance to practice their English, but are very thankful of the courtesy of letting them switch not expecting it from them. I am very proud to be an American, but people, please tell your grandparents that when they go to Europe again tell people they are Canadian
I understand that some of us are linguistically challenged so to speak (in other words I am lucky I can speak 1 language) so it is unfair to think that this problem of having a stupid tongue only exists with Americans like me. When someone speaks another language and is trying to speak English with you, be patient, be respectful, and be thankful that they are making an effort. I know many people that English is not their first or even second language, and they speak it very well, but are very self conscious so people like the screaming idiot on youtube does not help things a bit. I would like to tell that guy that in the battle of illegal immigration, please do not try to help us we do not want you in our corner, and for the love of god switch to decaf.
Ding fries are done.
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sillyjuice Reply:
July 4th, 2010 at 9:40 pm
I definitely have thought a lot about the things you wrote and agree with you on a lot of those issues. I am definitely a firm believer in immigration also because my parents were immigrants and have recently become American citizens. It is a tough situation for anyone to be in, living in a country of poverty and wanting to get out and come to America for a better life. It is especially tough when everyone and everything is telling them that they are not wanted in this country and to speak the language in a day even though that is not their first language. I am very proud of the many immigrants who have come and conquered all those obstacles because it makes America what it is today, a country of hard working, dedicated and determined people.
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I hate always focusing on the past. The past is the past and can’t be changed. When the pilgrims first migrated to this new land there was no concept of assimilation. Today, however, times have changed. I think greater restriction or regulations should be set regarding illegal immigration. It makes sense that business is regulation the immigration in this country and that politics currently have no control over it. It makes sense that having illegal aliens allows for cheaper wages, cheap labor, a betterment of the market, but when is it no longer okay to take away jobs from legal citizens. So then what is the point of having laws and regulations in this country?
So are we having to lower the numbers of legal immigrants allowed into this country because the amount of illegal immigrants is becoming so high? If we allowed more into this country who wanted to come to work, yet were willing to become legal immigrants, obtain work visas, green cards, etc., wouldn’t that be better than allows our borders to be overrun with illegal immigrants who then as taxpayers we must support. Instead the illegal immigrants are taking away the jobs that could be available to legal citizens
If we stopped illegal immigration it would make people here actually work for our money, to have the capability to get jobs, to decrease our homeless level. If we decrease our illegal immigrant level, will that not allow those who are currently unable to get jobs, who are homeless and jobless, have the capability to then work those low level jobs and make more money than they currently are? We have such a growing homeless population of legal citizens here in this country that we should be focusing on offering those citizens jobs that we are currently literally giving away to illegal aliens who we then are supporting with taxpayer dollars. I may be considered naive on this topic, but could business still not control the economy while using the workforce already in this country?
It’s not necessary about not wanting poor people. We have poor people in this country already. But why are we not focusing on giving our poor jobs instead of being so willing to give those jobs to the illegals rushing our borders? Immigration is absolutely what makes our country and allows us to be a place where people desire to live, but what is wrong with making the efforts to legally immigrate
On the topic of the dog, Congo, who attacked the Honduras man, any animal who attacks a human being should absolutely be put down regardless of the animal and regardless of who was attacked. It shouldn’t be a racial dilemma, it should be about safety. Regardless of who that dog attacked, were it to not be put down, there is a great chance that the dog could have attacked yet another person and that should be the issue focused on, not the origin of the person attacked initially.
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Jevit335 Reply:
July 4th, 2010 at 8:57 pm
7/4/10
I agree with the fact that the past cannot be changed. However, I do think that we can learn from the past, when faced with similar situations. I also think that regulations and laws are obviously necessary to handle immigration and the number of immigrants coming into this country illegally. I think that they should be allowed citizenship if they go through the process of becoming one. If they are so intent on coming here and bettering their lives, why won’t they take the extra effort? Regarding Congo, the dog, I agree that any dog that attacks a human being should be put down. This sort of situation should never become a racial issue.
