"Reality speaks and it says that, absent Hispanic workers, we could not process chicken," said Tom Hensley, chief financial officer for Gainesville's largest chicken plant, Fieldale Farms. "There aren't enough native American people who want to work in a chicken plant at any wage. We'd be put out of business."
They do the jobs that no one else wants--that's the argument that has framed the debate since I can remember, and it's an argument that just about every impoverished person I know considers pure bunk. To many poor, a job is a job, is a job, as long as it consists of a fare wage. And thus we come to the cusp of the problem.
For far too long in this country, because of our ignorance of history, and our leaders insulation of this history, we have been asking the wrong questions and committing many fallacies in our policies towards "illegal" immigration. Some of this has been innocent, while others are guilty of malicious racism. Either one gets us no closer to the truth, or a possible solution for what will soon be (if it is not already) one of the greatest problems facing America.
In the last week or so, on both a state and Federal level, immigration legislation has been the hot topic of debate. On one hand, one can say that this is yet another GOP distraction topic, pushing the war out of the public eye and replacing it with an issue that has historically been innocuous no matter how heated the discussion becomes. One this Sunday's MacLaughlin Group, Pat Buchanan nearly had a stroke discussing "illegal" immigration, speaking of the corruption and invasion of our Western Culture. As if: a) it would fall, and b) that would matter. What he and his elk don't seem to understand is that they can't have it both ways. You can't have free trade and globalization and remain culturally homogeneous. True enough he is an isolationist, but he's also a Republican, and if there is anything Republicans like more than their guns, it's free trade. But I digress.
When I think of "illegal" immigration, my thoughts drift to Post Civil-war slavery in the United States. One moment African-Americans were the backbone of the American economy and the next they were a bane on humanity. I suppose that would make them better off than the Native American who were a bane on the white race by existence alone. And in this cycle it seems as if "illegal" immigrants have reached the end of their usefulness. They are now annoyances. "Burdens on our Economic and social systems!" We hear. "They won't learn our language." We hear, and it seems that when things become annoyances, this country sheds their humanity and seeks to eliminate (take that term however cynically as you would like) the annoyance. Charity, sympathy, and compassion go right out the window, and the crippled are criticized and ostracized. "Illegal" immigrants must be driven out like St. Patrick's snakes.
We here at Word of the People believe that this mind set shows that this country has learned nothing. "Illegal" immigrants are guilty of nothing except of seeking the same opportunities we all desire. Furthermore, these opportunities, and the lifestyle that we enjoy are made on the backs of these very same people both here in sweatshops, and in their homeland. So many of us believe that we live in a vacuum and this is not so. Look at the labels of your clothes. Look on the backs of your appliances. Look at the farms where your fruits and vegetables are grown, and the work rooms of your local Wal-Mart. Look there and you'll find a brown face staring back at you. You'll find the faces of people who have run to America, in the dark, frightened, and terrified, hoping to find a job that would pay two dollars an hour--a fortune compared to the cents they would make at home. Cents that would be paid to them by American businesses who take advantage of fewer worker rights, and lower wages, as they make billions in profits. But it's alright because they pass the savings onto you.
But remember, it's all the "illegal" immigrants fault.
We here at Word of the People are sickened by this demonization of the weak, and the admiration of the corrupt and greedy. We believe in the spirit of the United States, and by the openness that we are capable of showing to the world as a beacon of hope. We believe that if any one is to be prosecuted in our Media, and in our streets it should be the fat cats who exploit foreign workers. We have remarkable laws meant to insure workers' dignity and enable them to financially and intellectually evolve, which results in the betterment of all of America. Yet these greedy pigs have taken it upon their selves to bypass these laws and and force these helpless folk to work for whatever they offer, even when, at times, the offer is nothing. Don't get it twisted folks, what we have here is a system of de facto slavery, and once again we are assigning blame to the victim.
I can't believe I am about to say this, but Word of the People agrees with President Bush's notion of a guest worker program. (although we believe it should be hammered out to be as fair and equitable as possible) We believe that our borders should be open and controlled and documented. If foreign workers, from all over the world, choose to come into this country to apply for a job they should be able to compete for that job at the same level as Americans, with the same rights, pay, and benefits that we all enjoy. Not only will this preserve the spirit of our union, it will allow for Americans who are willing to take these jobs the ability of compete. No more will fat cat bosses turn away people simply because they can snatch up foreigners at a substantially cheaper price. Now the country that praises freedom, can practice our creed.
Yes, prices would go up. This is a fact we must accept. But by how much is open to debate. Our 99 cent stores may have to become a 1.99 cents store. And Wal-Mart's smiley face logo make look a bit grimmer, but what price can you put on liberty? We must also accept the fact that as prices go up so will our economy because as more people are hired at a greater wage, so shall they have more money to spend. With the right people in place there is no reason why we should have to suffer, and any sacrifices we are forced to make will be balanced out by the fact that this issue will be settled. We had to have a Civil War before we ended slavery, and in our bleakest perspectives we wonder what might have to be done to before our immigration problem descends into violence. Now is the time to act and correct the issues of the past before innocent blood is shed.
I'm not holding my breath, but some I look to the past and hope I'm asking the right questions.
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