Hypocrisy occurs when we use standards to evaluate other people’s thoughts and actions that we do not use for ourselves — largely as a way of feeling good about who we are and what we are doing. While there may be no way to avoid being hypocritical, it’s quite revealing when we don’t judge our own actions as harshly as those of others.
71 responses to “Close That Door”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
In my honest opinion, I feel like immigration to America is becoming a slight problem. I am not a hypocrite and I do realize that all of our ancestors immigrated to America, otherwise I would not be here right now. But our ancestors immigrating here in the past and people from Mexico coming here now are quite different. For one, in the past when our ancestors came to America the country was quite different. It was basically a “new” country full of land that for the most part was unused. One cannot deny that the Native Americans were the first to inhabit this land, however there was so much open land that many felt was unclaimed. There was no governing body in place like there is today and moving to America was almost an experiment, with no guarantee of success. Today it seems that most immigrants enjoy their country and culture but also loves the freedoms that America offers. While I am all for someone bettering their life I feel as if too many immigrants are trying to come here and make the country their own. Unlike the past when our ancestors came here, America is quite established now. I say this in terms of culture, government, laws, etc. The problem I have is that people seem to immigrate here now and bring their cultures to America. Many areas in America now are beginning to have to adapt to this change. For example, certain cities, such as Miami, have as many people speaking Spanish as English. I am all for people coming to America to start a new life but I also think that if you are going to a new country you should adapt to the culture rather than having the culture adapt to you. Seeing Mexican flags raised in people’s yards is quite bothersome to me and it almost gives me the feeling that the US/Mexican border is quite blurred. I do not mean to sound like a hypocrite and I have absolutely no problem with people coming to America, I just think that if one comes to America they should embrace it and make a conscious effort of becoming an American, rather than coming to America because of the freedoms and privileges we offer, yet acting like they are still in their home country. I am not saying one should completely let go of their past and forget their heritage. I just feel like many people have been coming to our country with the intention of making more money or having more rights, etc but not coming here with the intention of wanting to be here to be a true American. I am not directing this towards all immigrants at all. There are thousands who come here to start a new life and truly embrace becoming an American. It is just the limited group who come here for the perks yet raise the flag of another country and speak a language that America as a whole is beginning to have to learn, just so that we can communicate. This may sound biased, rude, and hypocritical, and maybe it slightly is, I just think immigrants should adapt to the country they come to, rather than our country adapting to people that move here. I do understand it is not easy to learn a new language right away and that it is not an overnight process, but at the same time I just do not feel that thousands of people should need to learn and master a second language in order to accommodate others. I am now going to end my rant though and I hope my opinions are not taken the wrong way.
I’m glad that the issue of immigration came up because it’s something I discuss with my family often. I don’t know what makes me feel this way but I hate when people speak negatively about immigrants, illegal or otherwise. As Dr. Richards stated in class, the majority of people in America are immigrants. Most Europeans took land that didn’t belong to them and now the descendents of those people are telling others that they can’t live here. I think this is unfair and selfish because there is a place for everyone in American society. Many illegal immigrants are doing jobs that other Americans would never do because of their pride. These immigrants are just trying to provide for their families like everyone else. They are even going the extra mile by moving to another country just so their families can have a better life. Something about that makes me feel extra compassion towards these people because I know their life is not easy. People look down on them and discriminate against them but they still keep on going. That demonstrates an inner strength that many people in American society do not possess.
My parents are immigrants from Haiti and it wasn’t easy for them to come to the United States. Besides the cultural transition, it was a hard process in general filled with lots of paper work. Some of my family members that are trying to come to the U.S now are having a hard time with the Haitian government. The immigration process is not easy so it bothers me when people tell the illegal immigrants to “do it the legal way.” The legal process may take a very long time, and most of these people do not have time to waste if they are in a desperate situation. I personally know an illegal Haitian immigrant woman and she is one of the strongest people I know. Both of her kids are back in Haiti and she hasn’t seen them in about 15 years. She can’t travel back to see them because if she does, there is no way she can come back. She sees her kids grow up through pictures and she is doing all of this hard work just so her kids wont suffer. She doesn’t like to be here illegally but she is doing what she has to do. I’m not sure about the cases of other people, but she tried to get a visa but was denied.
It also bothers me when people get angry when immigrants speak their native language in public. The immigrants that came many years ago held on to their native language for a generation or two before transitioning and speaking English. No one comes to a country and picks up a language instantly. I think back to my Spanish classes in high school and remember how most of the class struggled to learn Spanish. Even with formal education, most of my classmates barely grasped the language. We need to be more understanding and realize that learning a language is a process that takes time. I think it all comes down to compassion: we need to learn to be more compassionate and empathic. We may not all be from the same place but we are all human beings dealing with problems. Maybe if everyone takes the time to look at things from a different perspective, there wouldn’t be so much animosity in America.
Site looks good! Thanks for the free pass
Before watching this video, I had never really thought about the true definition of hypocrisy. I knew it was judging what others did and comparing it to something that we had previously done. I also understood that we looked down upon others when we compared it to what we had done. While my definition was more generic, I like how Dr. Sam Richards explained it more concisely. He defined hypocrisy as using a different standard that we use in order to make ourselves feel better. While I had never thought about hypocrisy as making ourselves feel better, this is actually the case! Whether or not we like to admit it, I think that almost every person (I would say 99 out of 100 people) is hypocritical in some way. I think that instead of trying to deny that we are hypocritical, we should work to stop judging others on higher standards.
Like Dr. Sam Richards, I also do not know the answer for illegal immigrants. Honestly, I do not think that there is a correct response to handling these immigrants. I think that it is not only hypocritical the way that we treat these immigrants; I think that it is ironic. We claim to be the best country, open to ideas and values, and the “melting pot of the world,” yet we want no part in taking in these people. I think in order to begin to solve the problem of illegal immigrants; we, as citizens, first must admit that we are hypocritical. However, not only do we have to admit that we took others’ land and now will not let others do the same process; our leaders must take full responsibility of their actions and those before them as well.
One point that I had never thought about was African Americans and East Indians role in the story of illegal immigration. Although they did not come to the United States voluntarily, I think that they are hypocritical in a different way. As Dr. Sam Richards explained, they too are also living on someone else’s land.
It is interesting to think about what would have happened if Native Americans had been able to keep us off their land because they did not want illegal immigrants. Our country obviously would not be what it is today. If I had to imagine what would have happened if this situation had occurred, I think that the United States would be further behind in development in both government and size and we would have very different lives. In addition, most of us would not live here. Therefore, I believe that there would be more Native Americans left and that they would have had a bigger impact on our government and our way of life. I think that we all need to consider that almost all of us had ancestors that at one time were considered illegal immigrants by the Native Americans.
I’ve always been a strong hater of hypocrisy though I must admit that I’m sometimes a hypocrite myself. But usually, I watch what I do and what I say so I won’t fall down that path. Hypocrisy from dictionary.com is “a pretense of having some desirable or publicly approved attitude.” This definition is very comparable to the one Dr. Richards discussed in class. I always thought hypocrisy as telling someone to do something while doing the opposite yourself, but it’s usually in your own personal gain.
I’ve never thought about the hypocrisy of immigration, but after Dr. Richards discussed it, it got me thinking about how it makes absolutely no sense to let in immigrants. I’m a Pakistani American, and I have had my fair share of people calling me a terrorist and telling me to ‘go back to my country’ even though I was born here. I don’t really think of it as hypocrisy even though that is exactly what it is. In my eyes, it was more like ignorance. People in this country who say that are not well educated enough to know that they we are all immigrants.
As an immigrant myself, I completely welcome immigration from all places (or I would be an obvious hypocrite), though I do wish it was kept legal. I can understand the issue of illegal immigration though I do not dwell on it much. Immigration helps us learn and accept other cultures. My little brother’s best friend is from UA and is VERY proud of his culture, but he is also proud to be an American. The good thing is that he also introduces us to his own culture. We are going to UA this summer to experience more of his culture.
The pioneers of the United States were all immigrants. Every single President was an immigrant or has an ancestor that was an immigrant. George Washington’s, our first President under the constitution, mother wasn’t even from the United States. Thomas Jefferson was also a first generation American unlike his parents and grandparents. On a joking side, I have a car, it’s a Ford, it is a beast thanks to Henry Ford, who was a Fifth generation American.
Hypocrisy and immigration is a pretty funny topic. Half of the material in the United States comes from OUTSIDE the country. The same people who make our cars can be our neighbor one day. Andrew Carnegie was one of the richest immigrants to make his name in America. He came up with the Bessemer process which industrialized modern America as we know it. We shouldn’t discourage immigration because we all have relatives or ancestors that are or were immigrants at one point. We all have blood outside of the United States, and we have no idea who the next person could be to change America as we know it.
The issue of immigration is absolutely an issue that is not black and white. As Sam said, all of our ancestors were illegal immigrants to the Native Americans who lived here well before our ancestors crossed the ocean and moved to America. Immigration is difficult to deal with because of many different reasons. A major issue surrounding immigration into the United States is the security of the country. If anyone was able to walk into the country, maintaining a secure country would be very difficult. However, the Native Americans did not have the option to reject us, so this argument could be viewed as being hypocritical. I guess one has to decided what is more morally and ethically acceptable: trying to prevent another group of people from coming into the United States and conquering the land in much the same fashion as our ancestors, and therefore preventing a repeat of what happened to the Native Americans, or to allow anyone to enter the country and risk another incident much like what our ancestors did to the original people of the Americas.
Beyond the issue of security, immigration also raises economic questions, especially when the immigration is undocumented. If an undocumented immigrant is injured and has to received medical attention, who pays for the medical care? Since the immigrant is not on the books, the person is not paying any taxes to the government, so it is all of the documented immigrants (all of us) that will be paying for this person to receive the aid they need. I am not opposed to helping people in need, but I can see people taking advantage of the situation.
Also, how would the justice system work on undocumented immigrants? If they have no documentation, how can you accurately do justice to someone? It may appear that it is someone’s first offense, but it could be their second, or third time doing something illegal under United States law. I feel that the important issue is somehow documenting all undocumented immigrants first. Since we are all immigrants to this land, we should not close the door on other people who want a chance at a better life here in the United States. We should be willing to help them as long as they are decent people. It would be very dangerous to simply open our borders to anyone and everyone. There are many people out there who are indoctrinated with ideas that the United States is evil and that we need to be taken down. If we allow these people into the United States, it could become very dangerous for many Americans. I am not terribly familiar with the current method of immigration or how it works, but it seems that we should not be so quick to judge others. When the door is closed on other people who wish to start a new life in the United States, we are all being extremely hypocritical.
This segment heard in lecture really stuck out to me. I had never really thought about this type of analysis in terms of immigration before. Before hearing this, I must say that I was one of those mainstream believers that felt that immigration was out of control in the United States today. After hearing what Dr. Richards had to say about the hypocrisy in our thinking, I began to rethink my opinion. I have no problem with immigration into the United States, legally that is. There is no reason why a foreign citizen should not be able to relocate into the United States, just as there is usually no problem with citizens of the United States immigrating to other nations. Immigration has been part of the world’s history forever. Societies were constantly relocating, migrating, and moving to other sections of the globe as far back as we can see into our history books. I feel that what I disagree with is illegal immigration, which has become a true problem for the United States as well as other nations, with very few answers. I first off do realize that these people are, for the most part, trying to do what is not only best for themselves, but also their families. However, I do not feel that breaking laws and illegally entering a nation has few long-term benefits. These long and tedious laws were created for a reason: so that these people illegally entering our nation are not able to reap the benefits without paying taxes or legally become a citizen of the United States. It is truly unfortunate that some hard working people are not able to enter the nation with an easier time, for these people are, in my opinion, welcomed. If these people feel that it is in their best interest to relocate, shouldn’t it also be worth the hassle of going about the matter legally? Speaking from my perspective, I feel that in general, laws are created to stop a problem that is occurring in abundance. Illegal aliens, though with good intentions for themselves and their families, were setting other, legal citizens of the United States back. As with any other law, there should be a moral feeling of right and wrong.
