Thread: Nothing new under the sun

Nothing new under the sun


Posted: Friday, July 11, 2014 8:02 pm
by Ben Schwartz C-H Editor | 0 comments


Working in news, particularly in newspapers, you have to deal with a wide variety of people. That’s a pretty inane way to start this column, which I worry is probably going to put some people off but I’ve got something to say so I will say it.


I wouldn’t do this job if I didn’t enjoy interacting with folks but I tell you the one group I cannot stand are the willfully ignorant, and chief among them are the racists.

We all know the score here in Lexington, yes? It’s a small town in the middle of Nebraska that has a large number of people who were born outside the United States living in it.


It’s not a surprise that some people in the community resent the hell out of changes that began to occur about 20 years ago, once the meat packing plant came to town. I’ve been in town for just under two years and it is plainly evident how close to the surface that all still is.


It comes across my desk now and again in the form of anonymous letters to the editor (quick editor’s note: We will never, ever publish a letter without a name attached. Ever. You want something to run? Have the dignity to put your name on it) or angry phone calls from people who feel like the white race and American culture are under threat.


The good news is this kind of stuff pops up only occasionally. I know in my heart that is because the overwhelming majority of people are good and decent, and even if they harbor some of these feelings they keep it to themselves. Live and let live. Please bear that sentiment in mind as you continue to read.


When it does come up, however, it always reminds me that there is nothing new under the sun. The concerns people have about these immigrants are no different than the concerns that were had about every single group of immigrants in American history. Every single one. “They’ll never assimilate. They don’t speak the language. They are stealing our jobs. Blahblahblahblah.” Folks! Did ya sleep through American History class? You may as well be talking about the Germans. Or the Irish. Or the Polish. Or the Italians.


That first generation of immigrants usually does struggle to assimilate. Obviously. They’ve been in another culture their entire lives. They come here to make a better life for themselves and their children.


And oh, let’s talk about those children. They’ll grow up in American culture with the same aspirations that all children do. They want to be educated. They want to work. They want to live in peace and prosperity in this country because this country is a great place to live.


That’s how it works. That’s how it has always worked from the very beginning, and that is how it will continue to work as long as this nation remains a great place to live.


The fact that millions of people came here in violation of the law makes them a most convenient boogieman for all the nation’s ills. They are depicted as wicked interlopers who came here with their hands out to suck up all the jobs and government benefits.


People, it is silly for the people who have all the power to blame the people who came here with nothing and work whatever jobs they can, and accept what assistance is available. That is nonsense.


So the next time you get the feeling that the black and brown faces you see around town are here to destroy this country, try to realize that most of them want the same things you do.


And remember as well that we need them. We need them working their butts off and getting taxed just like the rest of us, because I’ll tell you: we’ve got some big bills to pay in the not-so-distant future, and I just can’t see how we are going to pay them.


It will take all of us.


http://lexch.com/news/columns/nothin...a4bcf887a.html

Ben, if I lived in Lexington, Nebraska I would enter into editorial debate with you, and be proud enough of what I had to say to sign my letter. I suspect that you are not aware of Nebraska's history, maybe you need some education.

Packing house jobs in NE were paying about $9.00 an hour in 1980's. That was the unionized packing com.s. One was bringing into, thru Mexico, trainloads of Thai's to work in their packing house. Reagan used unfair tactics to break the air controllers union. Packing Co.'s picked up on that. One by one the unionized shops began getting closed, two years later it was sold, illegal immigrant labor was available, and laid off workers were notifies that their old job was available, not for 9.00 an hour, but for 6.50 an hour. Those companies just kept trading packing houses until they had rid themselves of nasty unions. Yes! It was evident that Reagan with union busting and amnesty was reducing the living scale of Nebraskans! That may be a reason some of Lexington's citizens harbor resentment, I think rightfully so!

Americans overall are just now waking up to what has been done. I will not bore my readers with more. However if any do know you, I hope that they will upgrade your history education!

And remember as well that we need them. We need them working their butts off and getting taxed just like the rest of us, because I’ll tell you: we’ve got some big bills to pay in the not-so-distant future, and I just can’t see how we are going to pay them.

Total ignorance, most who come will never make enough to pay taxes in fact they will receive more benefits then they pay in during there life time. What the writer sees as racist I see as a country trying to protect itself from invasion regardless of color or where they come from.

I would suggest to Mr. Schwartz hang a sign on your home stating we have an open door policy please come in eat, sleep take what you need because I trust you and need you, see how long you last sir, it's liberals such as yourself that will destroy America.

They know full well what they are doing, They are trying to protect their party that will probably collapse under this invasion. If they loose the senate unless they can figure out how to get all of the invaders registered before November. The black community is finally waking up to this fact and will turn on them come election time. However it has taken both parties to get this far. The democrats did not do this all by themselves. Do not TRUST Rick Perry and I repeat this, Do not Trust RICK PERRY. None of this world turmoil happened by accident. It has taken years to put all this turmoil into action.

