Cute story with a meaning

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hycamguy07 @ May 2 2007, 03:22 AM) [snapback]433819[/snapback]</div>

…or get a clowder of cats and let them do their job;

Yeah. . . . . . . . . you know where this is going!!!!

Enforce existing immigration laws and let INS do their job.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hycamguy07 @ May 2 2007, 03:22 AM) [snapback]433819[/snapback]</div>

The first step should be to quit taking away the seeds in their native territory and they might stay out of our backyard.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hycamguy07 @ May 2 2007, 05:22 AM) [snapback]433819[/snapback]</div>

My bird feeder doesn't cause a problem. My yard isn't infested with nests. Of course, I allow the birds to freely come and go as they wish, not come once and never go back because they might not ever be able to come again.

If we didn't have immigrants, the grocery store shelves wouldn't be stocked, and the rich people would have to cut their own grass. Let's give them a way to immigrate legally in numbers that our industries need, and enforce current laws.

My grandparents had the same problems you talk about - didn't speak English in school, people didn't like them etc. They were Germans, and now I grew up without even knowing German. Many Hispanic youth don't speak fluent Spanish, and you know their kids sure won't. Before today's Hispanics, the problem was with the Germans (particularly during the World Wars), and the Italians (anyone here a WOP?), before that it was despicable Irish (like that Leonardo movie), before that the Indians had some real problems with the English. Which immigrants do you come from?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(nerfer @ May 2 2007, 12:22 PM) [snapback]434059[/snapback]</div>

On the west coast the Chinese were the local "scum of the earth" for awhile. IMO the difference is that in the past the immigrants wanted to become Americans (Anglicized?) but now the Hispanics want the Anglicans(?) to become Hispanic.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JimN @ May 2 2007, 11:09 PM) [snapback]434521[/snapback]</div>

And on what authority do you say that? Any sufficiently large population keeps part of its heritage around for awhile, after all, my German grandparents were born here but spoke only German until entering school. A generation later German was all but forgotten. I think the same will happen with the Hispanic wave of immigration. I see that happening today with my Polish and E. European friends (a lot of them here in Chicago, having the second largest Polish population in the world).

 

This thread should be retitled: "Cute story with a xenophobic meaning."

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(IsrAmeriPrius @ May 2 2007, 09:40 PM) [snapback]434543[/snapback]</div>

LMAO!

Wait, that shouldn't be funny. It should be sad.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(nerfer @ May 2 2007, 11:15 PM) [snapback]434524[/snapback]</div>

When the European immigrants arrived did they demand bilingual classes for their children in public school? Did they demand that government documents be bilingual? In Chicago do you hear "press 1 for English" and (in Polish) "press 2 for Polish"? Every other immigration wave understood that learning English and assimilating was the path to a more prosperous future. The Hispanics seem to be the only group that believes everybody else needs to learn Spanish. Why is May 5th becoming an American holiday? Is it just a marketing ploy to sell more Mexican beer?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JimN @ May 3 2007, 08:45 PM) [snapback]435267[/snapback]</div>

Before the European settlers first arrived in the new world the indigenous population of North America did not speak English.

Elections materials and other government documentation are available in more foreign languages than just Spanish. In California, it is common to find elections publications also in Chinese, Farsi, Japanese, Korean, Tagalog and Vietnamese. (California Secretary of State - Elections - Language Diversity)

DMV literature is published and written licensing tests are administered in Amharic, Arabic, Armenian, Cambodian, Chinese, Croatian, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hmong, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Persian/Farsi, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Samoan, Spanish, Tagalog/Filipino, Thai, Tongan, Turkish, and Vietnamese. (California DMV - Driver License Information - What other languages is the written or audio test available in?)

Why are you pouncing only on the Spanish speakers?

 

I thought it to be imperative to learn as much about my host countries language, culture and daily goings on. It is not only sound, but also incredibly advantageous when I can benefit from local events, customs and the local job market for *my* personal benefit. Coming here means having left something that was not right or 'in the right place', behind. Holding on to personal and cultural values is only natural as it may provide a stable platform for the heart and mind, while one adjusts to the new world around him.

At home, I can remember and live my origins and my culture, however once out and about I will *have* to work on adopting my new nations identity and culture into my own so that I can simply function and take advantage of what this new society has to offer. I left after all to take advantage of something new, why not embrace it. This doesn't mean I have to buy into everything my new country has to offer, I am free to make choices, probably more choices (actual and perceived) then I could have made in my country of origin.

So I personally don't rely nor support catering to a particular group just so that they can function without the effort to become a functional part of the greater good. Those who came here out of life preserving necessity (meaning no prior planning or research to be had in preparation) should receive help with integration : learn to read and write the host nations language, learn customs, learn to become marketable, learn how to negotiate a fair contract and housing. We *can* provide this, but then again, we don't teach this in school or college either, so it may be a pretty far stretch.

I have a dream, I am working on making it a reality, here ... in the US.

 

Oh, the immigration debate... The USA is one of very few countries that is geographically isolated enough to allow many of its citizens to live their entire lives speaking only one language. Other languages are not really something to fear, guys.

The allegory is stupid, and you could tell where it was going from the onset because birds don't act that way. It's also stupid because the government doesn't give things out for free. The voters tell the government what services they want, and the voters also pay for those services. Voters like me pay for welfare programs and the like because we actually want the money and aid to be given to people who need it.

Immigration is not just about some darker-skinned, funny-talking people being in too-close proximity to your neighborhood, it's about how our culture is rejecting service jobs, and at the same time letting bad situations in other countries persist. It's osmosis. There's great pressure on one side of this semi-permeable membrane that is our border, and there's a near-vacuum on the other side. Punishing people for bowing to that pressure is like being made at water for flowing downhill.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(IsrAmeriPrius @ May 4 2007, 09:47 AM) [snapback]435420[/snapback]</div>

In NJ I don't see any evidence of the other 30 nationalities listed above protesting in favor of the illegal aliens. The local Lowes has signage in English & Spanish (or Portuguese?) presumably to accomodate the local illegal alien population. I live real close to the township that passed the ordinances the Hispanics are fighting because in their view the new ordinances discriminate against the illegal alien.

We can solve the illegal immigration problem in 5 minutes by repealing all of the immigration laws and let whoever wants to come and stay just come and stay.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JimN @ May 4 2007, 06:29 PM) [snapback]435783[/snapback]</div>

That's a smart business decision. It results in higher sales as compared to competitors who do not accommodate Spanish speaking customers.