Switching gears a bit, the issue of language always seems to arise when discussing immigration. I am a bit split on the issue as I see it. I was a part of the group that felt that we should not modify our language to make it easier for people entering our nation who do not know English. After seeing the stat in class about each generation, I began to think a bit about the other side of the coin. After much thought, I am still not sure what the answer to this question is, however I did begin to think about myself joining another nation. Speaking from my perspective, if I decided I was going to relocate, and immigrate to Spain, or any other county which spoke a language other than English, I would first decide to learn the language that is spoke in the culture. It would simply show respect for the nation I was immigrating to, and show that I truly do accept and embrace the culture I have decided to join. Although I do not have an answer to what should be done here in the U.S. about the language barrier of immigrants, I do feel that looking at the situation from a personal perspective allows one to begin to address the proble
Close that door.
As “messed up” as it is I think its second nature for us, as human beings, to be hypocritical of just about everything. Everyone is guilty of it at some point and time. In my opinion a lot of the hypocrisy that goes on stems from the desire to feel superior to others. This may be a generalization, but most people, subconsciously or consciously, find ways to make others feel below them. The obvious example is immigration. Like Sam said in the video clip, our relatives came to America as immigrants, whether they were legal or illegal is up to debate. (Was it not the “white” people who drew up the papers saying who was and was not legal? I have never heard that the Native Americans were processing paper work and deciding who they wanted to let in their country.) I would find it hard to believe that the Native Americans really accepted immigrants with open arms as sometimes portrayed. Truth is they didn’t want the new immigrants here, but the immigrants forced their way in and stayed. I’m sure this was a horrible experience for the Native Americans and it wasn’t nice of the immigrants to do—but look at America now. I’d say we turned out ok with our melting pot of cultures. It has made us who we are so why are we turning our backs on the new wave of immigrants. Some of those who are against allowing new immigrants in simply base their decision on racism; mostly directed towards Mexicans. Many people believe that Mexicans should stay on their side of the border and work in their poor country. I can only imagine in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s Americans thought the same of the immigrants coming from Europe.
On the other hand, it’s the generations that are born after the initial ancestors immigrated to the US that feel entitled. This becomes “our land” so to speak, because these are the generations that were born in the US. Don’t WE have the right to say who we do and don’t want in our country?
Every race coming to America has had its time where they were at the bottom of the social totem pole. This is probably never going to change, but at least now more people are aware that this goes on and maybe just maybe they will do something to change the hypocrisy. I agree with Sam, there is no clear answer, this is a very subjective topic that I easily see and agree with points made by both side. Yes, we should give newcomers the same opportunity that our ancestors had, but at the same time we cannot let everyone in.
Hypocrisy. That is a word that everyone has dealt with either in the past or in the present. Nowadays, immigration from Mexico to the United States seems to be ‘in’ yet why are so many Americans against it. I shouldn’t even say Americans. I should say Europeans, Africans, Asians. That is what we all are right? Our ancestors are all from somewhere other than The United States, which makes nobody ‘full’ American and gives no one the right to decide who comes into this country (minus the Native Americans of course.) However, that leads me to a different topic. The Native Americans.
Native Americans have been inhabitants of this land for as far back as it goes. They should be the only ones to have a say in who comes and goes. The era we are in now (with Mexicans illegally immigrating into the country by the thousands) is just a repeat of what happened in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I am going to assume that more than half of the ancestors of people in Soc 119 were illegal immigrants. Now, would you go and talk badly about your own family? Then why do we all do it towards Mexicans. They work really hard in the US and do work that many Americans would never do. Back in the day, our ancestors immigrated to the United States so that they could give their families back home a better life and so that they could live ‘The American Dream.’ Similarly, this is what Mexicans want to do for their families back home. There are many poor people around the world that deserve a shot in life. No, I am not saying that all immigrants are poor. I have had the chance to experience a lot of poverty in my life. I have seen people suffer with no food, water, shelter, or family. These types of people are the ones that need to immigrate the most.
I know that I have definitely been a hypocrite before. Not just towards immigration. Before, I thought that Mexicans were taking over our country and that the White race could potentially be lost in the near (ish) future. However, after listening to Sam’s lecture and listening to his blog, I realize that we all deserve a chance. The US is a free country and should promote what it is. By not allowing immigrants into the country, we aren’t allowing our ancestors in. We aren’t giving a family a chance at life and giving other countries the ability to have educated Mexican Americas return home and help their native country. I know that the post was not solely directed towards Mexicans. However, I decided to write about them based on current media topics. Hopefully soon we will realize that we are just being hypocritical and that we need to let those who want a chance to prosper into our country.
I’m having a lot of mixed feelings and thoughts on this topic. I am a first generation immigrant so I have experienced the process of immigration and I have experienced some of both the Chinese and American cultures. First off, I think that everyone is a hypocrite at one point or another. There is absolutely no way that any living human being can resist being hypocritical. It’s what us humans do. Secondly, I think there are two types of immigrants; the first group is those people who are pretty successful in their own country, but they want to achieve more in life. These people can live a pretty good life in their native countries, but they know that they can get more, so they immigrate to America in search of that opportunity. The second group of people is those that are really not well off. Those people are usually the people that so many Americans have such a big problem with. And yes, I think most of these people are illegal immigrants.
Getting permission to immigrate to America is easy. If you have money, some kind of skill set, and of course, connections that is. But for the rest of people, getting a visa is a hard thing to do. Yes, I have waited in front of the United States embassy in Beijing waiting in line for a chance to apply for a visa. It’s tough. I was only five years old then but I can still recall the ridiculous amount of people in that line. I guess my point is that lower middle, middle, and even upper middle class citizens in other countries have a hard time getting a visa to the United States. Most don’t get the visa and therefore, are denied the chance to go to the States. And this is where the problem lies. Most if not all of the illegal Mexicans that have crossed, are crossing, or are going to cross the Rio Grande are low class Mexicans. Why? These are the people that know that they will never be granted a visa to the States. So they think the only way to get a better life for their children is to cross the border illegally. They have nothing to lose. The middle class folks who might have been denied visas will never even think about illegally crossing the border because they have too much on the line to just throw away.
I, like other Americans, have a lot of negative feelings about the illegal Mexicans illegally crossing the border. Most of the feelings involve anger and hate. Even though I was an immigrant at one point in my life, I share most of the feelings with other Americans. I hate and loathe illegals because my mom and pop spent a lot of time and effort trying to immigrate; the RIGHT way. Now there are these people just running across the border without doing it the right way. It just like I needed to take the SATs to go to college, but then someone else cheats the system and is just allowed a free pass. And once illegal immigrants are here, their kids that will be born then are considered to be Americans as well? What the fuck. I honest mean that in every way possible.
Hypocrisy is hard to avoid. It just happens naturally in our everyday conversations and in our lives. I may be listening to a friend’s problem of the day and helping her by saying what I think she needs to hear and giving advice that will help her to stop stressing about the problem, but I, still, will freak out to someone else about this same problem. I do not listen to myself. We all say things and do things that we know are wrong, but its how we decide to listen and allow the lessons to sink in.
When it comes to immigration, no one allows the fact that we at one point we ALL apart of immigration to sink in. We live in the now, not the past. In the past, our ancestors immigrated to the United States, but it was different. The difference was that the world was not like it is today. There was no structure. There was no one to say what was acceptable and what was not. The United States was not even considered the United States when people first took over the Native Americans land. The Native Americans governed themselves, their own tribes, not the land that was surrounding them. It was not until the Thirteen Colonies that a government was formed, which helped to keep immigration under control. This control set the standards, which needed to be made in order to claim and own the new land that was founded.
America is a freedom; it allows people to start over. To embrace their old culture while also living freely to practice religion, eat certain ways and live the way they wanted. Being an established and flourishing country today, America deals with immigrants differently. The government is attempting to keep it under control, while also allowing the new people to experience America, but when it gets to be too much it is necessary for the government to help.
The situation from Mexico is becoming a problem. I would have no problem with them joining our country legally and helpfully, but they are not. The Mexican people who are crossing the border are doing so illegally. They are stealing jobs away from American citizens and negatively affecting our already declining economy. America is a place of freedom and considered a “melting pot”, yes, I understand that, but it also is a developed country. We have a national language of English. When I get on a plane, or specific cities around the country and hear Spanish being spoken as a second official language it makes me angry. Immigrants should come to the United States and adopt our culture by learning English rather than forcing others to adapt to their ways. For example, if you travel to Europe all signs are in their countries language and people will not go out of their way to communicate with you. I am not targeting one group specifically, but it is true. Spanish is not our language and should not have to been learned in order to communicate in certain areas of the United States.
There are many people, who do travel here to actually experience the American way, and I am grateful for that, and I am grateful to live here. I have met many different families with different backgrounds and I have embraced their families’ traditions and cultures. It is nice to learn new things and new ways of life. The only problem I have with immigrants are the ones who are illegal and do not want to accept our ways, but change them to fit their culture. It is important to learn other ways of life, but while in the U.S. people should learn the American way.
The strong outrage expressed by many over recent immigration is unsettling for me. I have had so many individuals express their hatred of the fact that there is an influx in language variation around the country. On a trip to Philadelphia to visit my brother, there was a sign at one of the most famous Philly cheese steak restaurants that spoke vulgarly of the denial of service to those who aren’t speaking English. There are also several individuals I have spoken with that hate hearing people in conversation speaking a language other than English. A nice wakeup call would be the fact that English technically is not the official language of the United States. I’m not going to lie I get angry when I go to Canada where both English and French are taught in most of the territories and some of the locals refuse to speak in English to me. If I planned on staying in an area where the primary language differed from mine I would absolutely do my best to learn that language. I am doing my best to learn Spanish because of the growing Spanish speaking population in my hometown and I don’t think it would be a bad idea for others to do so as well. I also feel that immigrants living in the United States should be doing their best to learn the language that is spoken by the majority if not only to make life safer and easier for them.
Sam spoke in class about our ancestors all being illegal immigrants to the Native Americans but I do not feel that excuses illegal immigrants today. There are many individuals living off the government and screwing the government of money and illegal immigrants are one. It would be wonderful to not have to pay taxes, but we all have to. Illegal immigrants do not (Along with several others involved in illegal activity). I’m sure these individuals don’t refuse to get their citizenship because they don’t want to pay taxes, but it is a negative effect we as a country must deal with along with some other issues.
I like to think of myself as open to new cultures and embracing of different groups of people. My absolute best friend and her family are not. They feel this is their country and it is being invaded. Thoughts like these do not help anyone. I try and have a conversation about it but like many individuals (sometimes myself included) their opinions are made up on a lot of issues. I think people need to take time and remember their own ancestors and what it took to for them to get to this place of opportunity. If you were in their shoes, what would you do to give your children a chance when they may not have one where you currently reside?
