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Illegal Immigration And The Great American Melting Pot
Illegal Immigration And The Great American Melting Pot
The other night my wife and I were talking to a waitress in a local restaurant. She is a wonderful person and we have come to be good acquaintance through many dinners there. She is everything wonderful about waitresses. She knows and remembers us. She greets us like we we're long lost family and she takes care that we have a great time. After dinner, it was about closing time. She knows that we are active in our tea party and asked us about the tea party's views on immigration issues.
I explained that I grew up in San Diego. My parents grew avocados and, during the days of the Bracero visa program, I got to know many workers. I grew up appreciating Latino culture. She and we laughed as I described going to the Mexican version of a debutante ball. The girl's would come out in white dresses and the formal neighborhood celebration that accompanied their formal entry into community life was lots of fun. She laughed when I shared about being told by a dad that if I wanted my voice to deepen, I should not look quite so interested in his daughter.
She told us about her celebration and we all shared a common moment of neighbors understanding and enjoying each other. She then asked if we were in favor of amnesty. I said no. She looked relieved. She then explained that she is against amnesty because she and her family immigrated here to become Americans. They immigrated to join our American culture (the culture, many European acquaintances I met living in Europe, were so fond of telling me doesn't exist). She has no doubt that she enriches our culture with her background. She also has no doubt that her cultural background is not diminished by being American first and having her background be a contribution to the mix of all our backgrounds.
She shared that she is dismayed that those, like her, who came here to be American, are now caught in the middle between Illegal immigrants and American citizens that are political activists for amnesty. Their actions and activities have created a widespread belief that all Latinos favor amnesty and support illegal immigration. She wanted us to know that that was not true and to tell our tea party that. I said I would.
She then completely amazed me. In one sentence she provided me with the answer to all those angry, hate filled people calling anybody against amnesty a racist, an oppressor or worse.
She said that when she came to America, she came to participate in the melting pot and the melting pot only works when you want to melt.
That her experience was that many illegal immigrants of today do not want to be part of our melting pot. That immigration activists are using the illegal immigration issue to divide Americans by race and culture. That these activist's brand of diversity is to support and encourage the destruction of the melting pot. That they are trying to sell mixing oil and water as being the same as a mix where each ingredient decreases and the whole increases.
She explained that because of the way these activist are portraying the issue, she is no longer free (because she is afraid of retribution by activists) to express her opposition to amnesty and she is starting to experience people who are furious that the immigration issue is being cast as one of prejudice and race, when she doesn't see it that way.
I later reflected about what she said. She is right. The whole point of acting as if racism is the issue is to cause a racial divide in Americans. When everyone is completely angry about the racism issue, the actual issue of legal immigration and the working of the great American melting pot is lost in the noise. Further, the whole American melting pot itself is destroyed.
I am going to make a pin and give it to her. I suggest that each of you who is a legal immigrant (from anywhere including Latin America) or is the descendent of a legal immigrant wear one too. Maybe, by expressing our belief and trust in our melting pot we can defeat those who would like it to go away for their own purposes.
She asked me if there was some way she could quietly let people know that she is legal and proud of it. I am having the following pin made. You can buy one in our store. She will get her's free.
With thanks to our waitress, a patriot.
Ken and Lynne