He also hasn't felt the racism to the legal citizen residents by the newcomers like I have. I've been called very bad names in spanish and laughed at by men who think I don't understand. I had a friend who was was made fun of and laughed at for a medical condition she couldn't help by women who thought we didn't understand what they were saying. I've seen the corrupt nature and worked with the papers of the illegals who take, take, take and never give back. I've seen the hispanic only businesses and groups that are for spanish speakers only. In my town we have businesses called The latino Shop(car repair) and The latino Tax Service. There is a double standard here.

The long time residents can remember a town with no graffiti, no gangs, no knife murders, no illegal horse races in the country, no loud bass filled mariachi music playing at all times of the day and a time when we didn't have to lock our doors or worry about our kids playing outside without a parent nearby. Long time residents can remember when we had a dog catcher and it was safe to walk the streets and the common dog breeds weren't pit bulls and chihuahuas. We can remember when people didn't park on the front lawn unless they were moving something big or washing their cars. Does anyone really have to wonder why we long for the good old days?

Hey Ben-do a story on the horse races that take place almost every weekend located southeast of town. Do they really illegally gamble, fight and drink at the undocumented races? You like sensationalist headlines and you can make up a fantastic one for the front page of the paper with this story line I am handing to you!

I am sick of the constant attempts to equate illegal aliens with American citizens’ ancestors who were legal immigrants. It is insulting to make the comparisons between illegal aliens and Poles, Germans, Irish, Italians. All of them entered the country with permission, they were rigidly screened for any sign of disease or disability. They had to have money, other legal residence to vouch for them, no criminal record, the ability to speak English etc. There were no welfare programs for them or their kids. And the schools and businesses did not have to accommodate them by speaking their language. Virtually every pro amnesty talking point has been disproved by rational examination of the facts. If illegal aliens do wonderful thing for our society and create prosperity why is California a disaster?

There are 7 billion people in the world. If we give legal status (sic. amnesty) to people from Latin America, how can we refuse to give it to everyone in the entire world? The argument to give legal status to illegal aliens is at its core a rejection of national borders and limitations on mass migration of foreigners into our country. To argue for amnesty is a rejection of the very concept that the United States should exist as an independent sovereign nation.

Foreigners don’t get to stay here simply because they want to. There is no universal human right to reside in the United States.

Originally Posted by Cujo47

They know full well what they are doing, They are trying to protect their party that will probably collapse under this invasion. If they loose the senate unless they can figure out how to get all of the invaders registered before November. The black community is finally waking up to this fact and will turn on them come election time. However it has taken both parties to get this far. The democrats did not do this all by themselves. Do not TRUST Rick Perry and I repeat this, Do not Trust RICK PERRY. None of this world turmoil happened by accident. It has taken years to put all this turmoil into action.

I do not trust Rick Perry, but after Reagan and two Bush es, I certainly have no respect for the republican party period, end of story! Guaranteed, I get a lot of republican solicitation, I look at it just long enough to find the LIES they are telling now, then it goes to the round file, but never, never and bever will a vote for a republican be cat by me!! I don't think they can raise enough money to buy one, after Reagan's amnesty led to the death of my son!! Count on it, I do not lie, that way I have nothing to cover up! Too bad that the same CANNOT BE SAID for America's politicians!

Bravo "Mayday" a beautiful and eloquent post!

Ronald Reagan was a great disappointment to me, but please people you must understand the 1986 amnesty. Reagan DID NOT WANT AMNESTY; he thought he had reached an agreement with the Democrat controlled congress. He gave them a one time only amnesty with many restrictions and preconditions in exchange for permanent and complete control of the border. Predictably there was amnesty without preconditions and no border control. If Reagan is to be criticized let it be for being so naïve that he believed the Democrats would in good faith uphold their end of the bargain.

When you take any politician for his word, you are not even serving yourself fairly. When a President signs a bill it becomes law by his pen, if he wanted his conditions he should have insisted upon simultaneous bills for the thiings agreed upon. That would have been good politics (he was the one that said, trust but verify). I waited tow years to see border security improvement, none. I gave them another 2 years before getting upset. Just a few days before the fourth anniversary of amnesty, my son was killed by a drunk driving alien while breaking numerous other laws. That man should never have been in the states, If because Reagan did not have his part of the agreement met, he should have returned the amnesty bill vetoed, then if congress had over ridden the veto the that amnesty would have belonged to congress and Congress ONLY. When you sign for something, you own it, or owe for it. Reagan then left office leaving the borders no more secure that when he was elected and the back door ajar. I do not even think the republicans in Congress reminded him that he had work to finish. if they did it was insincere conviction. Now two republican presidents and Obama have worsened the problem. Do not be hard on those who have suffered severe loss, but Reagan signed for it, he owes for my son's death. .