A Chain Email About Immigration

[Wednesdays]

I actually have no strong feelings one way or another about immigration, but I just received this chain email about it...made me go "hmm," and thought it would be fruit for discussion here...go at it.

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Let's Say I Break Into Your House:

A lady wrote the best letter in the Editorials
in ages!!! It explains things better than all
the baloney you hear on TV.

Her point:

Recently large demonstrations have taken place
across the country protesting the fact that Congress
is finally addressing the issue of illegal
immigration.

Certain people are angry that
the US might protect its own
borders, might make it harder
to sneak into this country and,
once here, to stay indefinitely.
Let me see if I correctly understand
the thinking behind these protests.
Let's say I break into your house.
Let's say that when you discover
me in your house, you insist that I leave.
But I say, "I've made all
the beds and washed the
dishes and did the laundry
and swept the floors. I've
done all the things you don't
like to do. I'm hard-working
and honest
(except for when I broke into your house).

According to the protesters:
You are Required to let me stay in your house
You are Required to add me to your family's insurance
plan
You are Required to Educate my kids
You are Required to Provide other benefits to me & to
my family
(my husband will do all of your yard work because
he is also hard-working and honest, except for that
breaking in part).

If you try to call the police or force me out,
I will call my friends who will picket your
house carrying signs that proclaim my
RIGHT to be there.

It's only fair, after all, because you have
a nicer house than I do, and I'm just
trying to better myself. I'm a hard-working
and honest, person, except for well,
you know, I did break into your house
And what a deal it is for me!!!

I live in your house, contributing only a
fraction of the cost of my keep, and
there is nothing you can do about it
without being accused of cold,

uncaring, selfish, prejudiced, and
bigoted behavior.

Oh yeah, I DEMAND that you to learn
MY LANGUAGE!!! so you can
communicate with me.

Why can't people see how ridiculous
this is?! Only in America
if you agree, pass it on (in English).
Share it if you see the value of it.

If not throw it away.........
along with your future Social Security
funds, and a lot of other things.

[Donnachaidh]

1. New FREEPER Meme being tossed around the net

playing right into that old FEAR TERROR crap. It's embarrassing how scared these assholes can make themselves.

[Wednesdays]

3. This came from a friend who is a self-proclaimed Democrat

It's not just the Freepers who's passing this around.

[Donnachaidh]

5. I've seen it used exclusively by Freepers

And again, it's the old FEAR and TERROR framework.

[Wednesdays]

14. Good god, I hope we're not losing her to the dark side

I always thought her to be on the upper end of the intelligence scale. Then again, her brother is as much a wingnutjob as they come...some of that may be rubbing off on her.

[Bridget Burke]

9. Actually, it's an OLD Freeper meme.

Spam doesn't improve with age. It just starts stinking.

[EFerrari]

2. I don't think this piece is hateful enough. The author is barely trying. n/t

[uppityperson]

4. Difference between private and public, "congress is FINALLY addressing the issue"?

Do they mean now that the Democrats have a majority this is being addressed? I thought illegal immigration has been addressed many times over the course of USA history. Other than that, bunch of talking points to try to scare people into believing a bunch of hoohaw.

[Wednesdays]

8. What part is "hoohaw?"

Not trying to be argumentative, but since I'm rather new to the issue I need help understanding.

[EFerrari]

11. All of it. It's meant to incite hatred and is full of misinformation. n/t

[uppityperson]

20. By "hoohaw" I mean...

"Other than that, bunch of talking points to try to scare people into believing a bunch of hoohaw" defined as:

that a bunch of illegals are coming to take over our homes, our jobs, our women even maybe, and expect we loyal red/white/blue blooded Amerikans into supporting them at the same time. Because there is this group of people that feel entitled to whatever they can demand from us, we need to pass more laws to make sure that don't happen.

Projection in part on the part of those espousing this (they would like to be taken care of, therefor others want the same thing), at any rate deceit and hoohaw. Yes, I am sure there are some of these people in every group, no matter how you divide people up, but I feel this is not the way to go to "secure borders", keep jobs in america, etc etc etc.

[Cleita]

6. This is an old rehash that's been going around for years.

It used to be about welfare and social programs that the freepers call entitlements. Someone has reworked it to be about immigration. The English only argument should be a dead giveaway as to the source. I once had someone tell me that only people who spoke English should get food stamps.

[Wednesdays]

12. I agree totally, the English-only part was what bothered me most

What is a good rebuttal to the English-only meme?

[Cleita]

16. Ask them what their ancestry is? Most likely it's not English unless

they are descended from the original settlers. So did their parents, or grandparents or great grandparents come here already speaking Enlish? I doubt it. Also, most immigrants know more English than they might have you believe. They are reluctant to speak it because it's hard for them and when it comes to legal or medical matters they prefer to speak to someone who understands their language to make sure that their are no errors in translation.

If you are in a foreign country and have to go to the doctor, don't you ask for someone you can explain your symptoms to in English? Most likely though in most foreign country the doctors and medical professionals all know enough English to treat you.

[Bridget Burke]

7. This rancid spam has been posted at DU before....

www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2177202#2177824

And all over the Internet--with lies about its source.

You say you have no strong feelings. But the chain e-mail says "if you agree, pass it on."

[Wednesdays]

10. Seriously, I'm innocent on both points

I honestly did a search going back a full year before posting this, so I apologize for the re-post. Secondly, I thought it smelled of RW propaganda, but decided to let people more "in the know" here verify that before I jumped to conclusions. I was looking for some talking points to fire back at my friend.

[EFerrari]

15. This country was founded on a genocide and built on slavery

so any talk of invasion and depressing wages is already pretty nauseating.

I've yet to meet an undocumented worker who insisted that their freep employers learn Spanish. In fact, it's very hard to get a slot in an ESL class. As usual, the freeps have it backward.

Undocumented workers have little or no recourse to the law so they are not only exploited for their labor but can't report crimes committed against them.

I don't want to read this thing again to point out all the bs, but you get the idea.

[gollygee]

13. I got this one from my mom

it was a sad day. My mom is a Democrat even.

[Betsy Ross]

17. The premise is BS.

I didn't break into your house. Your door was open and you asked me to come in and work for you.

[uppityperson]

21. That is the best response, short, succinct, to the point.

[blondeatlast]

24. Excellent! nt

[Wednesdays]

18. I replied back to her entire address list

using some of the marvelous points in the other thread about this. I also added:

The message in the text is to be suspicious and despise "those people." Remember that our not-too-distant ancestors were considered some of "those people," too.

[BlackHawk706867]

19. I'm refraining from posting on this "subject" again... biting...

my tong and holding my twisting fingers still....... grrrrr

ww

[MisterP]

22. I think the CIA puts out these spams, to make a "second Earth" like

Borges's Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius (a SPANISH-language work, I might add!)
in this mysterious parallel chain-mail Earth, Gore tries to steal the 2000 election and ignores Osama when St. Ollie North warns him, New Orleanians deserve everything they get, and people get righteously, violently angry about peace or non-racism

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

23. Your going "hmm" is making me go "hmm"