I'm one of the lucky ones. I was born here -in the United States of America. I cannot imagine what it must be like to live in a country where my very life is at risk because I am female, or because I was born with a disability, or because I don't subscribe to a religion. I cannot imagine what it's like to look at my child, and mourn her future because she happened to be born in a poverty stricken country.
So on to the whole Arizona immigration issue.
NPR did a small story about illegal immigrants escaping Arizona. Yes, escaping. To Colorado, of all places. This one woman, a single mother of three, was fired from her restaurant job of six years due to her immigrations status. She heard "on TV" that [the authorities] could stop her, or take her off the bus, solely based on her skin color. After hearing this, she sold most of their belongings "because a lot of furniture strapped to the car would give us away," and headed north to the Rockies.
She was so frightened of getting pulled over by the police that she refused to stop during the trip, forcing her youngest child -a six year old boy- to wear disposable diapers in which he had to urinate.
WTF??? ...and she relayed this bit of information in such a "poor me" tone that I wanted to slap her. The layers of ignorance and stupidity both shock and repel me.
Now, why Colorado? You may be interested to learn that there is a Quaker-based organization that assists illegal aliens in obtaining housing. In this mother's case, they found her and her family a one bedroom apartment.
While at a local laundromat, she ran into another family who had also "escaped Arizona." They headed to Colorado, six month old in tow, without anywhere to land. So now there are ten people living in the Quaker organization-supplied one bedroom apartment.
This is how it inevitably ends up. It was the answer to my mother's question of "How do people manage to afford to live in this area? Especially those of whom I know are working minimum wage jobs?" And there are negative side effects to this. First, these apartments and townhomes aren't built to support so many people. Plumbing problems, for one, arise frequently, and often damage the adjacent properties. Another issue is parking. It sounds petty, but one expects to be able to park relatively close to their homes, or to at least have an open guest spot or two for the occasional visitor(s). It may be a "minor inconvenience," but take it from me, it's one that breeds resentment. And the list of these "minor inconveniences" goes on, stacking up upon each other, creating more and more resentment and anger.
I know I'm lucky to have been born in America. I understand why people risk life and limb to live here. But, why aren't they fighting to make their countries-of-origin more livable? Why do they come here, illegally, and bitch and moan about "inequality," "racism," and "human rights?" Again, WTF???
So on to the whole Arizona immigration issue.
NPR did a small story about illegal immigrants escaping Arizona. Yes, escaping. To Colorado, of all places. This one woman, a single mother of three, was fired from her restaurant job of six years due to her immigrations status. She heard "on TV" that [the authorities] could stop her, or take her off the bus, solely based on her skin color. After hearing this, she sold most of their belongings "because a lot of furniture strapped to the car would give us away," and headed north to the Rockies.
She was so frightened of getting pulled over by the police that she refused to stop during the trip, forcing her youngest child -a six year old boy- to wear disposable diapers in which he had to urinate.
WTF??? ...and she relayed this bit of information in such a "poor me" tone that I wanted to slap her. The layers of ignorance and stupidity both shock and repel me.
Now, why Colorado? You may be interested to learn that there is a Quaker-based organization that assists illegal aliens in obtaining housing. In this mother's case, they found her and her family a one bedroom apartment.
While at a local laundromat, she ran into another family who had also "escaped Arizona." They headed to Colorado, six month old in tow, without anywhere to land. So now there are ten people living in the Quaker organization-supplied one bedroom apartment.
This is how it inevitably ends up. It was the answer to my mother's question of "How do people manage to afford to live in this area? Especially those of whom I know are working minimum wage jobs?" And there are negative side effects to this. First, these apartments and townhomes aren't built to support so many people. Plumbing problems, for one, arise frequently, and often damage the adjacent properties. Another issue is parking. It sounds petty, but one expects to be able to park relatively close to their homes, or to at least have an open guest spot or two for the occasional visitor(s). It may be a "minor inconvenience," but take it from me, it's one that breeds resentment. And the list of these "minor inconveniences" goes on, stacking up upon each other, creating more and more resentment and anger.
I know I'm lucky to have been born in America. I understand why people risk life and limb to live here. But, why aren't they fighting to make their countries-of-origin more livable? Why do they come here, illegally, and bitch and moan about "inequality," "racism," and "human rights?" Again, WTF???
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Whether differing or sympathetic, I look forward to your comments on any issues I may post (or an introduced topic), but I really don't want to have to babysit this board. I would appreciate simple courtesy. Thank you!