Posted on 05/16/2007 10:25:05 PM PDT by Cacique
Many of you who know me from either my pings or past posts and FReeps may know that I do not post that often since I have been here. But recent events and what appears to be a penchant by the elites to ram changes in law and the constitution down our throats, regardless of the fact that most Americans oppose such changes has prompted me to write this about an issue I think is critical to the both the long term and short term future of this country. I am of course speaking of that farce in the senate under the guise of reform, but which is in reality a mass amnesty for people who are here illegally. Many who arguably mean to do harm to this country.
To begin with, I feel I must tell you a bit about myself and my credentials on this subject so that you understand why I urge you to act now.
I am a legal immigrant to this country who arrived here on my 10th birthday with my parents in April of 1962. I was born in Latin America and I am tri-lingual and fluent in all three languages I speak. Spanish is of course one of them. Things were different way back then, at least as far as immigration laws were concerned. My parents and I had to wait several years to be given permission to emigrate here. At that time I had both an Uncle and an Aunt living in the Unites States, a sister and a brother of my mother's. It was her wish to join them that convinced my father to move here although initially he was against it. Since there was no family reunification at the time he had to get someone else to vouch for him (so he wouldn't become a vagrant dependent on the state) and obtain employment before coming here before he would even be allowed to emigrate. My father should have had an edge due to the fact that he had served with US forces during World War II under the command of US officers in what were then known as "Slavonic" Divisions. None of that mattered, he had to stand in line like everyone else.
This picture was taken sometime in 1944, possibly on leave in London. My father is the guy on the right.
I could bore you with more details but I simply bring these things up as a reference point to what follows.
I am a political scientist by training a PhD Candidate at the CUNY graduate Center, otherwise known as an ABD. I have been involved in numerous political campaigns starting with Giuliani's first run for mayor (a race he lost to Dinkins). I have run assembly campaigns, a US Senate campaign and a US Congressional campaign. I have been active in politics for all of my adult life and have traveled the ideological road from being a committed Marxist and Stalinist in my College years to being a staunch conservative republican today. I think I know a thing or two about politics and what makes both people on the left and the right tick.
I am familiar with Latin culture not only from an academic perspective, but also from an interactive one, as I interact with all my fellow Latinos each and very day. I know what they think and I know what their attitudes are as they will tell me things they will not tell outsiders. a couple of years ago I posted a piece by Sam Huntington that I believe is a must read by all here.
Fast forward to the present and I currently live in a section in Brooklyn, New York that is by all accounts a major focus of illegal immigrants. Mostly from Mexico, Ecuador and San Salvador with a sprinkling of Dominicans and even Chinese illegals.
Very briefly I will tell you that if there is an amnesty in this country America as we know will cease to exist in less than a generation. I am totally dismayed that many countries in the West have opted to commit national suicide and we seem to have decided to join them.
The elites in Washington have decided that their short term interests trump the long term interests of the nation. The issue of immigration is NOT a democratic or republican issue. IT IS a national issue. The supporters of amnesty have narrow interests that are either economic or political short term interests without having given any thought whatsoever. The crowd in Washington goes to the same clubs, eats in the same restaurants, live in gated communities and socialize with other members of the financial and political elites. Any negative impacts on the society at large they tend to be immune from. It is clear there is a faction that is hell bent on depressing wages and attract cheap manual labor in order to compete with third world hellholes. At the same time the catholic church is salivating at the prospect of filling the pews and collection baskets in their churches. The activists in the democratic party are salivating at the prospect of another underclass they can control and exploit. All these forces have coalesced to bring about the present situation. Polls have been consistent in that over 68% of american voters oppose amnesty to illegal immigrants. Over 60% of union households oppose amnesty. Yet the elites are in total disconnect with this because they have decided the public can do nothing to stop them and will likely not do anything to penalize them later. What matters to them is the fact that corporate donors who fund their campaigns have made no bones about the fact that they want an amnesty, or more precisely they demand one.
