Thread: It's Just Smart Politics, Ruth Sheehan Raleigh N&O

It's just smart politics

By RUTH SHEEHAN, Staff Writer

Fifty-five percent of the people washing dishes in Wake County are Hispanic. Latinos make up 67 percent of construction workers in Durham.

And -- wink, wink -- all of them are here legally, with every "i" dotted and every "t" crossed.

So are all the folks who slaughter the pigs, and cut the nearly-frozen chickens, and scrub the toilets at local hotels.

These are the people who labor in the most menial, low-paying jobs in this state -- often for years on end.

Some state lawmakers want to provide in-state tuition to the children of these people.

Nice idea. But if you think this is about soft-hearted liberals pulling out the state checkbook to save illegal immigrants' lives one by one, well, wink -- I mean, think -- again.

For one thing, we're talking about in-state tuition -- not a free ride, not even a leg up on admissions standards. Just the same rate as anybody else who lives in the state. In fact, while other students need only live here 12 months to establish residency, the children of illegals would have to attend high school here for all four years.

Realistically we're talking maybe several hundred students who might enroll per year.

I wouldn't exactly call that the milk of human kindness.

Instead, this is a measure ordered up by the party that rules both sides of the political aisle: the Business Party. Business leaders know that until the federal government resolves its border issues, or increases enforcement, or allows more immigrants in legally, illegal immigrants are a critical cog in the machinery of getting it done every day in North Carolina.

As they say on Jones Street, this ain't about the chirren, it's about bidness.

Still, as handily as business can manipulate the legislature, it can't control the citizens.

When word of the in-state tuition bill hit the news media, the tamale hit the fan.

Not since the "white hands" ad during the Senate race between Jesse Helms and Harvey Gantt have I seen such rhetoric about minorities taking what rightfully belongs to hard-working (read: white) Americans.

So ferocious was the reply that we saw a handful of Jell-O-jointed lawmakers who had co-sponsored the bill (for bidness) ask to have their names erased. The one bit of happy news here is that spineless lawmakers who equivocate always end up getting blasted from both sides.

The opponents are outraged that the children of legal residents will lose their spots to the children of illegals. Maybe that'll encourage their kids to work harder.

As for the emphasis on "illegal," the last I checked, we don't demand out-of-state tuition of North Carolina teenagers whose parents are convicted drug dealers, rapists or murderers.

I guess those guys aren't as bad as the parents who sneak into the country to work their butts off and build better lives for their kids. Or try to.

Unfortunately, opponents have their own little wink-wink in this, too: Cutting off the children of illegals helps keep another generation poor, and poorly paid.

And for some, I reckon, that works out just fine. After all, we need somebody to wash the dishes, hammer the nails and scrub the toilets.

Legally -- wink, wink -- of course.

Ruth Sheehan can be reached at 829-4828 or rsheehan@newsobserver.com

Talk about racist! I cannot believe that she has the audacity to submit this article in the newspaper. I can believe they printed it, however.

Throwing the racist card at 90% of the people in North Carolina who disagree with in-state tuition is ridiculous. Do people honestly believe that 90% of North Carolinians are white?

This is a slap in the face of every hard working LEGAL North Carolinian of any race. She would have you believe the only people doing the jobs she listed are "not white". Obviously she hasn't visited too many of the restaurants and other businesses in North Carolina where white, black, oriental and other races are LEGAL teenagers and adults working their butts off.

Her implication is obvious. She is trying to make the HB 1183 Bill about race. It is not now -- nor will it ever be a race issue.

The issue is LEGAL citizens working for wages to pay their bills, taxes and send their children to College. If they are former felons, in prison or having served "their time", they are working as LEGAL citizens at their places of employment and should not be deported to another country. That is not our law in America and until it is, it should not be open for discussion regarding in-state tuition for ILLEGALLY employed immigrants.

It appears to me she is assuming that the illegal immigrant is on the same level of drug smugglers, murderers and felons. If that is not a racist, what is?

