How much longer must we tolerate mass culture?

Back to the known

nobody@vox.com(Maxvan) — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 20:46:53 -0700

Looking at the immigrant experience in the past few weeks, it's pretty easy to translate it to my own. First of all, I am an immigrant. I have come to a place where I was not born.

But, throw that out. Let's say I was born in Los Angeles. just for fun, ok? So, there I am, in a place I understand, and the rules make sense to me. The American Southwest has its own way, and I know it well. But, then, I met this girl. She's beautiful, and she cares for me. Eventually, we decide that we were meant to be. She lives in Maryland, and I live in Arizona. If we are meant to be, somebody has to migrate. Where I live is beautiful, and I can get by, at the standard to which I am accustomed. Where she lives is exotic to me, and has an even higher standard of living. Also, I am accustomed to moving around, because that's what my family did. She is not accustomed to moving. So, it is decided that I will come to her, not the other way around. I sell a bunch of stuff, and pack up what remains to drive out in a beaten up truck. It's a horrible ride, and I don't sleep, but I make it across the country in record time.

Once I make it out here, and get somewhat settled in, I start to see the differences. I thought we had a shared language, but that's not entirely true. Little turns of phrase keep tripping me up, and people look at me as if I'm stupid because of the way I talk. Certainly the pay scale is higher out here, but I cannot get hired for jobs to which I know I am qualified, because my references are far away and hard to contact. So, I end up being chronically underemployed. It's hard for me to make friends because everyone here has their set of experiences, and mine are so very different. Keeping up with paperwork is difficult because the structure is different than at home. I come to realize that I'm a stranger in a strange land. Oh, it's better for me to be here. Like I said, the pay scale is higher, so I'm doing at least as well as I was, if not better. The place is pretty. I have my wife. I have made some friends. But, I know, and am constantly reminded that I'm a foreigner in this place. I have some neighbors who hate me because I moved into "their" neighborhood, and the police won't listen to me when I get picked on by them. I can name plenty of employers who won't hire me, not because i can't do the job, but because they see where I'm from. It's even hard to get decent medical care, and I'm lucky that my wife is local, because otherwise, I wouldn't even have a chance to get medical care. My son faced hurdles coming into school here, because all of the programs are set up for kids who have never changed schools.

But, I'm not complaining. I just thought you might recognize some of that, and not get so riled up about people who are even more foreign than me.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

immigration, again....

nobody@vox.com(Maxvan) — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 19:36:24 -0700

So, the Immigration debate goes on. In New Jersey, they find out that it's suicide to be xenophobic. Meanwhile, Virginia is debating making a manzanar for illegal immigrants with parking fines.

I guess I could comment on that stuff, but i'd prefer to talk about something I know: the Virtual Fence.

Jeez, this thing is stupid. I used to run a distance learning center, where I would operate cameras from 45 miles away, in Arizona, actually. I actually know a little something about why the virtual fence won't work. See, setting up camera towers in the Sonoran desert is stupid, first and foremost because there isn't a camera made that can withstand the weather. between brutal heat, and monsoon season, the camera is going to break. But, secondly, in order to insulate the camera, you're going to make it a lot slower: they're describing 30-60 second delays, which surprises me. Those Boeing boys are good, i would figure more along the 60-90 second range. Which, effectively renders them useless, in any event. Try running for 45 seconds at a full sprint. See how many yards you go. Want to bet you could evade a camera with that long of a blind spot? Then, there's the Radar net. Quick, how much do you weigh? Do you weigh 500 lbs? Because if you weigh that or less, you're smaller than a cow, and guess what? There are cows near the border. So, how is radar going to be fine tuned enough to tell the difference between you and a bovine? Again, this is stupid, right on the face of it. It's just not a good idea. I'd call it a boondoggle.

Which is why I think we should re-think how we are viewing illegal immigration. We ban illegals, and we bankrupt our cities. We ask our Cops to become border patrol, and we end up building gulags. We set up a fence, and the land, itself, defies us.

Years ago, Ed Abbey suggested sending every Latino that came to our border back, only we send them back armed.

While I think Ed was just being provocative, there's a kernal of a good idea there. If we don't want illegals in America, we have to take a look at why they are coming here, and do something about that. Maybe start enforcing the minimum wage in America, and work with other nations to improve their wages. Maybe legalize drugs. Maybe have a guest worker program, and incarcerate people for the crimes they commit, not for their status. I'm not saying I've got the answer, but I do think the method is in really looking at why they come here, and addressing that issue.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

We don't need no stinking badgers

nobody@vox.com(Maxvan) — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 16:03:32 -0700

So, local anti-union sheriff Chuck Jenkins is saying that he's got a deal with ICE to make the county money by having local police bust illegal immigrants. Well, at least he's still on his platform, which was:

"The most urgent problem is the increase in violent assaults and other street crimes, and the growing criminal enterprise in our county. This is a direct result of the increase in street gang activity, much of which is fueled by the nationwide illegal immigration problem. This also perpetuates the overall increase in juvenile crime and illegal drug activity in Frederick County. The fact that Frederick County is home to a number of potential terrorist targets presents the immediate need to have completed and in place a strategic countywide plan for homeland security."

But, ask Prince Williams county, in Virginia. According to their county PD, having police officers check the immigration status of people detained for shoplifting, traffic violations or other misdemeanors is projected to cost about $14.2 million over five years. Or, ask the Arlington County board, who have rejected such policing practices, and claim a lowering crime rate.

Ultimately, whether illegal immigration bothers you, or not, it's up to the Federal government, not local government to police the border. Certainly, arrest law breakers, but don't make the local cops do the Fed's job for them. Even if I believed Jenkins (and I don't) I think a better way to target street crime is to make it easier for cops to live in frederick County, where, right now, they're largely priced out. Cops who live in the neighborhood, tend to keep the neighborhood up, you know? So, why not have a cop's union, first.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Immigration Issues

nobody@vox.com(Maxvan) — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 13:53:37 -0700

Some folks I know are very opinionated on the topic of immigration. I have to admit, my opinions don't run as strongly. I feel a little bit like I don't have much of a dog in this fight, any more. I live in a nice, rural town, in a pretty hegemonic county.

But, near to me is Northern Virginia, where there's a MASSIVE debate on the topic. One of the strongest voices against immigration would be this guy .

On the other end would be the immigrant population.

I think the whole thing is going to get far uglier than anyone wants it to be. I just hope that, along the way, we remember where we come from.

I also remember very well that southern democrats differ from their northern counterparts in a key area that relates to this topic. I think there are enough sticky wickets to go around. I'm not taking sides, myself. I just hope that people can think with their heads, as well as their hearts.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend