New Children's Book Teaches Intolerance & Xenophobia

[meegbear]

Judge John H. Wilson (Criminal Court, Brooklyn, New York) has penned a new children's book called Hot House Flowers that is causing a lot of controversy among immigration activists. On yesterday morning's FOX & Friends First hosts Kiran Chetry and Tiki Barber interviewed the author, who tried to defend himself against an "anti-immigrant" charge by stating that he is not opposed to legal immigrants, only to those who enter the country illegally. When Kiran Chetry asked him how he would handle the millions of illegals already in the country, Wilson responded: "Well, many of them probably should be seeking legal counsel about seeking exit from the country ..."

Wilson wrote the book because he could not find a book on the "big issues" that he could read to his four-year-old son. Hot House Flowers is an "allegory" in which the mother dandelion and her seedlings (illegal immigrants) invade the home of the hot house flowers (the "legal" residents) threatening their very existence and finally forcing them to deny the dandelions the ability to grow.

"I'm not calling immigrants weeds, " Wilson stated. "The fallacy that a lot of people have in understating this issue is that there's a big distinction between immigrants and illegal immigrants and there is nothing in this book that is intended to be anti-immigration. ... The intention was more of a universal allegory regarding defense of home and defense of country. Is there a parallel with the issue of illegal immigration? Of course there is. But the broader issues of the book are intended to be universal story, somehing that could be read a hundred years from now and applied to issues that may be facing the human race then, along with issues that we faced a hundred years ago."

http://www.newshounds.us/2006/11/29/new_childrens_book_teaches_intolerance_xenophobia.php

[Fierce]

1. Hot house flowers are grown

in a false environment, shut out from the world outside. If they're crowded out it's only because they've grown weak after all the support and special treatment they've gotten inside the hothouse. Just sayin'.

[catrose]

4. right

and they're subject to infestations of various kinds precisely because they're a homogenous community and the bugs, diseases, and other seeds say, Whee! Heaven for us! Our absolute ideal growing conditions.

There is strength in diversity.

Besides, do you know of anyone who's ever won a war with dandelions?

[Fierce]

5. Exactly!

And dandelions are pretty, IMO.

[wryter2000]

2. Tiki Barber?

The football player?

[meegbear]

3. Yep ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiki_Barber

[wryter2000]

6. Oh, nooooooooooooooooo

I used to enjoy Patricia Heaton, too.