This rant is about the Mexican border crisis again. Now, I hate to dwell on this, but the fact is I heard an interview with Replublican "darling," Linda Chavez, that really set me off. Ms. Chavez is obviously near-sighted. She's all for us Conservatives and Centrists (like me), but only until it impacts people of her own heritage.
This is the part of her argument that made me sputter; Ms Chavez sees NO DIFFERENCE between what is happening on the Mexican border today, and the LEGAL immigration of the Irish, Italians and Germans from the mid-1800's to the mid-1900's. This women is twaddling.
Let's recap for those who, like Linda, apparently know little about our history. The numbers I'm about to quote here are rounded-off to make it simple for people like her to comprehend.
FIRST: In the one hundred years from 1820 to 1920 a TOTAL of only five million Irish emigrated to the US. And it's well-established that 99.99% of this was through LEGAL immigration processes. During that same hundred years, only four million Italians and five million Germans found their ways through the LEGAL immigration system to our shores. That's a grand total of 14 million in ONE HUNDRED YEARS. After this period, due to the First World War and other factors, immigration quotas were cut back drastically in order for the US to be able to assimilate these new people and to avoid the possibility of wartime problems stemming from immigrants who might still have allegiances to their mother countries (get it, Linda?)
SECOND: While it is estimated that in the last twenty years two million Mexicans have come to the US through legal channels, we apparently have no idea how many tens of millions have simply walked in ILLEGALLY. Hel-llllow Ms Chavez! Recap: while just 14 million Irish, Italian and German immigrants arrived LEGALLY on our shores in ONE HUNDRED YEARS, there are estimated to be two to three times that number of Mexican and other Hispanic peoples here ILLEGALLY... in just twenty years!
THIRD: Thousands of Irish, Italians and German emigrants died on the "coffin ships" they attempted to come over on, so-called because of the number who died on the journey, never realizing their hopes. There was NO HELP for them. They had no "liberals" waiting to give them medical attention, water and maps. America's Irish, Italian and German immigrants had NO ACCESS to FREE MEDICAL CARE. NO WELFARE system awaited them. They were far less an economic burden on America then the current mass of ILLEGALS. Those Irish, Italians and Germans who arrived in the early 1900's pretty soon found themselves in the middle of the Big Depression. NO ONE came to their rescue. There was no ACLU waiting to help them sue the mean ol' Americans who were ready to take advantage of them. And yet, the bulk of them managed to assimilate in a couple of generations. They did not create barrios waiting for the day when, by sheer numbers, "the race" could rise up and "take over." They did not go out on strike to show America just how "indispensible" they were. Just as our government had the good sense to cut back on immigration during wartimes of the past, it needs to do it NOW!
FOURTH: The myth that America was built on the backs of Mexicans and Blacks is pure twaddle as well. Anyone who cares to look it up will find it was the Irish, Chinese and Italians, among others, who through blood, sweat and tears built the transcontinental railroads which tied America together as no other world power has ever been, and which led to the growth of cities and towns and industries all across the land. This is what made America great. Nor were these "union" jobs in those days. They were low-paying, back-breaking jobs. And yet, each group competed to lay more track in one day than the next group. Who built the trains? Who built the Interstate Highway System? Mexicans? Blacks? What about the automobile and telephone industries? If Blacks and Mexicans claim those nasty Caucasians "kept them out of the good jobs" - how can they then claim they did the work? Cotton may have clothed America but it certainly didn't build it. And what about the urban legends of Native Americans doing a lot of the "high steel" work in building our skyscrapers? Don't get me wrong... I do not deny the very real, hard work done by Blacks and Mexicans, but to claim "America was built on their backs" is absurd. Those who continually use this cliche should be called on the facts. There were very few "Jawn Henrys" in real life.
AND FINALLY (because I don't want this rant to get any longer): How's this for a shocker, Linda? The total population of Ireland today is only 4 million people! Italy has 58 million, and Germany 82 million. But Mexico, our neighbor to the south, has 107 million people today, and because of its very high birth rate will equal the populations of those other three countries before we know it. Which is one reason Mexico would love to get rid of many millions more of the poor folks it can't afford to pay any kind of wages and shove them into our living room so we are forced to deal with their problem. Whereas the countries heretofore mentioned have shrinking native populations they would prefer to keep at home.
Perhaps it would do well for Ms Chavez as well as our President and Congress to reflect on the ramifications of these numbers. They obviously don't know much, or don't care much about what is really happening in America. They only care as far as it impacts their own little cliques.
