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1/ Fundamentally, the only "immigration crisis" in this country is a crisis of historical memory on the part of white folks whose families came here previously. Mis-remembering our family stories keeps us from seeing ourselves in the brown-skinned other, and seeing them in us...
2/ We lie to ourselves about how our people came here looking for freedom and democracy and liberty, while "those people" are only coming for stuff (jobs, education, etc). But the fact is, our people came here for "stuff" too, like opportunity and a fresh start...
3/ Early colonists didn't come for freedom and liberty, that's for damned sure...the colonies were incredibly unfree: oppression not only of black folk and indigenous peoples but even other Europeans who worshipped the wrong way, were deemed "witches" or some such shit...
4/ And later immigrants (as with their earlier counterparts) certainly came less for freedom then because of the simple fact that they were all the LOSERS of Europe. No offense meant but it's the truth. The winners never get on the boat. Because they're winning where they are...
5/ Our ancestors came because they were desperate and incapable of making it in their own countries, or they were escaping political repression. They were the despised, the hated, and again...losers all of them. Not nobility. Not the gentry. Not a clean fingernail in the bunch...
6/ But we forget this. We act like our ancestors were special, educated, high-skilled, all sitting around reading Chaucer & doing complicated math equations, when actually we were NO DIFFERENT in skills & class background than most of the immigrants crossing that border today...
7/ Our blinkered historical memory keeps us from recognizing a common humanity with those coming today. That...and racism pure and simple. Because the only real difference between us and them is color. The rest is strikingly similar for those wiling to see...
8/ And please, you can miss me with that "legal/illegal" nonsense. First off, who is legal or illegal at a given point is a function of power and who makes the laws, not some inherent moral standard. Being undocumented says nothing about one's character...
9/ Let's face it, if our European ancestors had lived right next to the U.S. and were desperate for a better life for their kids, they would have crossed that border the law be damned. We all know that if we're being honest...
10/ When my great-grandfather came to the U.S. in the early 1900s from Russia he came the 1st time shortly after President McKinley was assassinated by the child of Russian immigrants. His boat was turned around and sent back. Took 7 yrs to make it back here...
11/ My point? Legality and illegality is some arbitrary shit, decided by people operating on the basis of bigotry as much as anything else...my great grandfather was made "illegal" because of other people's bullshit, not his own. Same is happening today...