A few myths
The excuses to support amnesty are many and varied. One is that most of these hispanics are family oriented and will become conservative. The real fact is that most illegals come from the poverty stricken lower classes. Many have relationships and children out of wedlock. The catholicism they practice is much closer to the "liberation theology" variant which is nothing more than Marxism with a God. They bring with them a deep class resentment of not only the wealthy but the middle classes and a racist resentment of whites. Latin American Christianity is also a heavy admixture of traditional pre-colombian gods and elements and would be totally unrecognizable to catholics here. The church pretends all these people are catholics so they can claim their numbers.
Democrats have a delusion that they will be able to manipulate them and garner their votes. Activists in their community are very much aware of this. Most latin american marxists are much closer to the stalinist type than the fashionista left in this country who is leftist because it's the fashion of their peers. Latinos who are marxists, are committed doctrinaire marxists much closer to the Cuban or North Korean model. They have little use for rich white kids who want to be weekend revolutionaries. They also understand that they have a greater chance of projecting power and influence if they keep their communities in control and separate. I had expected them to demand schools exclusively in spanish but they were beaten by the muslims by a hair here in brooklyn. The Madrasa in brooklyn may have been delayed but it is only a matter of time before the demands will surface again. Accusations of cultural imperialism and racism will be lodged against those that demand they assimilate. The "community leaders" know full well that any assimilation is a dilution of their power, therefore they will promote the opposite.
Any comparisons between immigrants of today and those of yesteryear are irrelevant. They were different times and the world was quite different. In 1900 an immigrant to America came on a one way trip, he knew he was not going back. Entire villages collected money for the trip to send one of their own. Passage meant at least a year's wages even in steerage. Today's immigrant is a cheap plane ticked and a few hours away from home. He arrives to a country where he can feel at home in an insular community where his language is spoken. There are radio and television stations available in his own language as well as newspapers and magazines. Mass communications means he is just a phone call away from speaking to his friends back home. The economies of scale make all of this possible in today's world. Today's immigrant is helped by modern technology to feel like he is home in any community of his compatriots abroad. And should he feel homesick it takes only a couple of week's wages and a plane ticket to return home for a visit. None of these things were available to the immigrant a century ago. Another difference is that the immigrant of a century ago came mostly from Western countries to another western country the main difference being the food and language from where he came from.
Latin America is nominally Western. The western portion resides in the main cities and among the educated. In most countries with the possible exception of Argentina and Brazil the indigenous cultures that were found by the conquistadores still exist in stark contrast to what one finds in the cities. It is those who are predominantly the "mojados" that one finds in this country, not the country club upper class that Bush hob nobs with.
Two things happened in Spain in 1492. One was the trip by Cristobal Colon. The other was the final conquest of Andalus. The inquisition was organized mainly to reconvert all those souls who were under islam for 700 years. The result is that many of the conquistadores who came here were a generation away from being muslims. They brought with them a world view much closer to islam than the view of a sophisticated catholic from Italy. The concepts of machismo, guerra sin cuarto, Caudillismo etc. are elements from the islamic period that remained a part of spanish culture in Latin America. There are a lot of parallels between Latin American culture in it's conservatism and what one would find in the middle east. This is something that needs to be kept in mind.
Assimilation is not a guaranteed phenomenon. We have currently numerous groups that have as yet not assimilated even though they have been here for over a century. I can think of the Hasidic jews for starters, or the Amish, or perhaps the Hutterites. The only difference is that their theology has nothing in it that compels them to try to conquer our lands and convert us.
Demographics
I don't think I need to write much on the birth rate factor. One can search all over the net to see the statistics. Muslims and illegals are the fastest reproducing segment of the population. As the population shifts and new groups become more numerous the power center will shift. The losers? Indigenous american indians, caucasians and blacks.
