A Nation of Contradictions

Ok so i guess i need some help understanding what's going on. On this auspicious eve of bush's presidential address on immigration policy i'm trying to understand how language can hide so much violence, hatred and inhumanity. i'm trying to understand how sentences do not grammatically falter from the weight of so much hypocrisy. And i'm trying to understand what mechanisms have so flawlessly facilitated a logic that allows us to forget legacies of genocide, slavery and oppression in exchange for values of democracy, liberty and justice.

What the fuck am i missing here?

Perhaps extracting some quotes from tonight's speech will help to explain my confusion:

"We must begin by recognizing the problems with our immigration system. For decades, the United States has not been in complete control of its borders. As a result, many who want to work in our economy have been able to sneak across our border and millions have stayed."

Did he just say "sneak??" See 'cause when i think of the word "sneak" i tend to associate it with the more light-hearted of activities. Such as sneaking into a second movie matinee without buying a ticket or perhaps a kid sneaking in a donut before dinner...shit like that. Working for years to finance an incredibly physically and emotionally draining journey across latin american borders where in which you are more than likely to fall victim to robbery, as well as physical and sexual assault at the hands of gangs who roam the streets looking for migrants, if not at the hands of police authorities themselves, seems deserving of another descriptor. Furthermore, to say that they just "snuck" across the border denies them the dignity of acknowledgement of the circumstances from which they are fleeing. It infantilizes people, reducing their struggles to a childish game of hide-and-go-to-america. It refuses to recognize the tremendous amounts of hope and investment, fear and terror, as well as danger and risk by which such a journey is characterized.. ok lets move on the next quote:

"Once here, illegal immigrants live in the shadows of our society. Many use forged documents to get jobs, and that makes it difficult for employers to verify that the workers they hire are legal. Illegal immigration puts pressure on public schools and hospitals, strains state and local budgets, and brings crime to our communities. These are real problems, yet we must remember that the vast majority of illegal immigrants are decent people who work hard, support their families, practice their faith, and lead responsible lives. They are a part of American life but they are beyond the reach and protection of American law."

Alright so first we are told that these people are criminals that leech off the services and institutions financed by honest hard-working tax-paying citizens, but then we're told that most don’t fit into this category....anyone else a lil confused? It contains elements of the die-hard right wing camp to which bush subscribes in its simplistic understanding of illegal immigrants as responsible for inordinate (and thus noteworthy) amounts of crime, as well as "straining" the economy. But wait! Then there’s a liberal sounding sequel that absolves the majority of immigrants from such social disgrace and reconstitutes them as honest, hard-working and god-fearing.

But alas, just when you think the president might be aware of some sort of shared humanity outside his white supremacist, heteronormative, imperialist world, further investigation renders this possibility moot.

What bush is actually saying is that america welcomes immigrants as long as they are humble, downtrodden, obedient, docile, hardworking and INVITED. The same way bush's ancestors were INVITED by the native people of America to inflict genocide, territorial invasion and centuries of subsequent occupation. So in other words, they (we) are welcome as long as we KNOW OUR PLACE. Just like how black people have always been welcome in the states as long as they knew their place (ie under the whip of a taxpaying white citizen). It’s only when us pesky coloured folks start applying the standards of white humanity to our own bodies that things get ugly.

ok moving on:

"We are a nation of laws, and we must enforce our laws. We are also a nation of immigrants, and we must uphold that tradition, which has strengthened our country in so many ways. These are not contradictory goals. America can be a lawful society and a welcoming society at the same time. We will fix the problems created by illegal immigration, and we will deliver a system that is secure, orderly and fair. So I support comprehensive immigration reform that will accomplish five clear objectives."

oh gawd, now i'm lost again. WE are a nation of immigrants??? Is he actually admitting that his existence in america is not divinely ordained but in fact the result of a very real migration path that led him there? Could it be possible that empire is acknowledging its roots?

OR is this just an elusive statement that could also be understood as NOT including bush (and by extension europeans) as part of the immigration stock boiling in america's big melting pot, but instead be read as referring to the large population of "foreigners" that have come to america in recent years or perhaps have lived there for generations but carry the stain of colour on their skin that denies them naturalized nationality?