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7/4/10
Immigration has been an issue that I have not given much thought to in my life before this lesson. Learning about it was a fairly new topic to me and I found it interesting and somewhat surprising. From what I had learned about immigration, I always thought it was more of a political issue than it really is. In reality, everyone has to deal with it and face the issue. I did not understand the extent to which immigration is, in a way, a positive asset to manufacturers and businesses. They are able to hire workers for a lower cost, which is especially important during the current recession. On the negative side, they are taking jobs away from citizens, which is one of the main reasons some are so against immigration. Obviously, some people are in favor of immigration, whereas some have strong feelings against it. Personally, I’ve remained against it because I do not feel that others should be able to come to this country, and remain in this country illegally, and be able to benefit from it. However, I do feel that some reside here in a more positive way and contribute more than some others do. Immigrants are always looked down upon in our society. When they come here, they are often times poor, and Dr. Richards was right, poor people are sometimes treated worse than others in the world. In a way, it is wrong that they are treated poorly and can be disrespected from others in our society. Dr. Richard’s example of which roommate you would like better, the rich one or the poor one, was unfortunately very true. I have had to deal with both ends of the spectrum, and things were a lot more pleasant around my one roommate who was always on time with bills etc.
Dr. Richards really opened my eyes to the fact that immigration is going to continue. Given globalization, people all over the world will keep traveling and transferring to other locations. Another point that Dr. Richards made that I had not given thought to before was the fact that the current immigration rates are the same as they have been in past history. For some reason, I have always thought that the current immigration rates are much higher than they ever have been before.
Regarding immigrants themselves, I think that they have a lot of courage, motivation, and determination. It is very hard for one to completely move their life to another country, in hopes to have a better future. In some cases, it does not lead to an improved life and ends up having the opposite effect than some think. Overall, I think this lesson opened my eyes to a more positive side of immigration and a better understanding of the entire process.
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brumgmt Reply:
July 4th, 2010 at 11:35 pm
What I do find interesting in your assessment about illegal immigrants being able to come into this country and be able to "benefit from it" is that the reason many of them are able to benefit is because Americans are able to avoid paying taxes by paying them under the table. In fact, in many cases, these Americans are paying these illegal immigrants far less than the minimum wage to perform a variety of services. So, if you ask me, I would say that the American people are more to blame for what is going on with respect to illegal immigrants being able to work and benefit from their working arrangements. If Americans were following the laws instead of looking for ways to evade paying employment taxes, then many of the issues of illegal immigration would be non-issues. Furthermore, many of the jobs that illegal immigrants are willing to work are jobs that most Americans would refuse to work. In some cases, it's because of the job itself, and in some cases it may be due to the below market wages that are being paid for these jobs. So, I ask you exactly whose jobs are illegal immigrants taking away?
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7-4-2010
I thought this lecture was strategically placed especially being that it is the 4th of July weekend. Before this lecture, I had never really thought of immigration of other cultures or from people of other countries besides my own. The political cartoons showed in the lectures about Native Americans and European people were pretty detailed. I really never ever think about the issues of Native Americans and how it was their land before the Europeans took over because I personally have never really been surrounded by Native American people. Because it has been such a long time that the Europeans strayed the Native Americans out of their land, I feel that people tend to over look the situation. It also does make sense that textbooks are not really detailed with some of the gruesome situations Native Americans endured while the Europeans took over their land. I was surprised to hear what Andrew Jackson had done to some of the Native Americans and I find it to be sickening that that is what our country is founded on, especially on this forth of July. It gives me a different perspective as to what we really are celebrating because many of our forefathers have killed so many innocent people to get where we are today.
Besides all the negativity, I do find it interesting and am proud to say that our nation has really been about how strong and dedicated immigrants have worked to make a better life for them. I think that for most people, they don’t really think about all the negativity in our past but really think that this nation has been about hard working people. Being that my family is one of them because they have migrated from a different country in search for a better life. Because of they’re hard work and courageous to leave their own country, I personally would not be here today and would not have the education and the opportunities that I have now. Stories like Jorge Munez’ one also makes me proud of people who are humble and have not forgotten where they came from and the struggle they endured to get where they are today. These are definitely the people who are called heroes, especially to people who have nothing.
I do find it horrific what the dog did to that poor man. It is pretty appalling to find numerous people trying to excuse what a dog did. I do agree what if he was not an immigrant, people would definitely react to the situation much different. It also is interesting that even if our country was founded by people of different ethnicities in culture, how so many people can discriminate towards those people. At one point in our lives, everyone has been an immigrant or has had family who has.
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6/4/2010
Immigration is a topic that people feel strongly about. It has always been an issue and I feel like it will always be an issue. You will always hear someone say, “If you move to the United States, you need to learn English.” There are some people out there that think if a person moves to the United States their culture should be completely dropped and they only should embrace the American culture. I agree America is good but America would not be America if everyone wasn’t so different. The cartoons shown at the beginning of lecture were very interesting. I especially liked the one that showed the Native Americans and it was labeled Homeland Security. It’s so true. I know that history books are written to make American history look easy but they really need to address that this land was stolen from the Native American people. That is a major part of history. When Dr. Richards brought up the topic of Congo the Dog, it really did make me think. Would this be a completely different situation if a white person was attacked? I never have heard of anything like this. I am from around Pittsburgh and we hear about dog attacks somewhat frequently. In every case, no matter what color or age the person was, the dog was put down. No doubt, I love pets and dogs in general. But Mr. Rivera was doing nothing wrong and the dog had people petitioning for him to be pardoned?