There is the lie that there are only 12 million illegals in this country. That number keeps getting thrown around as if is gospel. The fact is that we have no clue how many are here. If one takes the estimate that ten years ago there were 10,000 crossings a day at the border and extrapolates 3.5 million illegals a year then we can rest assured the 12 million figure is totally wrong. It could be as high as 35 million or even as high as 70 million. Do a search on the web and you will see that all the claims could be valid. remember the last amnesty in 1984? I do. We were promised that they would secure the borders, that the amnesty would mean that fewer people would come and that we would enforce immigration laws. Of course it was all naive and a pipe dream. Think this amnesty will stop more people coming? You haven't seen anything yet. Once people all over the world get wind of what a bunch of chumps we are they will come over in droves like we have never seen. You can't feed a crocodile and expect it to be satisfied with a morsel.
The losers
So who will lose if there's amnesty? Oddly enough most of the big losers are part of the grand democratic coalition. Union workers, their leaders only see more members, the rank and file will fall to depressed wages and downward pressures in their standard of living. Blacks will lose influence as a group and will be played off against the emerging mexican hispanic power block. Their population which reached a peak of 14% of the population is in decline and will continue to decline as illegals have more children. Women will find that the male dominated culture of machismo and the misogynist muslim outlook will make for interesting times in the future. Gays will find much less tolerance among Latinos and Muslims for their lifestyle, even from the left. They ought to get an idea at how gays are treated in Cuba to get a hint. The middle class as always will face increasing taxation to pay for all the programs and services that will be demanded by the new majorities. The elderly will find that most of the new workers brought in to prop up the welfare state will have little tolerance to pay for those on the retirement dole. That will have implications in the near future. Other hispanics, in particular Puerto Ricans and Dominicans who will find themselves elbowed out by the Mexicans. This phenomenon is already happening in the hispanic caucus and other national hispanic organizations where the divisions among hispanics are coming into the open. For many hispanics who are second and third generation americans the honeymoon is begriming to come to an end. Jews will find perhaps a rise in anti semitism. Latin America is home to a particularly virulent form that rears it's ugly head quite often. Ingrained in Spanish catholicism and fed by marxist solidarity for arabs it will always be there under the surface. Republicans and Conservatives we will be the biggest losers in this game. Most of the activists among the Mecha and Aztlan types are already forging alliances with radicals in the muslim community. We may get a few new republicans from these new immigrants, but the reality is that the class and race hatred that many of them bring with them will likely be passed on to new generations as they are in most groups.
The next stage
I could go on and write a dissertation on the subject, but that is not my purpose nor is there time for that. One side argues that we can;'t get rid of all illegals in this country. I believe they are wrong. They don't want to get rid of the illegals here. There was a time not long ago, about 15 years ago that New York was home to one of the largest communities of illegal Irish immigrants. It was estimated at the time there were upwards of half a million illegal irish immigrants in New York. An interesting thing happened though. It was the Irish miracle, the economy took a turn North and opportunities were everywhere. The result is that almost all of those half million illegals returned home. It was a matter of incentive. If you make it difficult for illegals to work in this country and punish those who hire them I guarantee you will see the phenomenon repeated again.
What is to be done?
In 1902 V.I. Lenin published a pamphlet entitled "What is To Be Done?" it was a blueprint for his political ideas on taking power. In a way, we need our own approach to this problem. The issue of immigration is an issue that affects all of us in a very likely negative way far beyond our political ideologies if we are Americans. We need to reach out and awaken all those groups that do not currently see the urgency but who will be adversely affected by the coming changes. We need a coalition of the unlikely.
We need to reach out to rank and file workers, both union and outside. This has to be a grassroots mobilization made up of individuals rather than a national organization. American Hispanics born here must understand that they are about to be elbowed out and will lose bug time. Gays must understand that if they think Jerry Falwell was bad for them, they haven't seen intolerance yet. Women must understand that any gains they may have had with regards to the workplace and society can be swept away just as easily as they have been put in place. Jews must understand that the rising anti semitism will get worse, not better.
