Letter to the Editor

[SpecOps13]

ORANGE COUNTY,FLORIDA
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For some reason, people have difficulty structuring their arguments when arguing against supporting the currently proposed immigration revisions. This lady made the argument pretty simple. NOT printed in the Orange County Paper .....
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Newspapers simply won't publish letters to the editor which they either deem politically incorrect (read below) or which do not agree with the philosophy they're pushing on the public. This woman wrote a great letter to the editor that should have been published; but, with your help, it will get published via cyberspace!
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From: "David LaBonte"
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My wife, Rosemary, wrote a wonderful letter to the editor of the OC Register which, of course, was not printed. So, I decided to "print" it myself by sending it out on the Internet. Pass it along if you feel so inclined. Written in response to a series of letters to the editor in the Orange County Register:
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Dear Editor:*
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So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear down the Statue of Liberty because the people now in question aren't being treated the same as those who passed through Ellis Island and other ports of entry.
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Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like Mr. Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept this new kind of immigrant any longer. Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the United States, people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be documented. Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground.
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They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new American households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home. They had waved good-bye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture. Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them. All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity.
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Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. My father fought alongside men whose parents had come straight over from Germany, Italy, France and Japan. None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from.
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They were Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan. They were defending the United States of America*as one people.
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When we liberated France, no one in those villages were looking for the French-American or the German-American or the Irish-American. The people of France saw only Americans. And we carried one flag that represented one country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another country's flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here.
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These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one Red, White and Blue bowl.
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And here we are with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country.
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I'm sorry, that's not what being an American is all about. I believe that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900's deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for those legally searching for a better life.
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I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags.
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And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty, it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about dismantling the United States just yet.
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(signed)
Rosemary LaBonte

 

[Kronx]

I'd like to offer a different perspective on this... this is just based on my life experiences. But since we all have different life experiences mine is will be very different from everyone elses. So I can understand if you disagree based on your life experience.

One of the things of the many things the left/liberals get wrong on people who have strong anti-immigration stands is they think its all based on racism when it's not. I think we as humans are just territorial by nature and it stems from that. I've witnessed first hand white Brits being incredibly mean and nasty to hard working white Polish immigrants. It's not racial... it's territorial.

If the person writing the letter is going to recommend the reader using a history book, then they need to hit it as well. Since the day we claimed we were the United States of America we also had people decide who should and shouldn't be a part of it. When they are romanticizing immigrants fighting in WW2 they're also leaving out the reality that we had Americans of Japanese ancestry in interment camps during that same time.

Let's break that down... we put Americans... Americans... in camps because of their heritage. People who worked hard, followed the laws, learned the language, everything this letter is claiming what makes a "good immigrant" -- they did that -- and we still forced them out of their homes and into camps because of their ancestry.

My point of bringing that up is to remind the writer of that letter that even when an immigrants checks all of the boxes we designate as a "proper immigrant" we still have a history of treating them unfairly. It's a point we always have to keep in mind in order to keep ourselves in check and not repeat that ugly part of history.

Yes immigrants had a history of changing their names, but again they are romanticizing that. They weren't just changing their names to be American and fit. Many changed their name to avoid persecution from other Americans who though they shouldn't be here. But even when they change their name, we have a history of calling them out on that too. Americans particularly love calling Jewish people out who change their names. So in many ways its damned if they do, damned if they don't.

Yes, nothing was handed out to them, no labor laws to protect them, and they were often exploited because of it. Look at just about any longstanding engineering feat in America like the building of the Brooklyn Bridge and you'll also find a history of immigrants and Americans dying on the job.

The letter writers history also is a bit false in regards to how immigrants settled. They settled with their own kind. Again, much of the reason for this is so they have a better chance of being around people who accepted them as well as being around something familiar in a foreign land. Many cities in the USA have a long history associated with immigrants coming from specific regions of the world. It's not a coincidence that the NBA team out of Boston is called the Celtics, a city known for it's large Irish culture and presence. The writer seems to claim that old school immigrants left their association with their home country back home and would never celebrate their heritage once they became Americans. That's wrong. Irish Americans celebrating St. Patricks day in America goes all the way back to the days of American Independence.

Here in St. Louis we have district called "The Hill" that has a long history of Italian immigrants and it's were you're going to find the best Italian food in St. Louis. Chicago has a large Polish immigrant presence there. A lot of German ancestry in Pennsylvania. Cities and counties all over the USA have demographics like that with a long history(pre-WW2) of specific immigrants. And those areas generally a have a long history of celebrating that specific ancestry.

Are there immigrants today who fit this letters description of "today's immigrant"? I'm sure there are, but I would argue the majority of today's immigrants are closer to the "old school" immigrant than the new school one. At least based on my personal life experience.