When I watched the video of that guy ranting about illegal immigrants the first thing I wanted to do was turn it off. I couldn’t stand listening to him. First of all he had no idea what he was talking about. He needs to do research before he makes these videos. Not only was his ranting horrible, but the comments left about the video were utterly ridiculous. The thing is those people commenting don’t know what is going on either. It really amazes me when people call Mexican people lazy. Mexicans are probably the hardest working people. They are coming to America and getting paid to do the jobs that other people don’t want to do and are getting paid like 2 dollars a day. The comment that Dr. Richards found from MySpace was kind of funny. Only because this person was ranting about how when people come to America they refuse to learn the language, yet this person is in Sweden and knows no nothing from the Swedish language. Like Dr. Richards said it is complete hypocrisy. American people are so critical about immigrants (illegal and legal). I’m sure when American people visit other countries they feel the same about us. I really couldn’t believe that at one point in time there were 4 million members of the KKK. I also agree with Dr. Richards about not knowing a solution to the problem. I really think there will never be a real solution. Some Americans are always going to be unwilling to let immigrants into our country. I agree that we do need a way to have everyone documented but I am not against people coming into the country. The people coming to America are coming to try and make a better life for their family, to find jobs, or to receive opportunities that aren’t given to them where they live. I guess there’s never going to be a yes or no answer to the immigration question.
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xforeveryoung Reply:
July 5th, 2010 at 3:14 am
I agree with you when you said that immigration will continue to be an issue for America. I understand that America needs immigration for it to be the country that it is today. I know people from my family and friends who think that people who immigrate should drop everything and just join our culture. I don't believe that they should stop doing what they know in their own culture like their traditions and other things. I do however find it frustrating at times when they don't make an effort to learn english at all. I know if I moved to a different country I would make an effort to learn their language so I could understand the world around me.
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This lesson really made me think and question some of my beliefs. The clip of the klan members marching down the streets of Washington was surprising. Whenever I thought about the Ku Klux Klan, I always thought it was a small group of crazy rednecks from the south. But seeing the four million members all together really brought into focus how much power these bad people really control. Being Jewish myself, this kind of scares me a little. The klan is always associated with hating black people, but like Sam said Jews are also targeted by this group. I don’t understand how this group can be proven to conduct so many criminal activities and yet not face any criminal charges. All those members should have been rounded up while marching and face group charges of criminal conspiracy. They are a prime example of internal terrorism and yet most of these people believe all Muslims are terrorists.
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cosuji Reply:
July 5th, 2010 at 12:39 am
I think one reason why these people have not been stopped is that there are still many people who agree with their beliefs. They may not be as open as the members of the Ku Klux Klan, but there has to be a lot of support for a hate group as old as the Ku Klux Klan to still be around and have a decent amount of people still involved. Yes freedom of speech and assembly do play apart in the reasons why they are still around, but if a group of people were not only going around spreading hate through their words, but actually committing hate crimes against people, I would think that they would have been stopped decades ago. It doesn’t make any sense to me how America can go into Iraq and execute their president for what is going on in their country, for things that doesn’t affect Americans at all, but they cannot control a group of people in their own country from openly committing hate crimes.
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The hypocrisy amazes me. I know for a fact that the klan tried to get permission to march in the streets of New York City, but they abandoned this pursuit after the mayor insisted that they could only march if none of them wore masks to hide their faces. This shows how these men are truly cowards. I think the woman who put the sign on her house saying Keep Out Hispanics is completely wrong. Though she may have the right to do this, she should not do this. She should not feel the need to display her controversial opinions. People should learn to keep their feelings to themselves and not broadcast them for all to see. If this sign belonged to a young white man, then I think he would have been faced with a violent response. This woman is protected by her age.
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MDD1982 Reply:
July 5th, 2010 at 3:43 am
Blog Response for Grade. July 4th, 11:37pm
I have to disagree with you on this part of your post. I think society views that woman's sign as "wrong" because they don't share her views. I personally have nothing against Hispanics, my father is Hispanic, but I also support the right of people to express their views and their opinions no matter how deplorable any other person thinks it is. There may be opinions you have that others may have some heartburn with but you certainly have the right to express it. No person should have to be silenced just because a vast majority does not agree with what is coming out of their mouth. If she is on her property (which is what I am assuming since the video did not say one way or the other), property that she owns, then why should she not be able to post her sign?