I take issue with people who take issue with immigration, legal or illegal, for multiple reasons. First of all, imagine how horrible your life has to be in order for you to pick up, leave everything and everyone you know, and move to a place where you do not speak the language, do not have a place to live, and do not have a job. Coming into the country legally is such a lengthy and arduous process, if you are scared of your government, or can’t provide for you children in your home country, its highly likely that you just don’t have the time to immigrate legally. I don’t think that anyone who has felt the desperation that I assume most illegal immigrants feel would ever try to stop them from coming to our country. My dad is a lawyer and he recently represented a family of immigrants in a case. The parents were both leading entomologists in their home country, Venezuela, but they had to move the US because their daughter was dying and this was their only hope to save her. Their degrees are not valid here. The mother now cleans houses, and the father is a day laborer, and you want to send them home? Sorry, we know you just completely uprooted your life but you’re really not welcome here. While this is not the case for everyone who immigrates, everyone who comes here risks their life to get to a different country. I know that if a piece of paper was what was separating me, and if I had them my children, from a better life, it would not be nearly enough to stop me. That being said, illegal immigration puts a huge weight on our resources, whether monetary or physical. We have to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants and their children, then put in place a system that actually works. One of the main complaints of anti-immigration activists is that immigration takes up such a high amount of government resources, but if we legalized the illegal immigrants that are here now, they would be paying taxes. Think of the additional revenue that could be gained, which, thanks to George W. our country desperately needs. Another argument is that our national identity is disappearing, that our language is going to be lost. I hate to break it to you, but our language is already being lost. Native English speakers have so bastardized the language at times it is hardly recognizable. And aren’t we supposed to be the great melting pot? Our culture is constantly evolving and changing, who are we to say what are acceptable cultural changes and what aren’t? People need to be allowed into our country, we’re supposed to be this beacon of human rights, equality, and justice but I’m starting to not see that so much anymore.
I remember this part of class very well because it was one of those moments that really made me think about a new idea. It is true that we are all hypocrites in many aspects of our lives. I had never considered the fact that people who get upset about illegal immigration are being hypocritical because we are all immigrants. Logistically of course we cannot just have everyone in the world moving into our country, but how can we say no without being hypocritical? Had people said no to our ancestors we would not be in the positions we are currently in to establish successful lives and create happy and healthy families. Before thinking about illegal immigration in this way, I was indifferent to the topic. I wasn’t outwardly against it but at the same time I understood the ramifications of disregarding the laws and letting them illegally cross borders such as overcrowding, cost, and crime. Like Sam said in class, he does not have any answer to the problem, nor do I, but feel like it should be approached with the mindset that everyone on this planet deserves equal opportunities. Obviously people are coming to our country because it is a better place to live and prosper than where they were previously living. Should they follow the laws and immigrate legally? The easiest answer is yes, however we are not in their situations. We are the ones already here sitting back and judging. We are the ones who are lucky enough to have had someone in our family already make the moves necessary to establish good lives. How can we turn around and say to another family, well sorry, but you just can’t do the same thing. This summer I spent six weeks studying abroad in Florence, Italy. I never studied Italian, only Spanish. While Florence was one of the most English-speaking places in Italy, my roommates and I still experienced situations where Italians would become frustrated with us because we made little to no attempt to speak to them in Italian, where as the majority of the Italians knew some English. It’s not that we were impolite, it was because the Italians would always be the first to speak to us in English, probably because they figured we were ignorant American girls who didn’t know what to say anyway. We met a guy who explained to us that Americans are thought of as “one” because compared to the effort other countries make to learn our language; we make no attempt to learn theirs. The Italians notice that Americans generally only know “one” language and care about “one” country, ourselves. We cannot become overly frustrated that people are immigrating to our country and not speaking our language immediately. They need to be given time. It all comes back to the fact that it is indeed much easier to judge other people more harshly than we judge ourselves.
The issue of immigration is one that is capturing the minds of Americans every day. Each day I watch the news and I see headlines that have to deal with immigration laws and how to stop illegal immigrants from coming into the United States. I absolutely dislike it when people talk badly about immigrants as if they were a burden to us. At one point in its history wasn’t the US the place to come for immigrants for equal opportunity and a better life? It seems as if that has changed completely and now American citizens want the country all to themselves. My parents are immigrants from the Philippines and I’m sure they had to go through a lot to get into the United States. It was not easy for them to pick up everything they had and move to a country where everything was totally different. Now with all of this immigration talk going on in our world today, there is no way I could imagine moving from my place of birth to a completely different country.
If there is one thing I truly do hate, its hypocrites. Hypocrites are people who I try to stay away from because their beliefs are completely contradictory to what they actually say and do. The idea that some people are hypocritical towards current immigrants while in reality, the people who came to the United States “took” the land away from the Native Americans is something I can agree with. If you think about it, the immigrants coming to America now are trying to do what those in the past did, move to a country where their lives could be infinitely better. They’re looking for freedoms and choices that their homeland couldn’t offer. How can one be opposed to the fact that human beings want the right to be free and to be able to choose what they want to do on a daily basis? If people were more realistic rather than idealistic, they would put themselves in the shoes of an immigrant and see how hard it is not having basic freedoms and having to move to a totally different country to gain those freedoms.
There may not be a true answer to the immigration question in the United States. We were once a nation that celebrated the fact that we wanted different kinds of cultures to come and make our country as diverse as possible. Now it seems as if we want absolutely nothing to do with diversity from other countries. I agree with what Holmes says in his blog post. He states that in order for us to begin solving the immigration problem, we as Americans first have to admit that we are hypocritical towards the situation. When such a thing like that happens, the immigration “problem” we have in the United States may be solved.
The issue of immigration is a very complex and controversial one. I am all for immigration, I am just for legal immigration. I do not appreciate illegal immigrants coming here, getting access to all the amenities of America, and not paying taxes. It was a very different world back when people first settled America. There were no taxes, no immigration paperwork, and no citizenship requirements. There was certainly no border control. While I strongly disagree with how the first immigrants of this country treated the Native Americans, it does not change the fact that illegal immigration is wrong. I do not think that putting people on reserves or savagely killing them is in any way right, and I do not think that expecting people to immigrate legally is too much to ask. I really find the different cultures that are here in America to be very fascinating and I have a deep appreciation for them. I have no problem with people not speaking English here. I really have a lot of respect for people who hold on to their cultures and do not succumb to the extremely conformist society that is here in America. I love learning about other cultures and experiencing them. It is very interesting to see how other cultures live and do things differently from how I would do them. I really hate when I see people being rude about people who chose to speak their native languages or hold on to their native culture. It is ridiculous to want everyone to be the same, and why? That is extremely boring. Our cultural differences are interesting and distinguish us from everyone else and without them what would we be? What does it mean to really be “American” anyway? We have such a wonderful blend of different cultures and different physical characteristics; no one thing defines an American, and I think that is the best thing about this country. People definitely do need to be more aware of their hypocrisy about immigration. They need to be more accepting of other people that come into their country and not act like it is only theirs. I really do no understand people that are not accepting of immigrants. I have always wished I had a stronger sense of my background. I really do not have many cultural distinctions in my family or any real cultural traditions. We have been very “Americanized” and I think that is why I have such a respect for other’s cultures. The next time someone wants to complain about Americans speaking other languages, they need to think about the fact that their ancestors did the same thing. Hypocrisy is a national problem here in America, and if we were all just more conscious of it there would be less hatred towards one another that is so unnecessary. We all need to be more accepting of one another and learn from each other instead of looking down on one another.
As you stated, the problem with illegal immigration in America has been present for centuries. The issue facing current immigrants, documented and undocumented have been played out throughout our country’s history. It is horrible that the first colonists stole the land from the Native Americans. However, with that said, I think the land that is currently owned today does belong to the people that hold the deeds. For example, all of my ancestors were immigrants. They were all hated on when they came to this country, and some people still like to hate on them. With this said, in 3 generations, my family has gone from rags and organized crime to being able to buy property in America. My father has worked seven days a week since he was 12 years old. He now owns many pieces of real estate and rents a lot of his apartments to immigrants that are new to this country. All immigrants, I know of at least Irish and Italian, have had to overcome great adversities to excel in this country. I think it is funny that a lot of ignorant Americans do not realize that their grandparents and great grandparents did not speak English when they came here and were in the same situation that many Hispanic immigrants now find themselves in. I feel that Hispanic Americans will not be views as “lousy immigrants” within a decade or two. Hispanic Americans now hold many government positions and one recently got appointed to the Supreme Court. It took the better part of a century for an Italian American to get placed on our nation’s highest court.
Hypocrisy is almost as American as apple pie. An overwhelming majority of Americans always hate the new people, because they do not like change. What is funny is that most Americans do not realize that a lot of innovation comes from immigrants. A lot of businesses get started and new technologies come about because of their drive to succeed in this country.
Back to the whole illegal immigrant thing, I think that the media has a lot to do with their issues. A lot of news casters stir up hate and fear in regard to their entrance to this country. I mean it is true that they cost America a lot of money, but is it really possible to stop illegal immigration completely? I do not think it is possible. I am not for amnesty, but I do think we need to come up with a way to tax the illegal immigrants to help cover some of the costs they bring to America. Maybe if we made it easier for immigrants to enter this country, we would not be dealing with such problems at this point in time.
Everyone is a hypocrite whether they know it or not. Sometimes it’s blatantly obvious, other times you don’t even know you’re doing something hypocritical. Humans, in one way or another, think they are better than other humans. It could be someone sitting in a room full of people looking around thinking to themselves, “I’m better than everyone else here.” Or it could be someone either subconsciously thinking they’re better than others, or by not caring about others think of them. Even those people who go out of their way to make sure they’re not being hypocritical think they’re better than others because they’re going out of their way to make sure they’re not being hypocritical, thus making them hypocritical.
You’re standing in line at a restaurant to get food, and someone’s friend ahead of you joins them, cutting everyone else in line. This friend knows exactly what they’re doing, and making everyone else in line one transaction later. So you huff and puff and think to yourself “fuck this guy.” But the next day, a friend in line sees you and waves you over, so you wander over to them and knowingly or not, enter the line halfway through…Hypocrisy
You go to a bathroom and all of the urinals are being used, so you go in a stall and see that the seat already has piss all over it. You think to yourself, “Fuck this guys.” Here, you can do one of three things:
One: Clean it, piss, clean it, and walk away.
Two: Piss all over the seat more, and walk away.
Three: Clean it, piss, and walk away.
In scenario two, you were being hypocritical by taking out your anger on the next person to come to piss. In scenario three, you did what you needed to do, but left the stall as it was, for the next person to come to the forkroad – Hypocrisy. In scenario one, the guy took the high road and wasn’t hypocritical. However, when he walks away, he’s thinking to himself “I’m better than the last person who pissed in the stall,” thus being hypocritical to himself for thinking he’s better than others.
You’re in a movie and someone answers their phone, and you think to yourself, “fuck this guys.” But when your phone rings, suddenly it’s so important it can’t wait. Hypocrisy. It’s inevitable and happens all day everyday whether you know you’re being a hypocrite or not. Anyone that thinks they are NOT a hypocrite is just proving my point even more in that they judge others for being a hypocrite, but they think themselves above the others for “not” being a hypocrite. The best thing we can do is to at least stop being obviously hypocritical and at least try to take others’ into consideration. Apologize to the people in line you cut, they’ll understand, clean the seat, and either don’t answer your phone, or don’t judge others for doing so.
What people don’t understand is that our country is supposed to be a “melting pot.” Majority of us have ancestry from places other than here, we are not actual natives of the land; this became our land (our, meaning those who live here now) because we took it over. We have no right to stop others from coming here on the basis of their race, their religion, their anything; because at one point in time…years ago, of course…those who lived here before we came on over were doing the same to us.
