My fellow Americans, and I do mean "Americans." Really?? Has it truly come to this? The only solution that we can think of to combat illegal immigrants is going to be pointing at their brown skin and squealing at their lisped accents?? I really don't understand how backwards this country has become. Now, do not misunderstand me, I am NOT defending those who are in fact in this country illegally. And yes the majority may be of Mexican descent, though they are not all Mexican and will proudly tell you so. What I am defending is the American right to be able to live day to day life without fearing persecution and detainment.
I do protest, vehemently, this new law that has surfaced in Arizona and I protest NOW because I do not want it in my home state. No, it is not because I fear for family or friends that may or may not be illegal. It is because I fear what this country will turn to towards my nephews who look the part far more than I do in the future. There has already been a detainment in AZ of a truck driver, born in the US, trying to do his job. He didn't have the proper documentations on him. The requested documentation you ask?? His birth certificate. Well of course, what kind of fool leaves his home without his birth certificate! I take mine with me everywhere I go just to boast and show off.
"See, I told you I was born in the US! Ha ha, now who looks stupid?"
His wife, who was over an hour away, had to bring his birth certificate to the police station where he was being held.
...
This man's work was put in jeopardy, his reputation and honor were questioned, his dignity shattered and he was emasculated in front of law enforcement. All of this because his skin was brown and his name was of Hispanic origin and he may have had an accent. I know many "Americans" that fit that description.
I fight now because I don't want it to spread, it must be stopped now. I can see my nephews, whom I mentioned before, and I see them taking a class trip, one that requires them to cross state lines to go to a national park or preserve or etc. I see them, standing outside a gift shop, waiting for their classmates to finish shopping. I then see a police officer walking up to them, asking for identification, asking for their names and origins. I see them being questioned as their classmates come out of the shop, wondering why they're being singled out or worse, being detained. Their peers will never see who they are as people anymore. It's no longer their classmate they see, their friend, their companion. They'll see what they are instead, Hispanic, Mexican, Colombian, etc, etc. Their value as a citizen will diminish because of the scrutiny of the society around them.
I'm a proud American-Mexican, and I'm proud of both sides that create who I am. I speak both English and Spanish, I love both American and Mexican cultures. The process of becoming a United States citizen is lengthy and costly, and both my parents struggled and fought to go through it. They left their home country for a better opportunity for not only themselves, but for their children and their future grandchildren. That effort, that struggle, it's being cheapened and made unimportant by this law.
There has to be another way around this. And it's probably been explored but thrown out because it's too much of an effort or it's too costly for the state itself. This was the easy way out. If you suspect a man of being illegal, pull him over and cuff him until he can prove otherwise. So it has come to that. Guilty until proven innocent. Welcome to the melting pot, as our motto says "E Pluribus Unum," out of many, one. Just make sure you're the right kind of spice for the soup.
No comments:
Post a Comment