Since mindsay.com's little "reply" geegaw isn't working for my browser, I thought I'd post my reply to thesonofgray's "Mayday" blog entry here.
Don't flame me.
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"Your first comment, the "we caucasians" thing. I take that as a very racist comment on your part."
That wasn't meant as a racist comment. People say that around here and nobody takes offense.
"Um, and yes. Americans ARE the only ones who live in America...unless you are an illegal immigrant. The name American can apply to anyone anywhere of ANY culture who holds American citizenship."
I meant white Americans, which I had mentioned in that sentence.
""It takes one to know one." Wow. I think I might have used that in like, what, 5th grade? Please. Intelligent discussion."
Watch your mouth. Just because you might have used the phrase in your earlier years doesn't mean that you have to go and take that out on me. And it is in no way childish or unintelligent.
"The MAIN reason I take offense to displaying Mexican flags in illegal immigtion protests is that Mexico should have NOTHING to do with creating/changing US's laws. That right there is an example of infringing on a nation's sovereignty."
Who said that they're using Mexico for this? I was against your saying that just because everyone was holding other nation's flags they ought to be denied citizenship.
"A Mexican illegal immigrant should get the same attention as a Chinese or Italian or Brazilian illegal immigrant."
So you're saying that they should get kicked out of the country and sent back to whatever lives they were aiming to leave behind?
"And, defcon, just step back for a minute, drop all of your biases, and just look at those pictures and tell me what you see. Marching around this nation, carrying another nation's flag, and protesting that your demands be met in this nation is IDIOTIC."
Exactly how is it idiotic?
"And actually, the protest organizers realized their error in the first round of protests. For the May protest they tried their hardest to pass out US flags because they realized, through polling, that the American people didn't really like all of these people, demanding amnesty, waving Mexican flags in protests that shut down roads and filled their tv screens. It was counter-productive."
The general public doesn't really care. I've asked plenty of people; They don't give a hoot what flag is raised, as long as the deal sounds good.
"Defcon, I really think you missed (and by missed I mean completely and utterly did not understand) the point of that blog post. I have nothing against people of different backgrounds. IT IS NOT AN ISSUE."
Thanks, but I would have preferred you removing the little part in parentheses; Again, watch it.
"And it absolutely infuriates me when individuals try and make this about race, culture, liberty, etc. This debate is about economics and security. Our law should NOT be at the will of any group of illegal immigrants, no matter how large their particular ethnic group may be. The US law should protect and serve the citizens of the United States. By addressing the economic and security impact of illegal immigration, the American people will be better off (and possibly former illegal immigrants if the economy demands it)."
The economic and security impact? We put illegal immigrants to work in factories so they can do our dirty work! And they don't really get paid much (although it's probably better than what they'd get in their homelands), so it doesn't make any huge difference to the economy. In fact, if more people were to come into the US, there would be a greater need for US goods, which would actually be helping the economy. On the subject of security, I'd say that there is nothing to worry about. Set aside disasters such as 9-11 (which could have been prevented; The CIA had the intelligence reports), we haven't had terrorist attacks. And, like I said in parentheses, they can be prevented. We will be no more or less better off by shutting illegal immigrants out of the country.
"This might seem like a unipolar view on everything, but, I will repeat, the US ecomony can not accomidate every poor citizen of an economically depressed nation."
Not quite true; Like I said, more people create a greater demand for goods, which helps the economy keep going.
"We can, however, use our resources to help lift the depressed economics of those nations. Just granting amnesty to illegal immigrants will NOT solve the larger issue in Central/South America."
Maybe not, but healing such depressed nations takes money, resources - and time. In addition, one can't expect to gain much in return. Well, at least not initially. (The nation being relieved could become a trade partner or something to that end, although that probably wouldn't happen for a while after the relief efforts.)
And if granting amnesty does not help to relieve the depressed nations, then one could at least stand to grant amnesty to relieve the depressed families.
"And finally, about my 'ignorant teenager' post: I hesitate to included that but I decided to because of a few things. First, I attended high school not too long ago. I know how it is. And I can almost guarantee you that the only reason they skipped school to protest was just that - to skip school. And another observation, they weren't even protesting anything! I witnessed the teenage protests here in Austin when they occured and I watch/read extensive coverage of the protests around the nation. The high school student protest here in Austin were more like a party than a protest. It was just a whole bunch of teenagers who were overjoyed to be out of class and not being punished for it. And just read the newspapers and watch tv! Everytime they interview a student, all they say is something to the effect of "Yeah! Freedom! Um..Se Puede!".
Seriously, I highly doubt their intentions. I was there once, and hell, I would have used any excuse to get out of class, too."
I was pointing out that what you were doing was basically stereotyping. Just because the teenagers are like that in your area doesn't necessarily mean that they all are.
"So there you go, Defcon Pilot. From looking at the trends in your comments directed towards me (like the "I find that you discriminate" comment on ST), I find that you spurt out what you think you know about me, my views and opinions without actually finding out what they are. So please, for the sake of my time and sanity, read everything before you make half-assed conclusions."
I admit that that comment did not necessarily apply; I ought to have edited it. At that moment, I had just read through your blog and I still hadn't gotten my mind off the issue here. But now I don't even remember what the topic was I was commenting on then. I'm good at not remembering... That's why I have to write almost everything down for future reference. :P But again, watch it. I never directly insulted you.
"Thank you for visiting! (Big spinning, hypnotic, flashy smilie {OK, overstatement, I know...})"
You're welcome. Now excuse me while I go into the next room and have a seziure. :P