I just emailed her with a question

Dear Ms. Sheehan,

In reference to your article, It's just smart politics By RUTH SHEEHAN, Staff Writer
you said the following:
Not since the "white hands" ad during the Senate race between Jesse Helms and Harvey Gantt have I seen such rhetoric about minorities taking what rightfully belongs to hard-working (read: white) Americans.

Are you insinutating that "black Americans" are NOT hard working Americans?

Thank You,

As a female who owned a construction company, I can promise you that even LEGAL white, black and other races work extremely hard "banging nails". It's hard work and illegal immigrants are not the only people doing it. I have carried shingles up a two story ladder on my shoulder. I have worked on top of a black roof when the heat index was over 110 degrees. Other hard working LEGAL Americans worked with me. I bet she has never strapped on a tool belt and set trusses in her entire life, much less "banged nails".

I think she should go visit some construction companies in other areas in NC where LEGAL citizens of every race are represented "banging nails" before she starts throwing stones.

I think she should visit some more restaurants and businesses in other areas of NC where LEGAL citizens of every race are washing dishes and doing hard work for LEGAL pay.

Bringing up how people speak, (eubonics as some would say) is also a very racist thing to do, in my opinion. Her comments regarding how (apparently black) people say

"bidness"

is a slap in the face of every African American in America.

She should be sent home without pay for awhile to think about what she said or will say in the future -- right after she apologizes to the many LEGAL citizens and businesses in North Carolina she so openly makes fun of. Her actions are dispicable!!! Her intent deplorable!!!

She should be ashamed. So should the newspaper who printed it.

Bringing up how people speak, (eubonics as some would say) is also a very racist thing to do, in my opinion. Her comments regarding how (apparently black) people say Quote:
"bidness"
is a slap in the face of every African American in America.

The prejudice in our country against Blacks is so deep seated we tend to forget that it was their hard work that built this country more than anyone else.To these people that are this set in their predjudice ANYONE that isn't Black,even illegals,are a better choice than Black people.Our society puts racists on grand pedestals because of sanitized historical versions of these people that some have endured themselves to.Both Roosevelts,McKinley,Truman-were all sick racists,but America has endured themselves to them.Clinton appointed many women and people of color yet many had baggage they carried that ruined them.This was no accident-it was deliberate-kinda like saying "that's why we don't let these people get THESE kinda jobs".Meantime many perhaps better qualified people of color were passed over.Even "honest" Abe Lincoln had an agenda.Yes he "freed" the slaves but he didn't intend on them staying;he was part of a 'back to Africa' movement.So c'mon and be real and give up that politically correct BS;African American still means one thing to too many Americans,and until we call people that are born and raise here no matter what ethnicity Americans instead of adding PC (actually incorrect) we will continue to lose the war in staving off the real threat:illegal/undocumented/migrant/invader/raider/wb/whatever you want to call them,non Americans.

I know I wrote this somewhere else but

We must turn this "RACIST-HATE" label back on them. This montra is getting olddddddddddddddddddd and I for one see only one way to counteract the BS.

I'm SICK OF IT..........wasn't a "racist" until very recently cause I'm fed up with pigs screwing up our communities, pissing in the hallways {not my home, I'm rural} throwing crap & needles in the parks, trashing our properties and overrunning the beautiful lake areas. I'm FED UP with worrying about my husband while he's in & out of the city areas, blood pressure rising at every traffic light and keeping one hand in his jacket pocket.

I'm FURIOUS that our trucks get vandalized while trying to do an honest days work. FURIOUS that every building {we do work in} is ripped apart by the next day and to add to that...having to duck in the courtyards so that the diaper misses your head.

No, no they're not ALL illegal. However, the attitude permeates everywhere and we also have enough of a problem taking care of AMERICANS THAT ARE IDIOTS with no extra time or money to create yet another slave class.

WELL, they figured if Honest Abe was going to hit em below the belt they'd just go about it a different way...........keep them uneducated, dependent for generations, throw in a few drugs to fry what brain cells that are left and THERE YA GO............SLAVES without CHAINS.

