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In reply to the discussion: (fanfare please) Ladies and Gents, MY MOM JUST WENT BLUE!!!!!! [View all]mgardener
(1,816 posts)Congratulations!
My mom died 6 years ago. Back during the bush administration was dealing with whole immigration question and the fence etc. my mother called and was very angry about immigrants taking over. I listened to her for a while and just said, "you married and immigrant and I am the daughter of an immigrant".
Silence.
I married an immigrant. My children are children of and grandchildren of immigrants.
Silence.
Then I said, when you were small sitting around the dining room table, didn't your family talk about how hard it was for the Irish to get jobs in NYC? How they were all cops and firemen because they were the only jobs they could get? I come from a family of cops and firemen and milk men.
My mother was dumbfounded. Her great grandparents came over as immigrants from Ireland on both sides. My father came over as a young boy in '26. All his side of the family was born in Ireland.
My husband came over as a displaced person after WW2.
My mother had conveniently forgot all of this in her anger that immigrants were destroying her way of life a la Fox news. I think she was ashamed that she had forgotten about her family.
I can't say that she would have voted for Obama, but I we were able to talk about a lot of things more rationally whenI would just say the word "immigrant"
I think Fox news has a lot to answer for. For all our parents that get sucked into the lies and the deceit and the fear mongering.