A postage stamp an envelope and e-mail
In politics as in economics, perception is reality. The level of commitment by an opponent is gauged by his determination and how much he is willing to invest in opposing something. The anti-amnesty crowd has not been very successful because they have been disorganized and have been painted as racists and bigots as the Minutemen have. You cannot give them a target to latch onto. Responding to such attacks gives only credence to the attacker. This has to be totally a citizen to citizen uprising. If you know other Hispanics who oppose amnesty contact the. Have Black friends? Explain to them how they stand to lose out (they know already) start networking. Call all your acquaintances and friends and send them e-mails. Fear is a great motivator, it is the one thing that moves people to action and motivates them to show up at the polls.
DO NOT JUST SEND EMAILS TO YOUR CONGRESSMAN OR SENATOR. For the most part they get deleted as spam and don't have much impact. It also shows a lack of commitment and that you are lazy. INSTEAD INVEST IN POSTAGE STAMPS. There is nothing more impressive than postal service trucks showing up at congress with bags full of envelopes with paper mail.
USE THE PHONES, CALL AND CLOG THEIR LINES. ONA CELLPHONE A CALL TO WASHINGTON IS A LOCAL CALL. Faxes are a waste of time. There is a physical limit to how many faxes a fax machine can receive.
FReerepublic is the right place to start this. But we must reach out from beyond our narrow confines. Beyond conservatives, beyond republicans, beyond democrats.
Do this as if your future depends on it, because it does.
Do this as if your children's future depends on it, because it does.
Do this as if the nation's future depends on it, because it does.
SEND AN ENVELOPE WITH A PERSONAL LETTER TO YOUR CONGRESSMAN, YOUR SENATOR. CALL THE LOCAL COUNTY LEADERS. DON'T LIMIT IT TO WASHINGTON, CALL THE LOCAL POLITICIANS AS WELL. THE GOVERNOR OF YOUR STATE ETC.
YOU MUST RAISE HELL!! THE ONLY WAY TO BE HEARD IS TO YELL.
Missed this earlier post of yours. A guy [Rector?] was on the radio earlier today saying that the so called “chain” immigration will be far more extensive [worse] than what the politicians are saying. Why does that not surprise me. Disappoint, yes. Surprise, no.
The whole thing is one big nightmare! It’s so frustrating...like watching a train wreck and being helpless to stop it!
Newt put forth a serious immigration plan on Fox the other day ,
So far he is the only “likely” nominee I could vote for
What good is any candidate when Bush wants to sign it into law before summer is out? The ruling elites are neither democrats or republicans, the parties have become shills. We need to stop this NOW!!!!
...man.....aint NOBODY gonna read any mail. Your plan is flawed. Letter writing campaigns are worthless. Nice try though
You miss the point, I don’t expect the to read anything. But there is a vast difference in impact from 1,000 postcards as opposed to 1,000 emails that can be erased with the click of a mouse. Perception is reality. You can kill a fly with a flyswatter, but if you really want to attract it’s attention use a sledgehammer.
Great post!
Good point. I plan to do both.
General contact info for all Senatewhores and House of Ripoffs:
House:
http://www.house.gov/writerep/
SENATE: Locate And Contact YOUR Senators HERE. http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
bump
You have it exactly right. Thanks.
Please post your responses from congresspersons & senators in this thread or ping me or SOMETHING. I will tally the count with linked sources here: http://votecount.blogspot.com/
Not much real data in yet — I’m sure most Dems are a sure thing to vote for this, but I don’t have statements to link.
Well done.
One thing for sure is that if this passes we,as a Nation, have had it. For any number of reasons.
One more thing. If Ted Kennedy and the Democrats are for it, you can bet the farm that it will be bad for us.
If this bill passes you can forget about 2008.
I seriously doubt if a fillibuster happens.
Both political parties, for different reasons, want this bill enacted into law.
This is the reason that they negotated in secret. They knew it would create a firestorm and did not want it publicized until the last second. They hope that it will be passed before serious opposition can be organized against it.
Time is not on our side on this one.
We can give hearburn to the senators and start working on the congresscritters. There are a lot of marginal democrats in blue collar union member districts that can be trageted. The rank and file oppose it. Some union leaders like the catholic church are salivating at new members. But the rank and file know vaseline when they see it.
God bless you - thank you for this awesome post, Cacique!
ping later read,, but WOW
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