[PAA-Discuss] [Article] Alternet: RE: Illegal Immigration

[Heather Smith]

i wanted to disagree with the idea that people who
don't get up off the couch to go to a peace protest
are unevolved idiots, adn respond to the question
about why immigration and education are such big
issues.


In my opinion, the reason people are talking about
> immigration and education is because they are issues
> that affect day-to-day existence. We all utilize the
> service industry in Houston which is staffed in
large
> part by immigrants. We live in houses that were
built
> by immigrant labor. We are immigrants. And the mass
> media is telling us that our economic problems in
this
> country, our healthcare problems, and our lack of
jobs
> are the fault of "illegal" immigrants. Therefore, we
> all see immigration as an issue that is quite
relevant
> to our lives. I disagree with the media-promoted
> analysis, thinking that it does not go far enough
into
> the analysis to realize that illegal immigration is
a
> symptom, the same as health care and economic
issues.
> The problem is one of neoliberalism, the system that
> created NAFTA, CAFTA, FTAA, the world bank, the WTO,
> etc. These systems attempt to maintain the power in
> the hands of those who already have it which is for
> the most part the white upper-middle class.
Therefore,
> immigrants coming to this country to flee the
> deplorable conditions resulting from the corporate
> exploitation of Latin America are seen as a threat
> because the elite want to take no responsibility for
> the situation that they have created. Therefore,
> immigrants are marching because they have been
silent
> for too long. Movements against globalization have
> been growing in Latin America since 1994 and the
> Zapatistas and even before. And immigrants are
taking
> to the streets because HR 4437 would make their
lives
> unliveable, would criminalize them and send them
back
> to their country where they cannot live because
there
> are no jobs, no money, and no opportunity.
>
> Education is the same thing: class warfare. The
public
> schools are not funded because the upper
socioeconomic
> spheres can afford private schools, and it is those
> classes that actually make the budget decisions. If
> people of color in poorer neighborhoods got a decent
> education, that might result in changing the status
> quo, so the money is thrown into corporate welfare
and
> other ways to make the rich richer and keep the poor
people down.

yours in solidarity,
heather
>
>


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com