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Post by Andrei_X on Mar 10, 2004 17:23:45 GMT -5
One subject I have discussing with people about is immigration. When people talk about the "horrible" effects of illegal immigrants, I don't know how to reply to them, because I only know a COMMUNIST way of doing so, i.e. "They are part of the international proletariat and our comrades in the struggle". How do I approach such a thing in discussing it with non-Communist people?
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Post by redstar2000 on Mar 10, 2004 19:05:29 GMT -5
I think there are three possible responses and all of them seem to work reasonably well...assuming the people you're talking to are rational.
1. Deflection
Immigrants are not "the" problem, as you know. Immigrants did not invade Iraq. Immigrants did not close the plant and move it to Malaysia. Immigrants are not trying to shut down the Social Security System. Etc., etc., etc.
2. Confrontation
Immigrants do take jobs in America...jobs that you'd rather starve than take. Want to do stoop labor in the fields of California? Be a gardener for some mansion-owning bastard? Or raise his kids for him? How about "reporting" to a street-corner in L.A. every morning, hoping for some shitty day-labor?
Most American workers regard those jobs as degrading...which they usually are (especially when you take into account the crappy wages).
The fact is immigrants don't take a dime from your pocket. The media image of them is a flat-out lie.
If anything, you ought to feel pity for the poor fuckers...they come here and eat shit because things are even worse back where they came from.
3. Visionary
Come on, shouldn't people be able to live wherever they want? Capitalists can send their money to any country they want to; why shouldn't workers be able to move just as freely? Suppose they told you that you "had" to stay in your own county...even if you couldn't find work and even if the next county had plenty of jobs. Wouldn't you regard that as outrageous?
It's the same thing for immigrants; they want to go some place where they can make a living, that's all.
And what's the matter with that?
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