The rest of the speech dileneates his five magic objectives that will solve the big bad "immigrant problem." The first describes extensive measures that will be executed in order to strengthen border patrol, including a significant deployment of armed soldiers, military equipment, technology and resources to 'trouble' areas where the "sneaking" takes place. While describing these plans bush assures us that "the United States is not going to militarize the southern border"....I guess he felt like injecting a little comedy into the speech.

The second and third objectives describe his ingenious "temporary worker program" solution that subjects workers from the south to numerous humiliating checks and interrogations before they are deemed fit to enter america for a predetermined period of exploitation.

His fourth objective benevolently spares the many undocumented immigrants already residing in the US from the indignity of deportation and instead graciously allows them to simply pay "a meaningful penalty." Which, if monetary, should be easy considering all the big bucks undocumented immigrants must be making once they minus the remittance (the $$$ they send back to their home countries) from their lucrative taxi driving and housecleaning paycheques. I guess bush does have a heart after all.



His final and most touching declaration was a warning to all them foreigners to remember that once you're let into america, u need to talk, eat, worship, dress, walk and fuck american. Oh! As well as KILL for america, which he relays through a little anecdote of Guadalupe Denogean, a man from mexico who was severely wounded in Iraq. In exchange for his bravery and courage, he was awarded citizenship with bush attending his oath-taking ceremony. Does this mean undocumented immigrants can fight in american wars while they are turned away from the country itself??? Is it apparently legal to die for america when its illegal to enter it???



This is eerily reminiscent of the black americans who fought in vietnam for america when americans at home were forcing them to drink out of separate water fountains. As well as the Native Canadian soldiers who fought in the second world war only to come home to residential schools and the continued appropriation of their culture and heritage. But that was all in the past right? Heaven forbid that we try to contextualize and understand the realities of today by looking to history...or try to understand WHY people are risking their lives and separating from their love ones and homelands to come to the west. Could it have something to do with the stifling economic policies of the present, coupled with the debilitating marks of a colonial past?

I think that it is only through understanding these new immigration laws as rooted in histories of utter inhumanity that we are able to begin to resolve the contradictions inherent in the language of this new world empire. Perhaps this will hopefully help us discover ways in which we can work in solidarity with our suffering sisters and brothers across all borders, no matter how guarded.

The full text of the speech can be found here: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=50223

Dick and His Tricks: Mass Ignorance Manufactured for the US to Create Fear and Encourage Hate

Who is Dick Lamm? He’s the former Governor of Colorado, who currently holds a position at University of Denver’s Institute for Public Policy - he’s the head of that department. He recently spoke out at a conference called “Defend Colorado Now”, which served to spread the word about “defending America” from this current onslaught of illegal immigrants. Lamm and his supporters seek to bar “illegal immigrants” from using services funded by the American taxpayer.

For his full speech, see this blog entry: http://www.thecitizen.com/node/5785

Apparently, Dick Lamm thinks that words like “racism” and “xenophobe” halt all important discussions and debate regarding immigration policy. That is, I suppose if you’d like to discuss and promote racist policies or a hatred of foreigners. He believes that a stress on diversity is obviously a road to national demise. He believes in a “culture of victimology” among minorities, a “culture” that’s unwarranted and false, that is supported by the funding of “large foundations”. Dick wants us to understand that we Americans are adversely affected by “the cumulative impact of millions of [immigrants]”.

Who is Dick Lamm? Dick is one of the many voice boxes of the ruling class - the political and economic elite. In order to undermine the solidarity of the working people, those in power seek to create superficial divisions among the working class - it’s best to have them fight amongst themselves over these “social problems”, rather than identifying the real cause of their strife, which would be the methods and desires of the ruling class.

Dick Lamm is an example of elite propaganda proliferation, and the blogger who wrote this article is an example of how beautifully this system of internal mind control works. Completely suceptible to the assertions made by Mr. Lamm, “eodnnaenaj1” has explicitly demonstrated how ignorant some Americans can be. No one can blame the blogger for his or her erroneous views, we can only blame a system which works to proliferate ignorance and derisive views. This unfortunate blogger might be the poster child for American ignorance - proof positive of the American proaganda system at work.