I can understand why many people get upset over immigration. You travel to some parts of the country such as Miami, Florida for example and everyone is speaking Spanish, or something of that nature. It gets frustrating because many of us are used to the commonality of speaking English—but the fact of the matter is that, that IS the culture of this country. We are a cultural melting pot where people have the ability to bring their own cultures, backgrounds, ethnicities, and religions because there is no one set type of way that we’re supposed to act, believe, think, or even speak. How can we get mad over that? Yes, the common spoken language is English…but it’s not the ONLY language spoken here. People who can sit and say that those from other countries who immigrated here illegally should be kicked out are hypocrites; that’s exactly what YOU or your family or your ancestors did. Maybe, at the time there was no direct form of government, to say “this is illegal” but this land was not your land, nor is it yours to stop others from coming here. Why would one want to stop another from being able to come and enjoy the luxuries that we have? Is it necessary that every single person has to conform to American ways? What are American ways anyway? American ways are a build up of every single culture and background of those who live here- it is the uniqueness and dissimilarities that each person has that make us American. There is no reason to judge, criticize, or stop those who are different from us from coming over to enjoy what we have. Then again, we wouldn’t even have what we have if it wasn’t for those people (those people, meaning us.)
The media has a lot to do with where we get our ridiculous ideas. It portrays whole cultures as wrong, for an extremely small fraction of that culture doing something wrong. It makes those who live in this country believe that those who live outside don’t fit in, when it is completely impossible to actually fit in here when everybody is different. In class, people were pointed out and others were asked to guess their backgrounds… majority of the people guessed wrong. I thought we were all Americans?
I believe we’ve all been hypocrites atleast once in our lives. You can be a hypocrite without even realizing it sometimes. Other times it’s completely obvious when you’re being a hypocrite. Either way hypocrisy is a norm in the world whether we want to admit it or not.
Immigration has been a growing issue in the United States for the past few years. We all know that our ancestors were immigrants. However, I feel it’s a completely separate issue now than it was then. In the past America was just beginning to grow. Also people who moved to the states had to have the proper documentation to do so.
I don’t mind people coming over here if they do it the right way. Who are we to say someone shouldn’t be able to live where ever they want in the world. What I don’t approve of is people that come to America illegally or just to milk the system. Most people don’t realize that immigrants have a huge impact on our health care system. Someone who is not an American citizen can come to America and have a baby. Thus making their baby a United States citizen. When their baby is born they are given full health care coverage. A baby can sit in the NICU (Neonatal intensive-care unit)for months. Most of the babies are making a tab of thousands of dollars a day. On the other hand a born and raised American citizen could never do that! If you don’t have insurance there’s no way you’d be able to just let your baby sit in NICU (Neonatal intensive-care unit) for months without any cost. They’d hound you don’t for the rest of your life until you paid that off. Also you can dedicate your life to medicine and helping others and when you retire have no health insurance! How is that? You’re telling me a nurse can be fifty years old with twenty plus years of nursing under their belt but after they retire they can’t be provided with proper health care insurance. That’s insane! That happens quite often. I know a few nurses in their late fifties who are still working just so they can have health insurance. If you ask me America has that a backwards. It’s not that I wouldn’t want my tax dollars going to a baby in need. However, I don’t think it’s right that my tax dollars go to that but if I ended up in the emergency room today without insurance I’d be harrassed until I could pay it off. Yet, someone can come to this country and have a child and their child can get a free ride in our health system. I don’t know about anyone else but I don’t think that’s right.
Whether we admit it or not, we are all hypocritical at some point or another in our lives, and some more than others. Sometimes we don’t mean to be or even know we are until pointed out by someone. We say one thing and then do another or we can do something but then when someone else does that same thing they are not allowed too do it because it would be wrong for them, but who ever said it was right for you? Who died and made you king? America is based upon its freedom and equal rights so if you are an American and you are against immigration then you are a hypocrite against your own country and the beliefs upon which it was found.
America is known for its immigrants and was originally “founded” by immigrants and early settlers that came from all over the world, especially Europe. Immigration has taken place in the US since day one and it will never stop. People are always going to want to head to America, to the land of opportunity and freedom, freedom as long as you obey the laws. People look at the US as a place to start off fresh and make something of themselves.This is a country where your voice can be heard and you can go from “rags to riches.” We see many people today, celebrities and business people who came from nothing and made something of themselves.
I myself am an immigrant. I am legal, yes. I have a green card and I am a permanent resident. I am not a citizen but I pay taxes. I can not vote. I am thankful for immigration. I love living here. This is a beautiful country with so much opportunity for anyone living here.
Who gave “Americans” the right to say no, you cant live here, but you, you, and….you can live here? There should be an equal right for anyone to live this country because everyone at some point was in that immigrants shoes. That is being hypocritical, saying that you yourself can live here but that immigrant cant because you were born here and they weren’t. Well guess what, were your parents born here? Were your great grandparents born here? Were your great great great grandparents born here? Probably not.
On the other hand, illegal immigration is a whole different topic. If you want to be a citizen somewhere, then I believe you need to do it the right way and go through the system like everybody else. Equal and fair opportunity for all. Stats showed that just under a year ago there were just under 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States and of those 12 million over 7.5 million were employed. Immigration is not the problem, illegal immigration is.
Illegal immigration is a touchy subject to many people, but it is something that must be discussed. I like to think, like everyone else on here, that I am not a hypocrite, and I realize that I would not be here if my ancestors had not immigrated themselves. But, those were different times and the United States is a completely different country then back in those days. The United States was still a nascent country, its success was not a certainty and immigrants coming from all over the globe were taking a major chance moving here. Now with the United States remaining one of the world’s only super powers, immigrants flocking across the border know exactly what they are getting, which is most likely a better life than they had at home. Now I remember that Dr. Richards said that immigrants are some of the most successful people in the world, but if I had to take a guess I would have to assume that he was talking about immigrants who enter a foreign country legally. I have to say that I have the utmost respect for immigrants, both legal and illegal; I doubt that I would ever be able to handle the situations that they face. But, illegal immigrants do cause several problems for citizens of the country that they snuck into. Take for example identity theft. Illegal immigrants obviously come to the U.S. to work, but companies who hire illegal immigrants face large fines if they are caught doing so. The solution? Obtain a legal citizen’s Social Security number. I have never had my identity stolen, but I hear that it’s not a very fun thing. You may also have heard a little about health care reform recently. Illegal immigrants are a huge financial burden to the health care system. Since 59% of the nearly 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. do not have health insurance, they routinely show up at the emergency room for basic treatment. Somebody has to pay for this, and it’s usually not the immigrant who was provided health care. According to the USA Today, unpaid bills from illegal immigrants cost hospitals in Texas a staggering 1.3 billion dollars. A common argument for proponents of illegal immigrants and why they should stay in the country is that they take jobs that most Americans would not want. While this may be true, it hurts those Americans who are most vulnerable, the poor, while helping the rich get richer by keeping wages low. Being in the country illegal also puts the immigrants in a vulnerable position since employers know that they basically do not have anywhere to go with complaints of poor treatment by their bosses. The fact of the matter is illegal immigration is a problem that we must work hard to find a solution to.
I agree with Dr. Richards that we are all immigrants. We took from the Native Americans and then were hypocritical by not always accepting foreigners. It was unfair to Native Americans then and the problem still exists today. We still go into other countries without their permission and usually for selfish reasons. With that said, the colonist all came to America for reasons that benefit them. Whether economically, religiously, or to gain territory, they all serve to satisfy the wants of their selves.
I am a little embarrassed at my view on this for several reasons; First of all, I understand that there has to be limits on immigration due to population concerns and other reasons. I do not think illegal immigrants should be allowed in this country, but I am not going to actively do anything to prevent it. I can definitely see the reasons why illegal immigrants want to come here. My family benefitted from it. It is a chance to enjoy freedom, pursuit of success, and numerous other variables that make me love this country so much. With that said, it is easy to see why others would like to move here.
I think the situation is a little bit different from now and the time of colonization. I think it was wrong to colonize then, but I see the personal benefits I’ve gained from it. Back then, the intentions of whites weren’t the same as what they were now; or at least in my case. Back then the force and course of action was completely unacceptable. Killing and slaughtering anyone to accomplish a goal is horrific. Trying to come to an understand of how the natives felt should have been taken into concern. They could of tried to diplomatically come up with ways to live side by side in co-existence. Right now that has been the solution and a lot more lives have been saved.
With a system for immigration in place I do think that if people want to live in the United States they should try to do it legally if possible. People who cross over our boarders can exploit American tax dollars. They can be educated here and make money through cash earning business without ever paying a dime in tax. Because we have a system that gives immigrants an opportunity to come here legally, and now that we live side by side with Native Americans, it puts my mind at a little more ease to have immigration laws.
I definitely see how this is hypocritical. We took over this land that did not belong to us and then let others come and others not come. It is equivalent to having a friend over to a house that is not yours, than throwing a party, but excluded some. I hope that we can come up with much better immigration policies. I am for amnesty because I definitely see why immigrants want to be here and I wish them the best. I hope we can let people in our country and they prosper like we have after colonization. I just hope it’s a peaceful transition.
Immigration is a very touchy subject. While most of us believe we know the right answer, there really is no solution. Each one of us is related to an immigrant that could be legal or illegal. We have to draw our own lines on what we believe is right. I myself believe this country will always accept immigrants as long as they are legal and I am perfectly fine with that.
While it is true that the founding fathers of this great nation were all illegal immigrants, that classification is a lot different nowadays. When the pilgrims came to America, there were only Indians here who were living in teepees. I know that taking the Indians’ land was wrong but this was during a time of expansion. Explorers like Magellan and Columbus were sailing across the world to find new lands. It was just something that every country was doing. Now that we have discovered the entire globe, most boundaries are set in stone. The immigrants who are coming to America illegally are making a choice to not follow the rules. They know that if they want to enter our country, all they have to do is follow procedure. When my Irish ancestors came to the states through Ellis Island, they did so in a legal manor. They along with thousands of other immigrants followed the rules and respected the laws of America. Now because of my forefather’s decisions, I enjoy the benefits and privileges that go along with being a United States citizen.
The difference between coming to America today and coming to America 300 years ago has to do with development. Back when the pilgrims landed, this land was almost empty. They settled on it and built a society. After generations of hard work, we have the country we so love today. Many people have died to make this nation the strongest in the world and many more will die to keep it that way. We Americans can be a very proud, bold group who do not respond well to criticism about our nation. It is easy to see why many citizens, myself included, become outraged by the idea of illegal aliens. After all of the work put into our country, some people think they can just waltz in and take some of our benefits. They enjoy the same liberties we have earned but they do not have to pay taxes which means they are not paying our government. So things like national defense, hospitals, fire departments, public schools, and any other service provided by the community is not being paid for by illegal immigrants. Like I said before, I do not know what the right answer is for immigration. It is everyone’s responsibility to figure that out for themselves.
