2008 Woodie Awards
Campus left cries wolf ... again
LINDSAY CHRISTENSEN-STOKER
Guest Opinion
Issue date: 4/2/07 Section: Opinion
The College Republicans are hosting a controversial and well-versed speaker, Robert Vazquez, and the only response of the campus left is senseless name-calling.
Instead of bringing up valid points to support illegal immigration, they demonstrate a complete lack of intellectual retort by appealing to an increasingly trivialized word – “racism!”
What’s the problem? A poster advertising the event offers participants the chance to enter their “false identification cards” in a drawing for free Mexican food.
Most illegal immigrants, regardless of their race, enter this country through porous fences along the Mexican-American border. Or are the porous gates along the Canadian border?
Perhaps they should award a gift certificate to a French restaurant to celebrate the cuisine of Quebec.
The term “racism” is so haphazardly thrown around that many have forgotten its actual definition.
Racism is the notion that “one’s own race is superior and has the right to rule others,” or “hatred of another race.” BSU MECHA’s Myspace page offers a great example of racism with a cartoon image of a young Chicana, fist in the air, saluting the slogan “Stay Brown Chicanas.” Such an avowal is akin to the practice of eugenics in Nazi Germany.
I think their slogan was something like “Stay White Aryans.”
Illegal immigration is a serious issue worthy of discussion. A recent “Time” poll conducted in November and December of 2005 found that an astounding 92 percent of Americans consider illegal immigration to be a serious problem. Cultural Center hero Cesar Chavez agreed. His distaste for illegal immigration came from an economic standpoint.
Chavez was an agricultural labor union leader who protested the influx of strikebreakers from Mexico. Chavez understood the basic principle of supply and demand. The increased number of illegal aliens coming across the border drove down wages of legal residents. In 1969, Chavez, along with Senator Walter Mondale, led a march to the Mexican border to protest illegal immigration.
In 1979, Chavez testified to Congress: “When the farm workers strike and their strike is successful, the employers go to Mexico and have unlimited, unrestricted use of illegal alien strikebreakers to break the strike. And, for over 30 years, the Immigration and Naturalization Service has looked the other way and assisted in the strikebreaking.”
Every nation in the world (aside from America) vigorously enforces border and immigration policy. The US already has a generous immigration policy. We are allowing more immigrants into our country than at any other point in American history, and more than all the nations of Western Europe combined. Nobody is suggesting we allow fewer immigrants into the country, only that we regulate the process to provide security and justice.
If anyone would like to engage in serious discussion of this issue, please come forward. To everyone else, the ad hominem attacks are quite cliché. Your trivial use of words like “hate” and “racism” completely negate their meaning.
Lindsay Christensen is majoring in Criminal Justice at Boise State
Instead of bringing up valid points to support illegal immigration, they demonstrate a complete lack of intellectual retort by appealing to an increasingly trivialized word – “racism!”
What’s the problem? A poster advertising the event offers participants the chance to enter their “false identification cards” in a drawing for free Mexican food.
Most illegal immigrants, regardless of their race, enter this country through porous fences along the Mexican-American border. Or are the porous gates along the Canadian border?
Perhaps they should award a gift certificate to a French restaurant to celebrate the cuisine of Quebec.
The term “racism” is so haphazardly thrown around that many have forgotten its actual definition.
Racism is the notion that “one’s own race is superior and has the right to rule others,” or “hatred of another race.” BSU MECHA’s Myspace page offers a great example of racism with a cartoon image of a young Chicana, fist in the air, saluting the slogan “Stay Brown Chicanas.” Such an avowal is akin to the practice of eugenics in Nazi Germany.
I think their slogan was something like “Stay White Aryans.”
Illegal immigration is a serious issue worthy of discussion. A recent “Time” poll conducted in November and December of 2005 found that an astounding 92 percent of Americans consider illegal immigration to be a serious problem. Cultural Center hero Cesar Chavez agreed. His distaste for illegal immigration came from an economic standpoint.
Chavez was an agricultural labor union leader who protested the influx of strikebreakers from Mexico. Chavez understood the basic principle of supply and demand. The increased number of illegal aliens coming across the border drove down wages of legal residents. In 1969, Chavez, along with Senator Walter Mondale, led a march to the Mexican border to protest illegal immigration.
In 1979, Chavez testified to Congress: “When the farm workers strike and their strike is successful, the employers go to Mexico and have unlimited, unrestricted use of illegal alien strikebreakers to break the strike. And, for over 30 years, the Immigration and Naturalization Service has looked the other way and assisted in the strikebreaking.”
Every nation in the world (aside from America) vigorously enforces border and immigration policy. The US already has a generous immigration policy. We are allowing more immigrants into our country than at any other point in American history, and more than all the nations of Western Europe combined. Nobody is suggesting we allow fewer immigrants into the country, only that we regulate the process to provide security and justice.
If anyone would like to engage in serious discussion of this issue, please come forward. To everyone else, the ad hominem attacks are quite cliché. Your trivial use of words like “hate” and “racism” completely negate their meaning.
Lindsay Christensen is majoring in Criminal Justice at Boise State
Viewing Comments 1 - 6 of 10
brownsurprise
posted 4/02/07 @ 3:30 AM MST
Why does the focus always go back to ad hominem attacks? plenty of people made valid points about illegal immigration which were ignored.
Why not enact harsher punishment for employers hiring illegal workers?
"you called me a poopy face. (Continued…)
Thinker
posted 4/02/07 @ 10:43 AM MST
Harsher punishments for employers hiring illegal workers?
Hah, first we'll have to IMPLEMENT some punishments for employers who extort and abuse illegal workers. (Continued…)
Perfect Fairy
Perfect Fairy
posted 4/02/07 @ 11:05 AM MST
This is a repost of an entry I made last week.
This "event" was well attended mostly by persons wanting to "hear" what was to be "said" and not have it filtered by the media or someone else's description. (Continued…)
Kelly
posted 4/02/07 @ 11:18 AM MST
First off, I totally agree with Jason. Brownsurprise is a wimp. If he really believed in what he is saying, he WOULD use his own name like Lindsey did. (Continued…)
Steve
posted 4/02/07 @ 2:58 PM MST
Kelly,
Here is the myspace page. You do not have to be a member to see it:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=68896664
Look through the rotating images. (Continued…)
brownsurprise
posted 4/04/07 @ 11:55 PM MST
Thanks Purpy,
Finally somebody that actually has the decency to respond. I hope you don't disappear after this post.
Very interesting article! Businesses and Republicans protesting Vasquez?!
Being as we will both be labeled cowards perhaps we can agree to a discussion on the issues that will keep our identity mutually shrouded in mystery yet allow people to read opinions from both sides of the issue. (Continued…)
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