"This unfortunately reminds me of when Hitler began rounding up the Jews for no reason and locking them up," Democratic Party activist Carla Vela said. "Now they're coming for the Latinos, who will they come for next?"
Ah yes, the reductio ad Hitlerum fallacy. This kind of hysteria makes me wish we'd have more workplace raids. Now. Chop-chop.
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Subscribe
There is nothing "free" about a free market if:
1) Those who set the prices of doing business (raw material costs, capital investments with previously-dictated rates of return, unions and anti-union tactics) see wages as a balancing point for profits.
2) Those who are faced with 60-80 hour weeks due to low-COL wages have no choices.
A wage means nothing unless it is viewed in the cost-of-living context. I can live quite well in southeast PA on $30,000 per year; I could not begin to pay rent for less than that in Manhattan.
So, fellow bleeding hearts take note: while immigrant workers are indeed being exploited, they are also making more money in the US than they could in Mexico (or many other places). They do learn eventually the realities of COL, but that is what makes them vulnerable. They come here knowing full well what they will be faced with; what they don't know is that they are cooperating with their own exploitation.
A free market is balanced on three things: people who want to produce, people who want to sell, and people who want to buy. As soon as one group becomes more powerful than the others, you have a market of exploitation. In the US, the sellers have the power. Unions made alot of progress towards balance, but in many places they acquired an over-balancing power and became the exploiters. Buyers used to be able to flex their muscles (when was the last time you heard of an effective boycott?), but lately they don't care to be educated or to fulfill their part of the balance. They'd rathes spend less money now, even knowing that they'll spend it again for a replacement down the road.
The exception to that is automobiles. COL wages in Japan are very good. Ask yourself why Japanese automakers are doing so well in the US. The answer is not exploitation of workers. The boys from Detroit deserve to lose, because they are being beaten in the one area that counts: buyers know a good product when they see one. They tried to do the right thing with Saturn, and they started out well, but the penny-pinchers stepped in before it could meet its long-term goals, and now Saturn is just another Toyota-wannabe.>
It is not being a "bleeding heart" to have compassion for the undocumented workers who have come here. It is what Christ commands of us. Hence if people who want to legalize undocumented workers are labeled as "bleeding hearts" so be it. Christ was called much worse. While you intellectualize the plight of these people as if they were mere objects, they are God's image bearers who are suffering. They broke the law in coming here but it was a man-made law (borders) and not a moral law. Breaking a moral law would be akin to starting a war for no reason and then awarding all the reconstruction contracts to your buddies. But we don't know anybody who would do something like that, do we? Adios amigos!>
Sure, the New Testament doesn't say anything about obeying the law...>
Somehow I'm not sure Christ would have joined the "Viva Atzlan! Viva la Reconquista" movement, as some here imply. I'm frankly at a loss to understand how "render unto Caesar" fits in with "open the borders", but then I never understood "liberation" theology at all.
A poll earlier this year indicated that 40% of Mexicans would like to live in the US. Currently 14% of all working-age Mexican citizens are already in the US, with various political, cultural and demographic effects. Adding 40 million more seems hasty to me. Allowing the Mexican oligarchy to continue to sponge off of the US taxpayer also seems odd; where did Christ urge aid to the poor by stealing from other poor, please?
Finally, the reducto ad Hitlerum being used by a La Raza type activist ought to be so offensive as to drive that person's reputation right to zero. That it hasn't is a sad commentary.
PS: James, what does La Raza mean, and why does it matter in the context of Atzlan?>
Anti,
I too would share your views if I shared your irrational fears.
Peace.>
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.