I personally don't give a flying fig what color you are or your nationality. If you're LEGAL and RESPECT MY RIGHT TO LIVE PEACEFULLY then we're good to go.

thank you

PS:
am I allowed to say "piss?"
That word never comes out of my mouth...oh my, what a day.

You're supposed to be pissed.We all are.We all go through this and it needs to stop.

The worst part of the illegal immigration wave is that they've managed to make us uncomfortable in our own home.

RUTH SHEEHAN:

Ruth,
You really need to -- wink, wink -- see someone about that -- wink, wink -- twitch.

Your article reminds me of something we did as kids, throw a handful of different food stuff at the wall and see what sticks. For the record, at 13 I learned that the Dill Pickle slices from White Castle stick the best. Fortunately, I grew out of that phase a long time ago.

You say early on in your article that construction jobs are jobs that Americans do not want. Wrong. Construction jobs fall in the category of “Skilled Trades�. Working in Skilled Trades is an honored profession for hundreds of years in the United States. Skilled Tradesmen are Union workers that earn enough to support their family in a middle class environment. They earn enough that the wife of a Skilled Tradesman does not have to work outside the home, it is an option of her choice. Skilled Tradesmen take pride in doing high quality work building structures that will last.

Illegal workers are not skilled tradesmen. They perform shoddy work, can't communicate in English so they don't learn what is expected from them on the job. They are not dependable. From day to day you don't know if they will even show up or if they were arrested.

But, skilled tradesmen are not the issue facing the good citizens of North Carolina. Immigration is not the issue. I know this is hard for you to accept, but racism is not even the issue. By US Census definition, Latino/Hispanic/Chicano (or whatever the term is now days) are Caucasian, the same race I am. It is real hard to be racist against the same race you are. Gender is not the issue. Believe it or not, Nationality is not the issue either. There is no difference between an immigrant from Mexico, Cuba, China, Ivory Coast, or whatever Country they are from.

The issue is simply Legal vs. Illegal status. More to the point being debated, the issue is rewarding illegal behavior.

I wonder if you would be so kind as to answer a few questions I have for you:

1- As a Native born citizen, what laws are ok for me to break with impunity? Identity theft? Breaking & Entering? Driving without a License or Insurance? Welfare fraud? Tax Evasion? Voter Fraud? These are all crimes illegal immigrants do every day. Once you start down that slippery slope, where does it end?

2- You said “As for the emphasis on "illegal," the last I checked, we don't demand out-of-state tuition of North Carolina teenagers whose parents are convicted drug dealers, rapists or murderers.� First off, children of illegal immigrants are also illegal, children of other criminals are not necessarily also guilty of that crime, so it is a moot point. More to the point, are you suggesting we should also reward murderers and rapists? What reward should drug dealers get? A pay raise? How about trading stamps for murderers? We can even include the “icky� factor, the more gruesome a murder the more stamps you get. Collect 500 stamps and exchange them for a toaster. Or how about a free Beer and a slap on the back for a rapist? Yes, that was sick for me to say. It is also sick to suggest we reward any type of illegal behavior.

3- What are you going to say to the Millions of Immigrants that played by the rules. Spent 3 or 4 years, medical exams, background checks, all the things required under USC 8 Chapter 12. What do you tell them? That they were dumb to play by the rules?

4- What do you tell the children of legal North Carolina citizens when they can't go to College because there is no room for them in the classrooms? How do you explain to them that they must go out of State, away from family and friends, and pay out of State rates because someone illegally here took their place in the local University?

The Laws spelled out in USC 8 Chapter 12 have worked for well over 100 years. Yes, they did place limits on immigration. Limits based on how many could be assimilated into Society. A potential immigrant needed a sponsor who would guarantee that they were not going to be a burden on Society. They needed a clean bill of health. They needed to learn our language, our way of life, our unique system of Government. They needed to show a willingness to become an integral part of the Great American Experiment.

I feel the time has come to return to the Rule of Law. Your Rule of Gimmie has failed all of us.

Respectfully,

Mr_Magoo

(William, feel free to use this as you wish.)
( Reposting on other forums is authorized as long as full attribution to ALIPAC is included)
(Edit: This was e-mailed to Ruth)