May Day

My maternal grandfather was an illegal immigrant. He came to The United States with his parents in 1912. Throughout his life he was intimidated by the idea that he could be 'found out'. Even after he married the red-haired, blue-eyed, Daughter Of The Revolution, he still kept a low profile. Not that anyone could have guessed his origin. He spoke impeccable English and had white skin but still he feared the government would send him back to England if he was found out.

My paternal grandfather came to El Paso, Texas via Mexico, legally. He came with his wife and a baby girl in 1918. He came with enough money to buy a dairy farm and prosper in a community that spoke more Spanish than English. For twelve years their family happily grew but The Great Depression took away all of what they had except each other. I think the loss of his dairy farm broke his heart. He moved his family to Los Angeles to work in the factories but shortly after that he died from a heart attack. My grandmother's well manicured hands became bloody and sore for the long hours she spent sewing garments in downtown LA. She never remarried because she was busy raising her six children, four boys and two girls, to be good citizens. Her sons served in WWII and in Korea. Her youngest was a fireman for 25 years.

Illegal immigration is an issue that doesn't have a simple answer. We will never have a secure border. We can't build a fence tall enough or long enough to keep people away. People from England, Australia, Greece, India, Mexico, Brazil and everywhere else are staying here illegally. I don't know what the answer is but I do know we can't continue to support the system as it is today.

I received two emails forwarded around the net claiming that illegal immigrants are responsible for lowering property values, crime rates, gangs, illiteracy and high healthcare costs. Personnally, I believe the problems we see with drugs, violent crime, gangs, illiteracy, and healthcare costs have more to do with the disease of addiction than with the issue of illegal immigration. The disease of addiction to money, power, food, drugs, television, cigarettes, spending, alcohol, sex, even the addictive-compulsive, obsessive meshing to religious doctrine, (any of them.) These are the diseases that keep us sick. These diseases manifest into heart disease, diabetes, strokes, and domestic violence. Mental illness from alcohol and drugs taxes our system to the point of choking it. How many car accidents are caused by someone under the influence of a drug or alcohol? Have you ever seen the show "Cops"? Drugs and alcohol are involved in the majority I've seen. The rest are men looking for prostitutes.

The white collar crimes are all about greed and power. The sins of our government and corporate leaders seem to be about that addiction. Have you seen the numbers? The wealth, in billions, the oil companies are reporting from last year alone? The ten thousand dollar shower curtains and the one hundred-thousand dollar vacations? It's all about addictions as far as I can tell.

Some of the extreme religious nuts (addicts) are doing things that boggle ones mind, including brutal torture and allowing their sick children to die because Jesus will save them. Hello? Or how about the religious fanatics who claim 9/11 was judgement and punishment from God for our sins. No, not the crazy Muslim fanatics (addicts)....the crazy Christian fanatics (addicts) in America. Pat Robertson said Katrina was God's rath for the sins of New Orleans. He's not the lone minister of hate either. I read an article recently about a church in the midwest whose minister teaches his congregation not to pray for our American soldiers because America needs to be punished for allowing fags to live here. I swear. Give me a hard working, family- loving immigrant, legal or not, over that kind of craziness.

How many illiterate Americans are there? I'm going to go look that up right now....I'll be back later.

Later...........


The Typical Adult Non-Reader
According to the National Education Association, the breakdown for the total population of adults non-literate in English is as follows:
41% are English speaking whites
22% are English speaking African Americans
22% are Spanish speaking
15% are non-English speaking people
In terms of age the NEA reports that:
40% of these adults are 29-39
28% are 40-59
32% are 60 or older
In terms of geographic distribution the NEA reports that:
51% live in small towns and suburbs
41% live in urban areas
8% live in rural areas

Interesting. I wonder if the person who wrote the email blaming illegal immigrants for illiteracy ever volunteered to teach someone to read.