Please refrain from writing about anything that you “DON’T KNOW JACK” about either. Some of us have studied sociology and understand the cultures of others, and understand the social-economic situations in other countries.

I would also like to add that tearing your arguments apart sentence by sentence and using logic applied through rhetoric would be quite easy for anyone to do, due to your lack of logos. (LOGOS: [Greek for 'word'] refers to the internal consistency of the message–the clarity of the claim, the logic of its reasons, and the effectiveness of its supporting evidence. The impact of logos on an audience is sometimes called the argument’s logical appeal.) *

*Thank you to http://courses.durhamtech.edu/perkins/aris.html for this near flawless definition.

Your ancestors and my ancestors KILLED PEOPLE when they immigrated illegally. KILLED. Got it? If you’re a Christian, you know that KILLING is against “God’s” original ten prohibited acts a.k.a. the Ten Commandments. And isn’t being kind to everyone another thing you hypocritical pseudo-Christians preach but don’t practice? I believe so.

1) The immigration process is difficult and costly, thus making illegal immigration a logical choice. You’ve never had to emigrate from the United States to another country, but if you did you would realize that it is a difficult and expensive process that takes up years of your life. At that point, you would probably want to simply walk across the border and settle in as well. Keep in mind the fact that almost all of the immigrants that settled this country were illegal immigrants. Not only that, but they quite literally killed the majority of the former population, and then kept the remaining population of Native Americans (call them Indians if you want to talk about Asia) impoverished. Now tell me which immigrants are worse. Is it the “illegals” that only take our money and jobs, or the European immigrants that we descended from that actually raped, murdered, and effectively eradicated the Native American population?

Oh, and Liz, honey… you write as if you know everyone who wants to come here personally. You speak of cultures and what these people value… YOU DON’T KNOW JACK. Many of these people do NOT love our country. They are here for what they can GET from the United States. Many of them long to go home but stay because they are able to support their families back home from what they make here. There is so much that it is apparent you do not understand from your post. If we did not have illegals working to pick our vegetables, guess what would happen? THE MARKET WOULD ADJUST! People who are paying these people peanuts would be forced to do the RIGHT thing. What do you think would happen in this country if we did NOT allow people who came here illegally to stay? If they were immediately (and I do mean IMMEDIATELY) deported, the borders were closed, and we began to take people who are on welfare (you know, those who can’t ‘find’ work but they have cell phones, drive nicer cars than I do and live off my tax dollars?) and GIVE THEM WORK? And for those jobs that they can’t find anyone to fill them? We have jails full of able bodies who have never done a thing in their lives except leach from society in one way or another – make them earn their keep and give back to society… free. Take these little momma’s boys who wear their pants around their knees with their underwear hanging out who are standing around on street corners that people claim they have nothing better to do with their lives and teach them how to earn a living with their hands instead of selling drugs and being involved with gangs? There are so many options. We are just so accustomed to going along with the herd. Stop mooing, grow a brain and THINK. It’s this little thing called accountability that we, as a society, seem to be having such a hard time coming to grips with.

I can just see the hate posts… but that’s okay. I am of Latino heritage, so I know what I’m talking about. I KNOW the culture and so many coming to this country illegally are WELL SCHOOLED before they ever get here. They can’t speak a lick of English, but they can tell you about ‘their rights’. Ever thought about that? They already know the ropes prior to getting here… ever wonder how? It is a racket and believe me, it is a well oiled machine. If the citizens of this country would pull their heads out long enough to take a deep breath of fresh air, and listen to those in the Latino community who aren’t afraid to tell you what in the heck is REALLY going on, how people who are coming here are milking the system, you would be horrified. And these people whom you’ve developed such an affinity for? They DESPISE you. They laugh behind your back and say the word, “Americano” with a sneer on their faces and a curse on their tongue. Not everyone coming here does that, but many do. You cannot take one or two illegal immigrants and showcase them — normally, those are the ones that the news outlets choose, and portray the hard working, soft spoken and respectful individual and believe that everyone is like that. MANY are… but MANY AREN’T. The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter how respectful or likeable you are… if you break the laws of this country, you are a lawbreaker. If we make exceptions just because you are a ‘nice’ lawbreaker, or a likeable lawbreaker or a lawbreaker that we can somehow identify with because you have a family and children, then we become a nation run on whims… a people who only holds accountable those we don’t like or cannot identify with — or those who don’t have a compelling enough story.

It is ignorant to try to silence those who are speaking of what is going on by asking us if we will buy another SUV or another big screen with the money we save. No… I work my butt off every day so I can pay my bills and feed my family. I don’t live a lavish lifestyle. I find myself irritated that someone coming to this country illegally gets things for free that I do not. I am irritated that stupid, ignorant people would rather rally around someone who has broken the law than rally around their own neighbors who need help. Talk about hypocrites! Who have YOU helped lately?

Lastly, I’m not speaking from a place where I don’t have experience. My spouse is from Cuba and they got here the right way, learned English, worked their way through college and no one ever gave them ANYTHING… a fact of which they are very proud. You would never know if you spoke with them that they lived in Cuba for 20 years and English is their second language — because English has now become their first language. They love THIS country and have assimilated to this culture. They have not lost their own culture or identity, but like many who have come to this country in years past, they are THANKFUL to be here, GRATEFUL for the opportunity that has been given, and they support THIS country 100%. Words like honor, honesty and integrity mean something.

One thing I would like to see is less talk about what is going on and more action. Our lawmakers are very much aware of what is going on — it is up to voters to enforce that action be taken. I don’t particularly care for e-mails circulating that are constantly talking about illegals because most people aren’t very educated about what is going on and all it really does is just foster the ignorance — and sad to say, racism. However, on the flip side, all the “I wanna hug an illegal immigrant” folk come out of the woodwork, who are just as uneducated. They watch one segment on 60 minutes or PBS and suddenly they have the tiger by the tail and no one may talk about illegals… we must all welcome them with open arms and give them everything we wish we had but don’t… like free healthcare. :::sigh:::

–End of Rant–