Protesters reflect a desire for a law-abiding democracy, not xenophobia
First published: Thursday, November 1, 2007

What you call xenophobia (editorial, Oct. 24), we prefer to call democracy. Have your values degraded so far that you cannot distinguish between the two? For the vast majority of legal citizens of this state, the distinction is crystal clear. What you witnessed at the Capitol on Oct. 22 was an honorable group of good, hardworking people who care about New York.

It may have looked small to you, but I'd imagine it's hard to see from the ivory tower that you and Governor Spitzer inhabit. Take a closer look ... there are millions of us.

There is no shame to be had for us in the battle that we are fighting. We have only pride. Pride in the accomplishments that come from the work that we do every day, to support our families and our communities. Pride in our American way of life, and pride in our resolve to keep our state secure and viable for the sake of our children.

I hope to never see the day when our leaders should know shame for doing what is right for the people they represent.

You seek to label this abhorrent policy as a political issue. It is not. It is the responsibility and the people's expectation of our representatives to speak out against a policy they know will be harmful to all of us. And, as a testament to their good judgment, both sides of the aisle have risen to do the honorable thing.

The courage our representatives have displayed by standing up to our tyrannical governor is something that you label as demagoguery, but we call it responsibility.

You recommend debate by the Legislature, as do we. But the invitation was not extended by the governor. You recommend that we consider the governor's decision on its merits, and we have. Any benefit that the governor insists we'll enjoy has been debunked by experts in the fields. Furthermore, the governor has failed to respond to repeated requests from opposers to discuss the facts further.

You characterize those of us in the opposition as racists, and nothing could be further from the truth. We see no distinction between illegal aliens who hail from Mexico or Russia, Canada or India. No matter their country of origin, if they have entered this state without the full knowledge and consent of immigration services, they are in violation of federal law and should be treated as anyone else who commits a crime.

We, too, embrace the tradition of being a country of immigrants. But we are also a society of laws. If we can so easily turn a blind eye on this group of law breakers, what power do we hold to prosecute another?

DANIEL J. NEUMANN
Founder New Yorkers Against Driver's Licenses for Illegal Aliens
Cohoes
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/st ... =11/1/2007