I feel like the lecture in the video was meant to make us feel bad about ourselves and what we do to other people. I really disagree with that. Just because a person doesn’t want illegal immigration, doesn’t make that person a hypocrite. To say that everyone has a right to live in America is wrong. I don’t think everyone does. There’s not enough room and our country couldn’t support everyone in the world. So the government make laws about who can and who can’t get in. You have to go through certain steps to get into America. Why? To promote safety and to protect the rights of Americans. If someone from Mexico goes through the process of getting into America legally then they have a right to be here. If they did it through non legal terms, they have no right. They have no rights to our land, our jobs, our constitutional rights, nothing. Would I be rightfully accepted into another country if I just showed up? Probably not. Do you think that if I took a job for a lesser pay, owned land, etc. in a country I wasn’t legally in, people of that country would be mad? I know that the founding fathers took the land from the Indians and such during the making of America but I think now we’re correcting that mistake. Now we’re making sure other people can’t come in and take what’s ours, even if the way we got it wasn’t totally legal. We can’t be plagued with that mistake, a mistake this generation didn’t even make, for the rest of our lives. And people complain about America taking away Native American lands. But would anyone willingly give up their home to a Native American once scorned? Would anyone really give up all their possessions and lifestyle to make up for what happened? The answer is NO! People complain about what happened and make society feel bad about what happened but would they really give up the life that their founding fathers provided them? If so, all of us would have to move back to wherever we came from and give up this entire country, seeing as the entire country belonged to the Native Americans. In the video, Sam said we’re all immigrants; that we all have taken the land of other people. Yes, we are all immigrants. My grandparents were immigrants. They came over from Germany during World War II. The difference between them and, lets say, people coming in from Mexico, is that they did it legally. They went through all the proper steps to get into this country and become an American citizen. It took them awhile, and they had to work at it, but they did it because being in America and becoming a citizen meant that much to them. People coming in to this country illegally should be deported. There are a lot of people doing it legally and it discredits those who do it for the right reasons by sneaking into a country. And my grandparents did not take land from anyone. They bought land. They bought their house. And, however bad this may seem, our founding fathers technically bought land from Native Americans. Was it an unfair trade, yes, but it was a trade nonetheless. We didn’t buy all the land, but some of it, we did. I guess I just feel like Sam is making us feel bad for what we have and for what we had no control over. Its also not hypocrisy to have different views than other people. Immigration is a difficult thing that we’re all probably never going to agree on. But I don’t think playing the blame game is going to solve anything.
I’ve scanned over the previous comments regarding this subject, and several of the responses have maintained that the United States was a very different place in the years where immigration into this country was at its highest. I would have to agree with this statement. Throughout the 18th and 19th century this nation was still a very underdeveloped area compared to Europe, and therefore it was ripe with opportunity for individuals to beat the competition across the ocean and come to America. By the time the Industrial Revolution was in full swing by the late 19th century a new set of skilled workers could be employed in various factories in growing cities on the East Coast. My great-grandparents arrived in Philadelphia in the early 20th century from Western Ireland and they immediately were able to integrate into American society because they were fortunate enough to speak the English language and they were lucky enough to be aided by the resources of the Catholic Church. To generalize my point, every major period of immigration in this country’s history was in some way compatible with the working of the country at the time of their arrival. I believe that today the case is a bit different.
During my last semester abroad in Ireland, I took a class on the European Union and one topic that was discussed was immigration. Broadly speaking, the wealthiest nations in Europe will receive the most immigrants from the most impoverished nations, whether they be Eastern European or North African. As a result, the distribution is not equally distributed among every region, but is directed towards only one or two countries. The same pattern appears to occur here. The problem with many immigrants coming to the United States today is that either they do it illegally or they simply are not compatible with our modernized economy/society. I am not saying that we should close our borders to everyone, if a person can prove that he could aid our country in a certain way, then by all means they are entitled to our resources. But if an illegal Mexican enters the United States through the Southeastern border then they not only are not paying taxes to the government, they are in all probability going to take the job of a legitimate American citizen. This is especially a problem in the recent years due to the recession. If people are losing their jobs and unemployed immigrants are allowed to still enter the country, wouldn’t this just enhance an already bad situation?
Coming from immigrants only a few generations ago, I find it difficult to tell anybody that they shouldn’t be allowed to imitate my ancestors. On the other hand, I have to disagree with the idea that it is only not hypocritical regarding immigration to allow everyone across our borders because we all trace our lineage through the same method. This country is no longer prosperous enough to allocate every unskilled worker into our economy. We simply are a changed nation.
It truly is funny to think that people probably never realized that their great ancestor’s were immigrants. They never thought that at some point they had relatives come from another place and live here. Some of these people’s ancestors were probably even illegal immigrants. Now these same immigrants’ great grandkids are persecuting those that come to this land today in same fashion as their relatives. It is amazing how some people so quickly forget. They would rather yell and protest the arrival of people who can only dream of the lives that the protesters have. These people had to sacrifice everything they own and everything they know to start a new in the land of opportunity, the United States. Immigrating to another country is not an immigrant’s first choice in life, but commonly their last resort. That is why we should welcome the immigrants more than we currently do. Unfortunately there is another side to this story.
Immigration still has many flaws today. The immigrants that are coming over can be dangerous and hurt others. There is no way of knowing if an illegal immigrant has past offenses with his or her government from where they are from. This could obviously provide an issue for American’s when an outlaw arrives. Also illegal immigrants are willing to do jobs for less money than Americans are. A registered American can not work for a wage under the government decreed minimum wage. An illegal immigrant is more than willing to do so. This is very appetizing for employers who do not want to lose more money than they need to, especially on wages. So, this means that illegal immigrants are actually taking away jobs from the American people. I can see why people have a problem with this. It isn’t fair to someone who is a registered citizen to lose a job to someone that the government does not even know exists. In addition, if the immigrant is not registered as a citizen, then no taxes will be collected from that immigrant. While the immigrant is not paying taxes to live in the United States hard working Americans are working for the privilege to live here. Essentially it is like the United States citizen is helping to pay for the immigrant to live here as well. Obviously that is not far for the Americans.
Clearly it is hard to decide what to do about immigration. Our forefathers came and took this land away from another people through vicious manslaughter. But, now years have passed and citizens own the right to live here through the payment of taxes. I think that illegal immigration should be cracked down on, but it should become easier to become a citizen of the United States.
When I watched this clip from class, I am immediately reminded of a classmate. On his facebook, he has one picture of himself wearing a shirt that reads “American by birth, Italian by heart”. The next picture is of him wearing a shirt that reads, “Welcome to America, now speak English”, while he has an American flag draped over his shoulders. What a perfect example of hypocrisy, even a perfect juxtaposition of such hypocrisy. Openly, even proudly, admitting that he is originally from Italy, this classmate turns around and shuns those, who, just like his grandparents or parents came to America speaking a language other than English (presumably). While I don’t hold a grudge against this classmate for his ignorance, it makes me realize that no matter how low a person presumes themselves to be (in the eyes of their own judgment), they always like to put down someone who they presume to be lower than themselves. I’m forced to ask myself why such put downs make one person feel better about their situation.
Similar to this classmate’s sentiments towards immigrants, is the classmate who said in the blog, “…make a conscious effort of becoming American.”. This statement makes me not only extremely sad, but also fearful. What if everyone in the world was “American”, or tried to be “American”? There would be no cultural variation in music, clothing, housing, art, mathematical, sexual, or even food. The variation found in today’s world is what makes it the fucking world. If each culture just tried to be American, then the world would BE AMERICA. American clones; now that’s a scary thought. (Take, in mind while reading this, I AM American.)
Whilst I really hadn’t thought about the issue of immigration too thoroughly before this class, I have a definite stance on a few of the previous posts my fellow classmates have made. First of all, I thought an interesting post was of the first generation immigrant from China. His interesting point was that he hated the illegal immigrants due to the fact that his family had to fill out all the paperwork, wait in all the lines, pay all the money, and jump through all the other hoops to actually immigrate legally. At the same time though, he points out that it’s easy to immigrate, as long as you have a lot of money, a workable skill, and several connections in America. This brings me to wonder why the system is easier for a person with money. Which brings even more of a hint of disgust to my mind; with just enough money, anyone can be American… Why not just make immigration into America free, or the lowest price possible to cover required needs and fees?
The second point a classmate brought to my mind that I thought was intriguing is that when an immigrant is an illegal alien, their crime history may not be fully integrated into America’s system. Just think, someone here as an illegal alien could have been a criminal in another country, and that past would be completely cleared if they were not documented properly.
watch*
Close the Door
I was going to start agreeing that what Sam Richards said about not being hypocrites and about immigrants is right. That not one of us really has a solution because there are so many factors to consider when talking about immigrations. However, after reading the first post for this blog I realize that there is a bigger problem. Not everyone feels that same, however, to have a set and firm view on this topic is very ignorant. Times change and unless you can put yourself in someone’s shoes, you do not fully understand what that person went through or why they decided to come to this country. In our history we know that they came over because our settlers were tired of tyranny. Nowadays, tyranny and communism still exist. Not every country, and in fact very little countries, has a stable democracy in place. People and families risk their own lives to better it for themselves, their children, or their families who could not make it here. Who cares if someone who has emigrated from another country raises the flag of their native country? Who’s it bothering? This person wrote, “It is just the limited group who come here for the perks yet raise the flag of another country and speak a language that America as a whole is beginning to have to learn, just so that we can communicate. This may sound biased, rude, and hypocritical, and maybe it slightly is, I just think immigrants should adapt to the country they come to, rather than our country adapting to people that move here.” I only have one question; “when have you adapted to making this person feel like it’s their country too?” Imagine that this country changes. Communism comes in and this country is corrupted. Your parents decide to leave to live in France. I will bet that your parents and family and most likely you yourself would seek out for people that speak the same language, are used to the same customs, and have been through the same things as you. This is why the immigrants that live in this country raise their flag, speak their same native language, and live all around the same area (like you mentioned Miami). I believe that whether or not an immigrant is legal, they have their reasons for coming here and their reasons for keeping their customs alive. Everyone, regardless of belief should have an open mind on this topic and realize that if you have not walked in those person’s shoes then you have no right to judge or discriminate. I myself come from parents who emigrated over to this country, legally, and have never lived one day in this country illegal, and they themselves do not understand and do not pretend to understand what others feel like, let alone myself.
Hypocrisy has always been the thing that annoys me the most about human beings and their actions. In almost every debate and discussion seen on TV or in real life, hypocrisy can be found (especially in politics). For example, Al Gore published a documentary called “An Inconvenient Truth” explains the importance of minimized our carbon footprint to reverse the phenomenon of global warming. This documentary sent out a powerful message to the public as well as ways everyone can contribute. What was not said is that Al Gore also owns around seven houses and too many cars. My point being is that each one of his houses are huge mansions that waste tons of energy and I can ensure you that his automobiles are not the greenest either. Since Al Gore does not practice what he preaches (an obvious hypocrisy) his argument can not be taken seriously, know matter how many good facts he throws at you. Although this example was off topic, this same idea can be used for immigration as Sam stated in his blog.
Sam mentioned that every person against immigration is a hypocrite because their own ancestors were illegal immigrants at one time, but yet most do not take that into consideration. Just as Al Gore faulted, there is really no argument that can justify specific anti-immigration statements when if it was not for immigration, no one (other that Native Americans) would be speaking in America in the first place. Not to mention, many Americans who are against immigrants are always fighting for the democracy and American idealism that our forefathers have placed. Well, one of our great American symbols, the Statue of Liberty, specifically states “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” This sounds to me like America was originally open to people of all nationalities to begin their new life in the land of freedom, AKA immigration. Many of the problems against immigration is the fact that many Americans do not want to pay more tax money that will go to people who aren’t fellow Americans. Like Sam, I also have no solution to this problem, but I will say that I am completely open to the idea of immigration. There was obviously some sort of dangerous turmoil or conflict going on in their home country extreme enough for them to bravely uproot their whole families to move to a completely different country and culture. Therefore, I am honored to welcome those in need into my country to strive for a better life and a better future for their children. And like my ancestors who were also immigrants, most will eventually adjust and themselves and their children will become Americans and pay their taxes as well. I am open to discussing any other problems that immigration may cause, such as taking American jobs, and potential solutions, but the immigrants themselves should not be discussed negatively, for they are only trying to do what they think is best. And too everyone blatantly against this, hypocrisy will never provide a justifiable argument, and definitely not a solution.
