Leo Mauler wrote:
Of course its a valid comparison. Illegal immigrants don't want to
have to obey the law like everyone else. They want *what they want*, *when they want it* and don't want to have to *obey the law* like everyone else.
I don't understand why people keep making this about people breaking the law. What does it matter to you, or anybody else who is do damned worked up about "illegal immigration"? Why don't people get worked up about something that really affects their lives, like bad drivers, exploitative employers, illiteracy, the attack on the environment, or whatever?
Look, these so-called "illegal immigrants" are people like you and me. They should be seen as human beings with complicated lives, not as a category that lends itself to racist demonization. The people we are talking about are in this country for a variety of reasons. Most of them want to be with family who are already here. Most of them are looking for employment that pays them better than what they got paid back in Mexico and Central America.
This demonization of "illegal immigrants" reflect a truism about Americans: they are generally very ignorant about how the world around them really works. If you are really that concerned about "illegal immigration", why not look at the root causes? Why are so many people coming to the U.S.? Obviously for economic reasons? What are the root causes of these economic problems? Mostly globalization and free trade, policies that were implemented by both U.S. parties. Remember NAFTA? Another root cause is the political policies perpetrated by the Reagan/Bush regime in Central America. It would take several Chomsky books to explain this, but U.S. policies in Central America were essentially a terrorist program against the poor and working classes in those countries. The U.S. is reaping what it sowed in the 1980s and over the previous decades in that region.
In many ways illegal immigrants are poor versions of Paris Hilton:
they're *snooty people* who think *the law shouldn't have to apply to them* just because they're *poor* and want to live somewhere else.
This is just a bizarre argument. Illegal immigrants are snooty? Wtf?
Chuck