My girlfriend works in a bakery and she's made a good friend who is a 1st generation American and her family comes from Thailand. Her friends name is Jennifer and she's about 26 years old. Her mom and dad have a restaurant they've worked very hard on. It's the their source of income and it's not much. They're at the bottom of the middle class bracket. They aren't getting handouts but they still have to struggle like most people do in that bracket. All the kids grew up and were working there at early ages. Jennifer is a Sgt in the Army, works part time at her parents place, part time at the bakery AND she's going to school too. I seriously have no idea how this young woman does all of that. I feel so lazy when I get to hang out with her. She loves the Army. Takes great pride in serving her country. Has earned the respect from the soldiers she's responsible for. I asked her why she was working those two part time jobs since she has the Army and the GI bill. She's working to help her parents and help put her brothers through school too. This young woman at 26 knows very well the concept of earning her keep and sacrificing for others.

Here's something I would ask the person writing the letter to sincerely consider and answer thruthfully. When was the last time an immigrant asked them for money? We've all been asked by people if we can spare a couple of dollars. I work downtown St. Louis and walk a few blocks to work, I get asked for money about 3 times per trip to and from the office, so I get asked a few times a day. Every day. I'm sure some of you deal with people asking for money a lot as well. It's always been white or black Americans. Always. Never an immigrant. I've never been asked if I could spare a couple of dollars by someone with broken English. Now maybe it's because I'm in the rust belt, so people may have different experiences. Maybe the author of this letter has. Again, this is based on my life experience. There's a lot of other personal experiences related to immigration that I've lived through such as post-Katrina rebuilding and opening a casino in the UK, and this picture that letter is trying to paint "modern day" immigrants that they want hand outs and free rides just doesn't align with the people I've meet and worked with in my lifetime.

 

[diggerzmound]

. When was the last time an immigrant asked them for money? It's always been white or black Americans. Always. Never an immigrant. .

I've never been asked if I could spare a couple of dollars by someone with broken English. Now maybe it's because I'm in the rust belt, so people may have different experiences. Maybe the author of this letter has.

I don't go grocery shopping much but they sell beer there and the last few times I've been in there the people swiping EBT cards were not white or black, and on one occasion did not seem to understand the clerk when she said in very plain English can you swipe your EBT card again?"...

I cannot agree with your statements from this perspective. There are immigrants here to bust their ass to make a living but they are here for the handouts too whether they are asking you point blank or in an office that you don't visit regularly but damn sure fund 100%.

The "Land of Opportunity" is more about hand outs than turning your blood sweat and tears into what you hope is success.

 

[Kronx]

Yea thats why I said it a few times it was based on my experience. I'm sure people have had different ones.

I would disagree with the statement about "The "Land of Opportunity" is more about hand outs than turning your blood sweat and tears into what you hope is success."

There is definitely a problem with all of the entitlement spending the government does, and you won't get any argument from me on that. I still clearly remember bagging groceries at Wayne Lee's grocery store in Lucedale, MS while going to high school. Watching people pay for their food with food stamps and then I take their groceries out to a brand new sports car. It would piss me off so bad. But as I got older I realized they may have a nice car, but they're parking that car in front of a dump of a home. They may have had a nicer car than me, but overall I had it better. I still firmly believe you'll get MUCH farther in America by working hard rather than waiting for a hand out. But I certainly understand where your perspective comes from as well.

There's no doubt people who are looking for handouts and people who seem to work harder in exploiting systems than actually just working for fair pay. But if you look at ANY level of government spending, you will find plenty of people exploiting that system. Whether is someone exploiting the welfare systems or if its a company exploiting tax codes, or government contractor committing fraud. At any level of any type of government spending, you will find fraud waste and abuse of government money.

But the perspective I take is I think that's just the inherent ugly side of human nature. I don't think it's inherent to a demographic. There's plenty of Americans of all colors and income levels looking for handouts or opportunities to exploit government spending. It's not just immigrants.

I also need to add there's other valid concerns and reasons for anti-immigration laws to be tougher and enforced. There are dangerous elements coming into America -- be it criminals, drugs, terrorists, etc. It's a very real threat and needs to be addressed, so I'm not dismissing any of that. But in regards immigrants today being more lazy than hard working, I just don't agree with that from what I've experienced.

 

[SpecOps13]

Opinions? We all have them. They make life interesting. Can't be on everybody's same page.:confused2:

 

[Kronx]

Opinions? We all have them. They make life interesting. Can't be on everybody's same page.:confused2:

+1 to that. Me personally, I enjoy reading or hearing different opinions and perspectives. May not agree with them, but it helps me look at this differently which I think is generally a good thing to do. Sort of a philosophical "measure twice, cut once" type of thing.