In my opinion, there is not a more hypocritical hot button issue in our country these days then immigration. As a nation full of immigrants, we have so adamantly turned our opinion over on the issue of letting others in to our nation. So much for the “land of opportunity”. Now I won’t sit here and pretend that I have the answer to immigration. I don’t think there is anyone out there that really does. What really irritates me though is when I hear things like “go back to your country” or “why don’t you learn English?” Had the Native Americans had this type of thought process, the earliest English settlers would have frozen to death or died of starvation. Instead, they accepted the visitors to their land and made them feel at home. It’s with that thought that I see the most hypocrisy. You hear people all the time say “Mexicans are coming in and taking all our jobs”. Are people scared that illegal immigrants are going to come into our country and take over the land? Are we scared that they may try and integrate a little bit of their culture into ours? Is it so bad that these people are just trying to make a better life for themselves and their families, just like all of our ancestors did when they left their homeland to come here?
I get upset when I hear people complain about illegal immigrants. I don’t know much about the legal immigration process, but from what I’ve read from older posts, it’s not the easiest of tasks. With paperwork and red tape it almost seems like we’re trying our best to keep immigrants from coming into our country. As I said earlier, I wouldn’t even know where to being on trying to decide the best was to tackle immigration. I think though that we need people to remember our roots. As Dr. Richards said in class, hardly any of us are full blown Native Americans anymore. With that said, the overwhelming majority of legal citizens in this country have immigrant blood running through them. I certainly don’t think that it’s possible to let everyone into the country who is trying to come here. Especially in this time of economic recession when millions of people are struggling to find employment. We will find our way out of these bad times though, and when we do, I think it’s important for us to open our doors to those in need. If someone from a nearby country is in need of a job, who are we to turn them away from opportunities that we seem to have here. I think it’s important to remember the story of the Native Americans. They could have left us for dead, but they didn’t. If anything we should try and right our wrong by doing right by these people in search of a better life.
I think the laws regarding immigration are somewhat blurred on the East Coast. I am not so sure that people on the East Coast exactly know what is going on in the states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. It is just the illegal immigration is bad and should be stopped, but the states not directly linked to the border really don't know this or experience this. It is a rare experience to see people trying to enter the United States from poorer countries like Mexico when you live on the East. For this reason people don't know the hurdles it takes to get into the United States legally or illegally.
I am from New Mexico and have lived in southern Arizona. It is perfectly normal to see more border control than police. I know people who have entered the United States illegally and legally. I have seen some of the difficulties these people struggle through. Many of the people I know who entered illegally tried numerous times and years to come to the U.S legally. The process is not by any means a simple one. The people trying to come here are good people for the most part. They are like many of us, just trying to make a living and provide for their families.
There are some arguments that complain about immigrants taking American jobs, well maybe Americans should consider doing their jobs better. Maybe Americans should remember the value of hard work. You have to earn respect and pay, it is not just handed to you. I think America has forgotten that to an extent and has blamed loss of jobs and a poor economy on incoming immigrants. The fault is not on the people trying to enter to better their lives. They are in a sense living and doing what America stands for even if they may still support their culture. America is not about giving up your culture and adopting a new one, but learning to live that both can function in harmony. The immigrants coming here illegally are perhaps more American than some Americans are because they have not forgotten the meaning of earning a living.
Many immigrants are entering the states of Arizona, New Mexico, California, and Texas that come here illegally and blend with the culture. These states have an extremely large number of hispanics, especially Mexicans. There is no way to tell the difference between Mexican American and Mexican based solely on appearance or behavior because the cultures are so similar. The East Coast sees that Mexicans are very different, but Southwest culture is very similar with almost no differences except maybe the way they cook their food. And even then unless you have lived in the Southwest you don't know the difference. One state uses chile where another uses jalapenos. Many white people outside of the Southwest can't tell the difference between the types Mexican food in these states. The immigrants entering are adopting American culture just not the typical culture found in the Eastern United States. They speak Spanish, but in the Southwest most people do speak Spanish because it is still a part of the culture.
Immigrants should be allowed to enter the United States. The process should be made easier so people don't feel forced to enter illegally or wait 10 plus years to do it legally. The people entering want to be a part of the U.S., but they also don't want to give up their culture entirely, which is okay because the United is a melting pot and accepts many different cultures and forms even more. How can we tell a people no when we did the same thing, but more inhumanely?
I completely understand where you are coming from in your “Close that door” post. It is certainly true that in some way, we are all descendents from immigrants. To Native Americans, not only are we immigrants but we are bullies as well. However, I don’t think that just because we were all immigrants we should let any and everyone into our country. I am not saying immigrants aren’t bad, but they should be documented, just like anyone else in this country. With populations constantly growing, land on the coasts of the country is at a premium. Immigrants are necessary to the flow of society, but it needs to be documented and monitored.
I don’t think that it is fair to call people hypocrites just because they don’t want people crossing over our boarders. I think the majority of Americans wouldn’t have a problem had they all come approved by the government. I think where the problem lies is that people feel that they are coming in our country, using our resources, benefiting from our well-being, and not being taxed for it. Some people don’t like that people are getting into the country at will. Some immigrants bring over diseases, drugs and sometimes disrespect. I do not doubt the need for immigrants, as Americans are not willing to get dirty and do most of the jobs that they do, but it should be regulated. It is not fair to call the people in this country hypocrites when they are paying their taxes and are registered with the government.
People who grow up in this country shouldn’t be more disadvantaged just because they are a citizen. If you are here legally, you have the same duties as every American, rich or poor. An immigrant might come over illegally and be able to avoid paying taxes and other duties that Americans must follow though with. When you think about it, it could be better to be an illegal immigrant if you are poor. However, if you are a true American, born here and living legally, then you are put at a disadvantage. This is the part that is unfair.
With that being said, we do have to be accommodating to other cultures. This country was based on the premise of freedom. Everyone should have an opportunity to come here if done so in the right way. I understand that it is extremely difficult to get legal documents to come to the US, but it should be the only way. Now the problem is that it is nearly impossible to regulate. With such wide stretched boarders, there’s almost no way it can be patrolled. Hopefully for the future, they can come up with a safe and effective method. While this may be difficult, I think it can be done with the advancements we have today. We should encourage these people to apply to enter the country the right way and possibly make it simpler to do so. Maybe this would entice some immigrants to go about it the correct way.
I am really glad that the topic about immigration came up in our class, I was very curious to know what our professor Sam thought about this whole situation. He always seems to have a unique way of seeing issues like this. Since immigration has become such a big issue here in the United States, I was curious to see if Sam had any suggestions on how this topic should be dealt with. But as it turned out Sam explained in class that he didn’t have answers for what was the right thing to do with immigration. I agree very much with his statement, because in a certain way we are all immigrants in this country. So if people want to get rid of immigration we are all going to have to go back to our native land. I am an American Citizen but my parents were immigrants that came from Mexico. So when people talk bad about Mexico immigrants and how we should all go back home because there is some many people crossing the border it makes me really upset. This makes me upset because this is a form of hypocrisy, because in reality we are all immigrants in this country. Just like Sam said there are very few of us that are native born that can actually say that we are in their native country. So therefore when people start discriminating start talking about other races or about people that are coming into the United States; they should think first of what they say because in reality we are all immigrants that have come in to this country. Discrimination and racisms is never going to get us anywhere , what the government should do to solve this problem is to find a solution that will benefit most of the immigrants. The government can’t make immigrants go back to their native land because most of the families here already have native born American children. The government has no right to separate a family because of a problem they should have solved long ago. If the government should have solved the problem before it got out of hand, we wouldn’t have so many conflicts with immigration. The government should of passed some type of law or enforced boarder controls, this way they would of avoided so many illegal immigrants from coming into this country. In my opinion I think that government has really no intention of solving this problem because of the benefit it brings to the economy to have illegal immigrants working. So to conclude, I think people should be more careful in asking what they want because if they want immigration eliminated from this country, we are all going to have to go back to where we came from, because we are all immigrants in this country!
Hypocrisy is probably the most frustrating thing that I experience on a day to day basis. Unfortunately, its also one of those things that we will always have to deal with. See, the problem is this, people are pretty immoral in general, not saying that people are evil all the time, but rather that more than likely people look out for themselves at the expense of others. I’m not trying to demean the human race, not my goal, I just want to point out that, in theory, if this is the attitude that people have, they are going to be messed up. Ok, so people do good things sometimes, its very true, I have witnessed some very truly unselfish and “good” acts, but more bad than good, but I digress. Back to the point, if this selfish mindset is the one that people have, then we are going to be dealing with hypocrisy every day. Because people are going to be trying to make themselves look good, they won’t judge themselves, but they’ll judge everyone else and the standard will be absurd. So we’ll be pointing out everyone else’s faults and problems and not looking at our own. And the best part of this whole scenario, is the fact that we all hate hypocrisy, and we all screw up and do selfish things all the time, so what does that make us? HYPOCRITES. So in a society where we are all dissing hypocrisy, we are actively engaging in it ourselves. Want an example? Right now I’m writing a response about how people are hypocritical and they screw up a lot, and I’m doing the same things I’m writing about. I’m judging the world as a whole right now, and I do not know and have not met 99% of them. So as I sit here and judge the whole world, I’m being just as hypocritical as the people I just wrote about. Now the question is this. What is the solution to the problem? Should we just all simply stop being hypocrites? Not likely, simply because we cannot change our human nature. We are all going to naturally judge others and not apply the same standards to ourselves. What we must do to fix this problem, is to begin to judge ourselves by the standards we use on others. If we all think of the standards that we use to judge others when we make decisions, we will essentially be fitting in to our own judgments. This is not going to be easy. We are so rooted in our hypocritical nature, that we are going to be stuck in that for a while. So if we hold ourselves to a standard that is similar, or even higher than, that of others, we will being doing our part to stop hypocrisy.
I would have to agree with the professor on this topic. Both of my parents are from Haiti and they felt like coming to America will bring opportunities to themselves and their family. And even after many years, they have to deal with people harassing them about not speaking the language “right” and not talking like Americans. My mother who currently works as a nurses aide constantly is talked to like a slow person from her boss and coworkers because they think that she doesn’t understand what they’re saying. Personally, I feel disrespected at the fact that they treat her like this. People from different countries come to America to improve their lives and live happily. Some even flee from different countries because of lack of education, famine, mistreatment, etc. But when they arrive here, they realize that they have to go through so many struggles just to be accepted by the American people.
What Americans refuse to realize is that immigrants and diversity is what makes America so great. If it weren’t for the diversity, America would be boring and not as opportunistic as it is today. We have, Mexicans, Haitians, Europeans, Africans, so many people from different cultures that represent their countries and that is what makes America so beautiful! But, today immigrants are less accepted. It is harder for them to get in the U.S. and hard for those who are here to live happily and find suitable jobs. Why? Because the media makes a big deal out of it and because people are afraid these immigrants will “steal” their jobs. One thing I have to say, they wouldn’t take your job if you were good at it regardless. And anyway, immigrants usually get the low paying, arduous jobs. Only a few get high paying positions.
What Americans fail to realize is that it needs immigrants to survive. If we didn’t have Chinese food stores on the corner of every inner city block, who would own and pay the taxes and rent for that store. How about the Dunkin Donut shops? Now we know that Indians run those shops, who could do a better job then them? And Taco Bell, the place for delicious tacos and burritos, who would have come up with that idea and brought it to America other than Hispanics? This is something we, as Americans really need to think about and consider before judging people from different countries because after all, where did we all come from? Like Dr. Sam said, we’re all immigrants whether we like the idea of it or not. We need to embrace our cultures from different countries and appreciate what other cultures have brought to the U.S. Let’s start by living by America’s most known motto….”Land of the free”
So I believe that Professor Richards made a valid point about hypocrisy and the way that we treat each other throughout the world. I think too many times we are too quick to judge other individuals without taking into account what have they been through in their life and how they are raised. This hypocritical thinking occurs in everyday life whether it is about race, gender, religion, clothes, politics and many other issues that we are going through nowadays. I mean truthfully how anyone can be so judgmental of a person when we all have imperfections that we deal with on a day to day basis.
