Times like these

Border Fence Brings Wrong Attention

I put up an article on Digg that I thought would attract attention. While I may have only received 4 diggs, I did receive some interesting comments that I had to respond to. Allow me to share these comments so that we may also indulge in the conversation together:

IamTheProfessor:

"Let's just set aside the fact that we are building a frigin' fence to keep Mexicans out - Let's focus on the geography and landscape of the fence location..

ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"

Appleann1:

"“Worry when we start keeping people in. We ARE building the fence to keep ILLEGALS out, which also include terrorist who have learned to speak Spanish and pass themselves off as Spanish, preferably from El Salvador, because we could'nt deport them. I think that's changed now, but not 100% sure."

MrHappyClam:

"I think we need to by-pass all the problems and just go down to Meicao and Central America with buses and trains and get as many people who want to come to the US and bring them up. Let's cut out the middle-man, which is the real reason behind the government wanting to build fences. Those guys aren't paying any income tax on their earnings!"

IamTheProfessor:

"If we're looking to keep "illegals" out then we should probably build a wall along the Canadian border too. And while we're at it, lets keep those French and British controlled islands out of it and put up a barrier of Navy Seals along our coastlines to keep people from floating over.

They don't pay income tax on their earnings, it's not like they are making millions a year per capita. These are manual labor workers who are making $5 an hour or less to do something that no American would do for twice that pay.

If you think putting up a fence is going to help, then maybe you should be living in a country that doesn't have a monument with the following inscribed:

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

You say it's America you want to protect, I say it's you that you are looking to protect. Americans are afraid they'll lose jobs to Mexicans, then get off your ass and work!! Earn a living!! We have colleges that they don't, take advantage. We have opportunities they never will, take advantage. Stop looking for a scapegoat and earn your right to call yourself an American."

Now the above is really no surprise to me because I am a recent graduate from a social science field. However, while it may no longer surprise me, it still upsets me to see that we, Americans, people I am supposed to consider my comrades, possessing a mentality that America is somehow elite to the rest of the world, and therefore can justify the building of a 15' fence for border control.

My neighbors put up a fence to keep their dog in the yard, so he won't go bite a baby. I also used to put up fences for a living during college and I've seen all types of fences. The reality is this, any fence built to keep something out, will also keep something in.

With those two points in mind, who, exactly are we keeping out, and what exactly are we keeping in? When migrant workers come into my old town of Marlboro, NY, they came for the season to work the orchards. They maintained thousands of apple trees and brought fresh apples every day, to our local grocer. They'd go to the convenient store at night and buy beer and lottery tickets and go back to their temporary housing and start the day over. Crimes were committed in our town, mainly by arrogant kids. Car acoccurred occured often, mainly by arrogant kids. Things were stolen and vandalized, mainly by arrogant kids. I ate apples often, mainly thanks to the migrant workers who labored day and night and took pride in their work. Even with droughts, we never had a bad apple year. Those guys worked their asses off and they probably didn't get what they deserve - but just enough to keep them coming back.

I refuse to refer to these laborers as "them" because they are as much a part of "we" as anyone else. So why does our country still call these valuable resources, "illegals?" To me, "illegals" are the people who murder, rape, and terrorize our very way of life (and when I say "terrorize" I refer to anyone who is looking to disrupt our way of life, from our very own politicians and government officials to the bastard child who starts fights in school). I'd like to believe that we are an educated people, but the reableakis bleek. There are those who are educated who are still ignorant. The precious gift of knowledge is wasted on those who are looking to isolate themselves as a result of paranoia.

Fear drives our country to preemptively attack another country, the fear that somebody wants what we have. Fear is what drives kids to become obsessed with clothing and accessories, the fear they won't have friends or get laid (at least that's what our TV Commercials say). Fear is what drives our country to put up a fence as a border, the fear that someone is going to work harder than us and take our place in the pecking order.

This country was founded on the belief that it is wrong to persecute those who are different. Now, we do exactly that to a degree never before seen by humanity. We drop bombs that wipe out entire cities, overthrow governments, seize lands, lock up our citizens for decades because they choose to inhale the smoke of a naturally growing plant, and now, we build a 15 foot high fence to keep an industrious people out of our country because somebody told us it would make our lives better.

I don't honestly believe that a million migrating Mexicans could possible change the way of life in a country as stubborn as our own. Two passenger airplans were flown into the two tallest buildings in our country, we wept for days and weeks and did that change our view on politics? Barely, we still pursue the same foreign policy we had previous to the attacks on September 11, now we do it in the name of revenge. And what is the symbolism derived from those attacks on 9/11?

343. The number of firefighters and police officers who died while doing their jobs. Quick question: How many civilians died? Google it.

posted by David Malloy @ 8:18 AM