“eodnnaenaj1”, after reflected upon the speech made by the former governor, demonstrates his or her ethnocentricity and lack of complete knowledge by referring to external ways of life and cultures as “barbaric”. The blogger asserts that “over 100 languages are ripping at the foundation of our educational system and national cohesiveness”. Last time I checked, the American educational system wasn’t anything to be desired. Furthermore, the presence of multiple languages among people of a given geographical area can only make communication, learning, and understanding more pervasive and widespread. The most amusing part of “eodnnaenaj1”’s response to the unfounded fear that Dick Lamm instilled in his listeners is his or her allusion to George Orwell’s book, “1984”. I think you need to read that book again “eodnnaenaj1”, to truly understand the concepts.

The blogger sees the condition of the “true American” people being adversely affected by the scourge of immigrants that come flooding into the nation in droves. He or she sees them as a threat to “the American Dream”.


The Untold Truth:

What American dream?? Dreams are illusions, and so is this picture of “national security” that the elite have been so busy constructing. In order to assist this blogger, and others like him or her who remain deluded in the shadow of sharp talkers like Lamm,
we here propose a short series of truths:

1) North America needs minorities, particularly minorities who are uneducated and linguistically isolated, in order to keep the economy running. If it weren’t for the immigrants and ignorant minorities, who would clean the toilets? Serve the burgers? Drive the taxis? Run the convenience stores? Who would take care of the children for less than minimum wage? Who would clean the suburban houses? Who would change your car tires? If these people were a little more educated, and a little less isolated, this sort of “slavery” would be impossible. They might want good jobs and pursue higher education, and we can’t have that, can we? There can only be so many doctors, lawyers, and other high income earners in this country. Not everyone can have it all.

“True” Americans don’t have enough babies to keep up with the demands of the economy in North America. There aren’t enough pink little babies born in the nation each year to have “true” American toilet scrubbers and “true” American poverty. We as a nation need to outsource the lowest economic bracket of the population, because none of us here want to fill that void. Any capitalist will tell you that an oppressed, ignorant, powerless, and often indebted underclass is precisely what’s needed to keep this system chugging along. The “American dream” relies upon the subordination of lower classes. (Read some Noam Chomsky, some David Hume, maybe even some Walter Lippman, so you can understand why America allows and does not discourage immigrants from coming into the country).

2) Economic growth cannot be sustained without population growth. If Americans want a growing economy, that population has to come from somewhere. If Americans want population growth to cease, they are also asking for economic growth to cease. Based on America’s gross overconsumption habits, coupled with the massive debt and perpetual war, unless all Americans all want to starve to death, they had better keep that population growth chugging along.

3) In a nation that encourages conformity, assimiliation, and focuses on similarities, not differences, the individual is lost - America was founded on the rights of the individual. In a country that perpetuates negative stereotypes about visible minorities, in a country that keeps visible minorities under glass ceilings, in a country that uses brute force to inflict it’s will and ideologies on helpless independent nations, the only logical response would be to assert one’s independence and difference from that sort of status quo.



4) There is no left or right, no democrats or republicans. There is no black or white. There is no Hispanic or Caucasian. There are only two things that exist here in North America - people and profits. Conflict is designed by the ruling class in order to keep that distinction obscure. If the elites can keep the people fighting amongst themselves, the people are completely ignorant to the fact that elite profit is their only true enemy. Corporate greed and corporate profits are the threat to national security, the threat to “the American Dream” and essentially the one major threat to human existence. It’s corporate greed that’s responsible for American job loss, it’s corporate greed that creates a need for an exploitable labour force, it’s corporate greed that creates disparity and class struggles.

So keep listening to Dick, and fight right alongside with him, if your goal is to destroy your world as you know it. If your goal is to propagate hate, misinformation, and destruction, keep on writing “eodnnaenaj1”. There are plenty of us impoverished, working-class world citizens that are holding our breath, waiting for America’s illusion to finally burst.