As far as the immigration dilemma that we have been recently talking about, I think professor Richards made a valid point when he said that most people in this country have come into the country as an immigrant, so who are we to say that a group of people should be restricted from coming into the country. As Americans I think we should look in the mirror a little more and think to ourselves where would we be if the same mindset was in place when our ancestors arrived. I know a big dispute has been said about how the jobs have been taken by the immigration, but if you really think about it if we wouldn’t sell all of our businesses to outside countries we would have more than enough work for everyone willing. It starts at the top and until those guys get their priorities straight and stop being so selfish, than we will be plagued by the same “so called problems” that we are having right now.
In response to the blog “close that door”, Sam makes a really great point about hypocrisy. This lecture was my first one for Soc 119 because I picked up the class late. When Sam opened up that lecture with how we are all immigrants in this land unless we are 100% Native American, he definitely had my attention. Of course we have all thought about this topic, but when Sam delivers it to you in the context he did, he really gets you thinking. I thought, “Wow he makes such a good point there” and immediately after that I kept thinking of how right he was. I kept basically feeling guilty that all of our nation’s accomplishments and prosperity we have made in our history all started off from raping an innocent people.
It is really a shame that our nation that I embrace and love is only here in due to the pain and suffering of others that rightfully should of grown here on this land instead of my ancestors and me. I wonder how it would of played out if when my ancestors first came to the Americas, if they would have learned to cope with the natives and saw them as people who rightfully own this land. If only there was a neutral system that grew into a community mixed with both Native Americans and the new settles. Unfortunately that was not how history played out and much pain and suffering had to be endured only for another people to live on. Why is man so selfish and greedy that we will do anything with any expense for what we want? Did those settlers hundreds of years ago have no conscience. Why it so hard for man to live together peacefully and build a working community together as one. Imagine all the potential that we would have all working together rather than against each other.
Thinking of how we are all immigrants really makes me more sympathetic for anyone migrating to this country. How could we turn someone away, when we ourselves refused to leave when we decided to stay? The United States is a land of freedom with the statue of liberty herself welcoming the hungry and needy to our shores for a change to live their lives. The greatest written documents ever, our constitution and declaration of independence denotes how everyone is created equal. If we truly want to be American shouldn’t we then follow our own constitution? Our people and culture is so beautiful because we have blended so many different cultures together for our own, why would we stop? We are the melting pot and we should continue embracing newcomers and their cultures and we will only grow as a people.
I notice that intolerance for immigrants that don't speak English is fairly common. Hispanics and Asians seem to be get the brunt of the criticism and anger, which makes me believe immigration protests are more about racism than legality. People are upset by others who are hard to understand and communicate with. They develop their opinions on immigration based on this. But say you meet someone from England who has immigrated to America. I feel like you never see anyone picketing to send these people back where they came from. If you're going to be all about tightening America's borders, you better mean for everyone, not just the people who decide to keep their culture and assimilate less.
Just yesterday, I was on a bus to New York City. The company was Chinese, with bus routes from State College to Chinatown. I and the other ten Penn Staters were angry and annoyed because they were two and half hours late to leave. This one girl started to yell at the three Chinese men who were running the bus. You see, I was very much happy that she was yelling at them, urging them to put out their cigarettes, get on the bus and drive, but at one point she crossed the line. She started talking to them slowly and yelling “Do you understand me?” And they did, they were just being jackasses on their own accord, it had nothing to do with them being Chinese. Why do people do this? They talk slow and loud, trying to intimidate a person because they speak English. It makes no sense. As we discussed in class, unless you are 100% Native American, we are all immigrants. If your ancestors were slaves, would you have a slave? Most likely not. So as our ancestors were once in the position of the outsider, you would hope they were treated well, which should drive you treat everyone else with an open mind.
I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out where I personally stand on immigration. I believe there are laws and they need to be followed and enforced. But despite how they came here-legally or not-they are people and deserve to be treated as such. Disrespecting a person because they have an accent or maybe are of a different race is not why they chose to come to America. If anything, we should be excited when we interact with someone from a different country. First of all, as we learned in class, immigrants are tough people. Giving up everything they know and starting all over in America is commendable and inspiring. Second of all, immigrants are who give America the rep for diversity and as a place that has something for everyone.
Sam said hypocrisy occurs when we use standards to evaluate other people’s thoughts and actions that we do not use for ourselves, to me I understand hypocrisy is just a lie we tell to ourselves. The lie I am referring to is how Americans told themselves that they are the host of the land where they used to be visitors. Now when other people want to live on this land they are banished by visitors who was just a step before them.
I guess most of the developed counties have the problem about illegal immigrants. This is a problem I had thought before, why do people want to leave their own country to a place where they are familiar with neither the culture nor the language? Probably they are willing to live a better life or they want to create a better environment for their next generation. I remembered when I came to American when I was little, I fell in love with everything here I was enjoying this country and one day my parents told me that they decided to go back to China. I didn’t bother to ask why until I grow and suffered difficulties, I went to my mom for the answer why we went back to China. My mom came up with an answer that I completely understand now, she told me although she and my dad had better salary there but they felt like they don't belong there, there are always some little things that they are not used to. Almost the same feeling I have right now, although everything is going on well but I feel I’m not suited entirely into the culture here, maybe I can never do. But my parents and I are not immigrants here. Imagine how hard it will be for illegal immigrants here. They just want to start a better life they don't want to bother you more even they are trying to hide from you. I heard a story about a Chinese illegal immigrant he graduated as an undergraduate in a Chinese university and wanted to study graduate here but the embassy fail to give him a visa. He waited and tried for three times and still he didn't get a visa, he was so disappointed he decided to come to America in a steamship, he hid himself in the ship for two month and when he arrived here he figured there is nothing he can do for a living. He worked in a Chinese restaurant washing plates and cleaning the kitchen in the end of this story. This happened probably 20 years ago but it symbolizes one of the condition what illegal immigrants are suffering and how “visitors” rejecting other “visitors” to enter a land. Maybe when we are less hypocrisy, that door can open slightly little by little more people’s life can start differently.
Hypocrisy is everywhere we look today; there is no way that we can run from it. We might not think that we are being hypocrites, but in reality we are all being hypocritical in some way or another every day. We do not think that we are involved in hypocrisy because everyone around us is emerged in it just as well. Sam made a great point in class about immigration which kicked the thinking engine on. Americans make a huge deal about immigrants coming into the country, and these immigrants are taking away space and jobs from other Americans. As Sam pointed out, this is one of the biggest forms of hypocrisy going on in our country today. Americans came into this country uninvited, and early colonist took this land forcefully from Native Americans.
Going back to what I previously said about us not being able to see hypocrisy in our lives, it is clearly shown in everyday life. We go around apologizing to African Americans for what we put them through because we feel personally responsible for what our ancestors put African slaves through. In reality though, slaves now a days are in much worse conditions that African Americans were put through. African Americans were very valuable to white slave holders, now slaves are worth nothing, and are also treated like they are low lives. We should be feeling guilty for the slavery that is going on now, the slavery that we are taking advantage of right now. Yes, it is understandable for us to feel guilty for taking Africans from their homes and bringing them to the Americas forcefully to do work. What we should really be feeling guilty about is all the slavery that is going on around the world right now. We are all wearing clothes that slaves had something to do with. Slaves today are treated like they are worth nothing, they are given barely enough food just to survive to the next day, they are overworked and they are considered disposable. So I sit here and wonder to myself, why don’t we ever hear about this? Why is it that the educational system decides to neglect what slavery is going on around the world when they teach us about the slavery about African Americans? Is it because we are in direct contact of it and actually benefit from the mistreatment of these helpless people? In my opinion, I think that we tend to turn a blind eye when things like this are brought up to us. We do not want to think that the reason that a product that we are buying is cheaper because a slave put sweat and blood with little to no return in this product. We should all take a hard look at ourselves, myself included, and see how hypocrisy rules our lives sometimes.
I find looking at immigration historically fascinating. Throughout history there have been waves of immigration from different countries, previously from Europe, now shifting to Latin American/Mexican immigrants. I am a 3rd generation Italian-American. I would LOVE to be able to speak Italian, but when my great-grand and grandparents came over, while they spoke Italian in the house, they did not pass it on. They became American, which included speaking English. While Italian culture (including ridiculous amounts and variety of food at Thanksgiving, and a ‘keep it in the family’ mentality have definitely been passed down, English has been adopted.
I believe that the recent wave of immigrants who speak Spanish is the first major immigrant group since the civil and women’s rights movements of the ‘60s/70’s, and because of this, as a nation there is a greater awareness of race relations, definitely the issue of being politically correct, and therefore there seems to be two factions-one saying “let’s welcome them and make them at home” and the other group going “no, let them go home!”—the opposing force…before it
I may be wrong in this statement, but I believe that the largest group of immigrants to the US is from China…interesting right?
Something controversial that I am going to throw out there- I feel that now, as far as reparations go, the US government owes more to Native Americans than to African Americans. The generation of African Americans growing up now has never personally experienced segregration. There are many reservations that are in deplorable financial condition. Just a thought.
On judging other people more harshly than ourselves….I find that interesting…I recently participated in a workshop where we wrote down five labels we have placed on ourselves on 10 index cards (1 label/card, each label 2x). after placing them all once on our shirt, we had to go around the room and place each card on someone’s back, judging them…it was SO difficult for me to do that…I found it much easier to judge myself than other people….I think there is an upside down bell curve representing this. If the people that you are judging are an abstract ‘other’, it is easy to judge…if you know them, are friends, (for me anyway) it is difficult…but then coming even closer, it is easier to judge myself.
How fantastic would it be if the money that the government is currently spending on war went instead towards education and providing an infrastructure to receive immigrants-helping them with the language and such?
In my opinion I think that immigration is great for America. Yes many people see immigration as a wrong thing to their country. I honestly don’t understand why many people think immigration is hurting their country, it is totally the opposite. Immigrants play a huge role in the economy. Immigrants take ALL those jobs that Americans are not willing to do. Immigrants take ALL those low pay jobs that Americans do not want and still they complain that immigration is hurting their country. People see immigration as a problem to their country, but truly think about it and think outside the box. Americans don’t want us to speak other languages other than English, obviously that is not going to happen. Just because other people have the privilege to be bilingual, trilingual, etc. doesn’t meant we have to give up our language and culture just because other people don’t want us speaking other language and bringing our own cultures to the United States. If Americans truly don’t like immigration than why don’t they do something about it, they just talk and talk but don’t do anything to solve their problem with immigration. I totally hate when people talk and talk but don’t do anything about it. They are always complaining about stuff but never do anything to stop that problem. I wish people would get the chance to immigrate to a completely different country so they can experience and feel what other people are feeling. I am pretty sure that if they moved to a completely different country they would understand what it feels to be an immigrant. Sometimes people talk a lot of stuff but sometimes it is not what they really feel, I think it’s their anger what is making them say all that crap about immigration. I truly think that people should be more open minded and truly think about this. Americans should put themselves in our situation, they should see what we feel, they should think what they make us feel like. It is not easy to be an immigrant, it is not easy to give up your own, native language, it is definitely not easy to give up YOUR culture. Americans make it seem like something easy but in reality it is not. It is easy for them to say to adapt to a new country but it’s not easy to do that. Americans make it seem like it is the easiest thing in the world, but truly it is NOT.
I personally feel that immigration, let alone illegal, undocumented immigration to the United States is currently posing more of a problem than ever before. Yes, we are all illegal immigrants in the eyes of the Native Americans that have survived the European infestation, but “immigrating” over 400 years ago is much different than immigrating today. When Columbus first publicized America and the European nation followed, America was not a nation of cities, buildings, and over 200 million people. America had plenty of room to grow when it was first invaded compared to today. You did not have the strict governing body, set up by an officially recognized constitution that the United States now has. Rather you had a vast land that was not interconnected from the east coast to the west coast.
That being said, I also feel that there is A LOT of hypocrisy on display regarding immigration, and I do not like that. The current situation with Mexicans immigrating from Mexico is nearly the EXACT same situation that immigrants from Ireland found themselves in after fleeing from the Potato Famine in the 1800s. My family was amongst the many families of Irish immigrants perpetually put down and discriminated against by earlier settlers (look at “Five Points” in New York City to see a direct example of this). If you switched the year “2009” to “1850” the two would be nearly indistinguishable. However, if you live in America you were obviously here before the present wave of immigration, and people do not want to budge to help others out.
Irish people were not even seen as human by the English in the United States. A political party, the “Know-Nothing Party,” arose in the early 1850s with the goal of stopping immigration and subduing Irish-Catholic political power by banning all Irish from holding political office. To do this, the Know-Nothings favored a poll tax and literacy tests, much like slaves had, in order to vote. Most Irishmen and women were uneducated and illiterate at this time. What drove this intense racism (which I would argue was more intense than present views of Mexicans) was the SAME EXACT THING that is driving racism, discrimination, and hatred today – Irish workers were taking jobs from the “native” citizens of this country. The Irish were willing to perform the same work as a “white man” (although they are both white, I will use this term to describe the “native” Europeans of this time) for a lesser wage, thereby undermining the white men and leaving a fairly large percentage of them jobless. If people would take a second to learn the history of their own country, maybe they would develop a bit more of a tolerance for others, see through their perspective, and learn something new. Immigration is not a new issue at all – you can see the same exact issue unfold over 100 years ago.
One thing is for sure. Sam Richards class will make you look at a certain situation from views that you have never even began to imagine. I was always one to bitch and complain about illegal immigration and how they are taking our resources and our land. Coming into Soc. 119 and listening to his arguments stopped me right in my tracks. I realized I was probably one of the most hypocritical thinkers towards that subject on the Earth. It amazes me how much can be forgotten over time and how certain topics get lost in translation. I never was able to grasp the idea of Indians being the first ones to be here, and how we are the actual illegal immigrants. We complain now a days because of healthcare and money spent, and the room taken, but in all honesty, we’ve done far worse things than that.
Now that I have heard Sam Richards argument about the illegal immigrant problem, I have no idea where I stand. Before I was completely against the illegal immigrants, I would have gone as far as to say build a big freaking wall along the border and hope for the best. Now I feel like my world is inverted and I can’t form an opinion. Finally, after attending more of these classes, learning to think in different ways, I see myself starting to lean towards opening our gates.
Slowly I see the lines between the United States of America and Mexico blurring. History has a way of repeating itself, and I think this time the rolls will be reversed.(in a way) The Mexicans(if that is truly what I should be calling them because that lecture made me think twice as well) will continue to cross over the border and take our land. Eventually the United States of America will have to find a way to document and accept these foreigners. We have absolutely no right as a melting pot country to deny others access of the “free” land that we own. We will have to find a way to open our doors, but continue our hold on this land.
This response may not make complete sense, and I know that. My opinions are all askew because of the lectures that I have been attending. This class really makes you open your eyes and walk in the other persons shoes for awhile. Next time you find yourself cursing out the Mexican that just hit your car and had no insurance and left the scene, make sure you think to yourself “goddamn I am a hypocrite”. They have just as much right to be on our land as we did when we first got here.
My cultural identity consists of many different attributes. My cultural identity is American and Israeli. To be an American is something more than just any other identity in the world, it is composed of immigrants, immigrants that came all over the globe and are usually composed of another identity. Eventually these identities mix and come together to make someone like you and me. This identity is a mix of cultures, ideas, and the place that you grew up to learn how to live your everyday life that you live today. But yet immigration and illegal immigration is a very hot and controversial topic throughout the United States. As a society we discuss how we should not let immigrants into our country and how they are taking over our world. People are constantly complaining how “these people” should go back to their own country and stop stealing our jobs in America. This is public discrimination that is being allowed throughout our daily lives. How can we, as Americans sit here and say how horrible these immigrants are and how they should not be allowed into our country when we stole the land from the Native Americans. This just baffles me, personally I support allowing people into the U.S., since most of America is made up of immigrants, as well as my family who migrated here from Israel. At times you need to ask yourself how are we so fortunate to get the privilege to live in such a country that grants us the freedoms and liberties that most of the world doesn’t offer. But yet we allow ourselves to exclude others by saying that only us as well as the people that we allow to come may be granted these privileges, while the rest who do not gain legal status may not be allowed these divine privileges that our fathers and ancestors had to fight for. We as people are not open-minded to the rest of the world; we become selfish once we get to the top or the thing we want. We become selfish and we do not accept the rest that want to gain the same freedoms that we have. Although my family came here legally, and did it through a process, yet I still feel for those that try to come here but have no other way but to do it illegally. These people usually come illegally because they are forced out by their country by genocide, economic difficulty, and other worst causes that may affect an individual and his/her family. These illegal immigrants are the main reason why our economy thrives so well, if it wasn’t for them our economy would constantly be in recession or in a depression. This amazes me how Americans can sit here and look down on a group of people that immigrated here, when our own ancestors did the same. I wish we could be more understanding and willing to give to people with wishes of only living the American Dream, like our forefathers had hoped for us.
When I think of immigration, I believe that we are all immigrants. I agree that we did come to America and invade it. I will give Sam props on that one, but I feel like we did more than just come here. I personally believe that back in the day, when the first white settlers came to America, they had to work their butts off to make a living. When they came over here they had nothing. Now I have heard the story of how many immigrants come to America with no money or possessions but the clothes on their back, but back in the old times, they had nothing as well and they had to establish civilization as well. They literally had to take a forest and turn it into a town with homes and such. They had to work so hard to establish a civilization. People whine about how immigrants had to come to America with nothing, they have to realize that they came to America with an established civilization and work readily available to them. This also holds true for slaves. Yes slaves had to the most horrible work in the world and I commend them on their efforts, but they did have a home to stay in and they had work. That is a little bit better than living in a third world country or coming to America with nothing at all and having to fiend for yourself to survive in the thirteen original colonies. People say how life was harsh and that people killed others, but then it was a dog eat dog world. There wasn’t a lot of resources available for the new settlers so they had to kill and fight so they could live. If you were in their position, you would have to do the same thing to survive. So when people come from different places and they complain, remember what the settlers had to go through. They had to kill, fight, and essentially build America.
Now I give many complements to slaves and everyone else that was in the same situation but what really makes me mad is when immigrants come to America and don’t work and complain. It really makes me mad when they complain how life is hard and stuff. If they want hard, talk to the people that built a civilization or the people that worked to the death in the cotton fields. I don’t ever want to hear anything about how work is tough. Many illegal immigrants have many jobs readily available to them and they all live in houses with many people. This means that they can have a huge income and live decent lives in their home with a huge cash flow. Immigrants can get many entry level jobs very easily and they aren’t hard at all. They are not anything compared to slave labor. Another thing that really makes me mad is when they live off welfare. That makes me so upset when they just take money when they can work. They say they come to America to make a living, not lie and steal money from America. So when people say how immigrant’s life is rough and how we are all immigrants and stuff, well at least black slaves and American settlers established America into a nation with values. They never lied and just took money from America and that is what is important.
It’s official: I am a hypocrite. Sam has really opened my eyes into how foolish some of my thoughts are. I get so pissed off when the workers at Fuji Jade ask me where I live four times because their English skills aren’t up to my expectations. Then I realize, my great-grandfather came to Pittsburgh from a little village in Greece and barely spoke English. The depression hit and he opened up a little snow cone stand in a park to get by. I’m sure the doctors and lawyers he served were not pleased with Papou George and Yiayia Pauline speaking in Greek to each other while conducting their business. Now, 75 years later, our family business is still thriving in Pittsburgh and has become a staple in the community.
Pittsburgher’s gave my immigrant relatives a chance, so why do I think I’m so special? Each generation away from the “mother country” becomes more ignorant of their relatives struggle to make it in America. I will admit that I use the term ‘rags to riches’ yet I don’t even know what it means. You really have to work hard to make it in this country once you arrive from a foreign land.
What annoys me though is when immigrants make no effort to learn the English language. I am all for keeping your culture and practicing your religion and customs, but in order to enjoy the freedoms and economic benefits of American democracy; some effort towards learning the common language is necessary. Maybe this is ethnocentrism but frankly, I don’t care. Speak your native language in the home, to other customers in our community that are of the same background as you, but when it comes to basic conversational English, I believe immigrants should would towards proficiency. To me, it just shows respect to the country that is providing your and your family with the opportunity to make a living.
As for immigration—especially from Mexico—I am with Sam: I do not have an answer. Growing up we constantly heard that America is a “melting pot” and how it is such a great thing. Sorry to be cliché but too much of a good thing is never good. I admit that my relatives reaped the benefits of coming to this country but at some point we have to question when this country is going to reach its limits. It is not just because they are Mexican, or Chinese, or whatever race, it is just the sheer number of legal and illegal immigrants that are really throwing some areas for a loop. So many undocumented people lead to complications in the economy and workforce that could otherwise be alleviated or worked on.
Hypocrisy is the trademark calling card for Idiot America. It’s the foundation to which the GOP is founded. Immigration is an issue Repubs take very seriously and essentially, Sam’s lecture hits the nail on the head. The general xenophobic belief by the right is best demonstrated by Lou Dobbs of CNN. He strokes the fear of so many ignorant Americans who don’t care to learn about issues themselves by reading. Instead, they listen to the conspiracy garbage he pulls out of his ass, such as the one where illegal Mexicans are bringing leprosy over the border. Also, one where the U.S. is conspiring to create a North American Union with Canada and Mexico, which stemmed from a useful proposal to create more highways to put Americans to work and to increase commerce. But of course Idiot America never thinks critically about an issue. Heaven forbid that they actually read! Unfortunately, that’s the curse that has plagued this country for some time now.
Let me explore some other hypocrisy that brands the right wing. The right always claims to be staunch “pro-life”. Please tell me how they can scream, cry and sometimes kill (Dr. Tiller for example) for their “pro-life” cause but then in the next breath they are very pro death penalty? The care so deeply about what happens in the womb but once that baby is born it’s a big fuck off you’re on your own! They also claim to be extremely religious but I’m pretty sure this Jesus figure that they supposedly know so much about wouldn’t be preaching about bringing guns to church. Hell I’m sure this Jesus figure would have some beef with this whole capitalistic greed motivated society that we live in. One last point I’ll make. These tea party fools who are popping up protesting healthcare reform are just beyond ridiculous! These right wing talk show hosts and politicians spew lies about false death panels and claiming that the healthcare bill will cover illegal immigrants. In my own personal view I feel it’s our moral duty to help those who come to us. Republicans spit in the face of Lady Liberty and the script engraved on her, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” I’m surprised that the Republicans now aren’t trying to add to that, “No Mexicans or Minorities!”
Between the politicians and radio talk show hosts, between birthers and "socialized" medicine but keep-your-hands-off-my-Medicare, the stupid is overwhelming. It's become a tidal wave of stupid. It's a giant Noah’s Ark of stupid, in which two examples of every kind of dumbassery known to man have been loaded up to be set adrift on a sea of their own drool.
I'd be afraid for the future of our country, but I know that if these people ever actually armed themselves and tried to take over they'd all have accidentally shot themselves in the groin within the first ten minutes. Then they'd all limp to D.C. to hold a rally demanding free government healthcare for crotch-related injuries