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I used to think that illegal immigration was a serious problem impacting this country, but now after hearing the other side from Sam, I agree with him that it might balance out in the end. I used to think that illegal aliens received undeserved benefits from the government without being citizens. I also knew that they would be taking away jobs from citizens by accepting less pay. What I didn’t know however was that they do pay taxes just like the rest of us but unlike the rest of us they do not receive the benefits that come from taxes. The video showing the homeless and hungry immigrants in Queens was really eye opening. That man who sacrifices his whole livelihood in order to feed these people is really a special person. He realizes that he was in their exact same place when he first came to America and he wants them to have an easier time than he did.
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7/4/10
Lesson 13 blog
I feel now we are in the part of class where we really look at the issues of race and ethnicity in the sense of the problems that we face as a nation today. Illegal immigration is probably the biggest issue in America that is touchy because of the race issues that are associated with illegal immigration. Sadly, most people automatically assume that illegal immigrants are only associated with Mexicans and other countries south of the border. It makes sense due to the fact that most people who are entering the country are from south of the border. But when discussing illegal immigration within the united states, we need to be open to the entire issue facing America, this also includes the other illegal immigrants who enter in from the north of the border and on either side of the coast. We do see the immigrants mainly from the south, so naturally we attack the biggest source. But we need to also address the other areas that are apart of illegal immigration to the United States.
I really liked the main point about how Sam addressed the business side of illegal immigration. Bringing together the American value of capitalism into explaining our current illegal immigration reform is perfect for shutting up at least some of the politicians out there who are trying to completely “shut off the facet” of illegal immigration. The truth is that we need them in order to complete the jobs and run the economy that need to be done. We could top immigration completely and hire American citizens who demand higher wages, therefore making the cost of fruit and landscaping and all the other jobs that illegal immigrants tend to take go up. It will be another pear increase of 40 cents per pound. But some politicians believe that getting rid of all the immigrants is the best thing for this nation, even if it will cost millions of dollars to afford to get rid of all the immigrants. Maybe the reason for why president Clinton built a 40-mile long fence was to allow the immigrants to get into the United States but seem like he was preventing the immigration. Much like the war in the Middle East is about “fighting terrorism” rather than acquiring the oil. The government chooses the pros and cons of stopping or not stopping illegal immigration. They pretend to stop it by building a fence and telling the public of all the reform that is happening, when really the border is only covered by a little fence that a lot of people can just walk around if they have the necessary food and water to make it into California or Arizona.
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Immigration is undoubtedly an issue. I think one of the largest issues with this issue is that it is too often overlooked as an issue in the first place. When we acknowledge that something needs to be done about it, we are being proactive. Actually doing something is another issue entirely. It is a lot easier to identify what is not a potential solution than to identify what is. For example, I do not feel that condoning any form of illegal immigration is in any way even remotely a solution. Either some sort of legal ramification needs to take place upon illegal immigration being found, or what is currently illegal immigration must no longer be considered to be illegal. When the federal government begins overlooking any “law,” it completely defeats the abstract value of our legal system.
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One must consider the ramifications for no longer holding illegal immigration to be a matter of illegality. What differentiates one law in this country from another? In my opinion, the only enforcement tool the federal government has of ensuring that its laws are followed is the precedent set by the other laws which are a part of its legal system. I feel that disrupting this balance would be fatal.
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Like Sam said in lecture, when most people think of immigration problems, they think of Mexicans. Immediately Mexicans are labeled as coming into our country unjustifiably and are attacked as a group for negatively affecting our lives as Americans. I feel that before we can fault Mexicans for what they have done to this country, we must observe several facts. First of all, recognize that North America houses the only border in the world of a Developed and Developing Country (First and Third World). There are worse places to live in this world than Mexico, but by no means does that mean the majority of the country EVEN pales in comparison to what the average American enjoys the luxury of. In recognizing this, I feel as though we move away from blaming the immigration issue on the Mexican people, and addressing the issue as a more generalized problem that cannot be directed to any one thing.
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When we see a Hispanic individual walking down the street, too often is the association made to an illegal immigrant. This country is widely renowned for being a melting pot, a place where many different cultures and peoples are citizens together. Yet despite this fact, racist associations and generalizations dominate our daily thinking. We must recognize our racism for what it is, and do our best to cease from instantly categorizing people from their external features. It’s immature, undeveloped, and will lead us absolutely nowhere as a society.
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