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Is it me or has 'Immigrant' Become a Dirty Word?

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posted on Aug, 24 2005 @ 06:32 PM
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I have been noticing a very alarming trend on these threads recently. Many people, even coherant, logical, intelligent ones, have been discussing immigrants with such antagonism and bile, that it seems as if the concept of immigration has come to represent a destructive, evil, force that wants nothing more than to kill you and your loved ones and to ridicule your way of life.

For every so called 'terrorist' posing as anti western immigrant, there are 1000s of hard working, decent people just like you and me, who want nothing else but to live their lives in peace.

Why are we buying into the media spin on racial disharmony and intolerance? Do we honestly believe that these people are what are causing our current problems? Do you not see that perhaps it is our countries themselves who have become too greedy, too militant, too uncaring of its own citizens.

Let's face it; we KNOW our governments screw us, lie to us, count on our vulnerability and waste our taxe. Our politicans are as corrupt as they come and some are crazy to boot, but rather than demand that the true disrupters face up, we take the easy way out. We blame all our problems on the immigrants.

We (the west) are but a small part of the rest of the planet. If we continue turning on ourselves we are going to self-destruct. Pretty soon this dangerous attitude is going to lead us into civil war. It will be between those that believe that the rights of innocent people should be respected, and those that believe that all people who are different to us are potential terrorists.



posted on Aug, 24 2005 @ 06:35 PM
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I think some people have problems with illegal immigrants (including me), but legal immigrants are perfectly fine as far as I am concerned.



posted on Aug, 24 2005 @ 06:47 PM
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I too, only have a problem if "immigrant" is preceded by the word "illegal".
I have no problem with legal immigration..



posted on Aug, 24 2005 @ 06:48 PM
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Weve always treated immigrants like that. Ever since there were immigrants they were looked down upon. Just look at the Irish digging canals or Chinese laying tracks or more recently mexicans picking berrys. Is it right? Who knows. But it hasnt become a dirty word as its always been a dirty word.



posted on Aug, 24 2005 @ 07:01 PM
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Immigrants have always been looked down upon until someone else came along and then they were picked on and so on and so on...

What I am refering to is intolerance of a different nature. To be called an 'immigrant' is almost an accusation of something that is akin to a crime in this day and age; we treat them as if they woud be capable of anything - mass destruction even - just by the very nature of not belonging. Yes, people have always thought immigrants were unclean, unkept, uneducated and ignorant - have we always attributed to them the power of global destruction? No.

What we are doing now is targeting new comers as well as being suspicious of people whose parents emigrated ages before! How many years does it take to fully integrate yourself in a society before you are trusted? We are being intolerant of those who have worked hard to fit in and who should be viewed as citizens or residents with all their rights intact, not like time bombs waiting to go off.

Look at some of the things said about them: They aren't 'trying' hard enough. They aren't integrating quickly... they brings their smelly foods and their weird styles of dress and their holidays and their gods... who knows what they really believe after all... they aren't one of us...

Maybe I should have changed 'dirty' to 'dangerous'.





[edit on 24-8-2005 by nikelbee]



posted on Aug, 24 2005 @ 07:05 PM
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Agreed. This is nothing new. I don't know about other countries, but historically in the US, immigrants have quite often been the subject of ridicule.

That said, I think most people have no problems with legal immigration. I don't. Its the illegal immigrants that are drawing the ire of US citizens.



posted on Aug, 24 2005 @ 07:13 PM
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Sometimes it has to do with ignorance and propaganda, than anything else, many people tend to forget that if you are not a native American your ancestors were immigrants also.

Sometimes is easier for people to fear what they can not understand and to discriminate no on a few but on everything.

Here in the south the immigration is about three groups, Haitians, Cubans and Mexicans.

But for some reason the topic is around Mexicans and they fear them the most, and for many any one that is Latino and speak Spanish is tag "Mexican" I have seen it with my own eyes and I know how the discrimination goes against illegal immigrants in this area where I live.

But in the other hand they are a necesary evil for the farmers in the area that are the ones to give them employment.

To many double standards when it comes to illegal inmigrants.



posted on Aug, 24 2005 @ 07:28 PM
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Marg

You bring up some good points. But consider this... people discriminate against Mexicans or who they 'think' might be Mexicans (whatever their actual country of origin) because they assume that the population growth problem is all due to illegals coming into the country. Not necessarily so... And btw - this is not just a US problem. The world wide population is out of control.

Back to my point - How in the world do we know whether or not someone is an illegal or legal immigrant?

Usually you don't go up to a person and begin the conversation with: Excuse me, are you a legal immigrant, because if you are great, if not... I just want to say how completely against it I am.

No, people usually judge first.

With all the racial profiling and hate talk in the media 24/7 how are people supposed to make clear unbiased opinions while intolerance is manipulated by every politician with an agenda.

It rots away at the inner core of society.



posted on Aug, 24 2005 @ 07:40 PM
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All the illegals may be due to the fact that your borders are wide open so it looks like anyone can just walk in. Figure of speech it can't be that easy. However your borders are alarmingly undermanned.

This next statement is NOT saying that the whole of these countries think this way. It's a generalisation of the people who are discriminated against. It's the same the world over. Well Europe anyway. Britain discriminates against Pakistanis. Germany against Turks. I suppose we would be discriminated against if we lived in a Middle Eastern country. Australia discrimnate against the aboringinies.

Because of different lifestyles and religions boundries have been made so those who cross into a different area will surely be discriminated against as their beliefs and way of life are different.

I live in Europe and was born in a European country but different to the one I live and have had discrimination because I wasn't born in this country.



posted on Aug, 24 2005 @ 07:51 PM
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Its a very honorable word.

It means that someone in another country had the foresight to want to make a new life here in the United States. It means leaving family, what you were accustomed to do and travel a great distance to reach your dream. Of course, you must leave your country legally and enter here legally.
Thats not too much to ask, is it>



posted on Aug, 24 2005 @ 08:06 PM
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Xenophobia always increases in times of trouble.

You are either IN the group, and are trustworthy, or you are OUT of the group and are the enemy or not trustworthy.

This is reagrdless of what sort of "outgroup" you are in. They are all stereotyped as "untrustworthy".

The key is to recognise when you are stereotyping people and that you are judging people purely by their status in the IN group or the OUT group. Also to deliberatly break any biasness you hold. It easierfor some people though to just let the stereotypes rule in their judgements as it means you don't have to think.



posted on Aug, 24 2005 @ 08:35 PM
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I think u are right.
I think most people associate it with terrorists or illegal's.
NetChicken-I hate to admit it but what u say is true on the whole, but not in all cases.



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