3 ms·

Really? Do we lack this much empathy? Parents came and stayed for whatever reason when the author was a minor. Author grew up and studied in the US. Author did

Really? Do we lack this much empathy? Parents came and stayed for whatever reason when the author was a minor. Author grew up and studied in the US. Author didn't decide to violate the law at the time, yet is considered at fault. Why should the author forego their life and any chance of seeing their family and friends, everyone they ever knew? But no, you just /have/ to go to "go live elsewhere".

WildUtah 11y ago
Author decided to violate the law every day he stayed in the USA, especially after age 18. The Dominican Republic isn't a prison and author has family there and is a free, full adult citizen there. It's the author's mother he should be unhappy with.
- vezzy-fnord 11y ago
  For all practical purposes, the author had become an American (indeed, it is all he knew) in all but formal documentation. There's really no danger of cultural incompatibility here. Your first sentence implies that minors are somehow allowed to make legal decisions.
  - jacquesm 11y ago
    For some reason there will always be some that feel that the people should conform to the documentation rather than that the documentation should be adjust to best describe the people. I can't understand this mentality.
- makmanalp 11y ago
  The author wouldn't have been violating the law currently if they hadn't been made to violate it a when they were a child, and didn't have the capability to understand the consequences. In your alternate universe, the author should have left their house, family, support structure, life, potential world-class education and moved to a place they have never known at 18 because goddamnit, they're an adult. In the US, we don't even trust 18 year olds to be responsible with liquor or rent cars. Again with the lack of empathy here.
- jacquesm 11y ago
  You have an interesting perspective on the life of the child of an illegal immigrant. Let's just say that we don't share that perspective and I wonder what your solution would be. Here where I live we have had a few cases of minors that were kicked out by our IND (the immigration and naturalization services) and believe me they don't have a spot in my heart. I'm writing this as the father of a child that was born in a country that declared him an illegal, even though the service was very much aware they manufactured this out of whole cloth. It took a year and a vast sum of money to get this situation corrected, but in the meantime he and his mother were deported. At least 'the system' works, I was able to sue the Queen and won, but it did leave a lasting scar on our family. This subject is still - 20+ years after the fact - very much an open wound to me and I always wonder what kind of person it would take to punish a child for the act of either one or both of their parents, even if it were true (which it was not). I think you just showed me a little bit of an answer for that question and for that I'm grateful even though I absolutely despise your position.
WizardlySquid 11y ago
This has nothing to do with empathy. The author took advantage of systems built to help people and exploited systems built to help people for personal gain, screwing over everyone that follows the rules and not giving back to the system that has given him so much. Not only that but he was able to use the color of his skin to land himself a job in one of the most privileged fields at one of the most prestigious schools in the world. Really what's so wrong with living elsewhere? Dominican Republic has a high HDI and a decent economy. People move all the time, the author had no family in The United States and his mother probably had way more connections in the Dominican Republic than the US, it would certainly have been easier for her to find work in her country of origin too.

WildUtah 11y ago

Author decided to violate the law every day he stayed in the USA, especially after age 18. The Dominican Republic isn't a prison and author has family there and is a free, full adult citizen there. It's the author's mother he should be unhappy with.

vezzy-fnord 11y ago
For all practical purposes, the author had become an American (indeed, it is all he knew) in all but formal documentation. There's really no danger of cultural incompatibility here. Your first sentence implies that minors are somehow allowed to make legal decisions.
- jacquesm 11y ago
  For some reason there will always be some that feel that the people should conform to the documentation rather than that the documentation should be adjust to best describe the people. I can't understand this mentality.
makmanalp 11y ago
The author wouldn't have been violating the law currently if they hadn't been made to violate it a when they were a child, and didn't have the capability to understand the consequences. In your alternate universe, the author should have left their house, family, support structure, life, potential world-class education and moved to a place they have never known at 18 because goddamnit, they're an adult. In the US, we don't even trust 18 year olds to be responsible with liquor or rent cars. Again with the lack of empathy here.
jacquesm 11y ago
You have an interesting perspective on the life of the child of an illegal immigrant. Let's just say that we don't share that perspective and I wonder what your solution would be. Here where I live we have had a few cases of minors that were kicked out by our IND (the immigration and naturalization services) and believe me they don't have a spot in my heart. I'm writing this as the father of a child that was born in a country that declared him an illegal, even though the service was very much aware they manufactured this out of whole cloth. It took a year and a vast sum of money to get this situation corrected, but in the meantime he and his mother were deported. At least 'the system' works, I was able to sue the Queen and won, but it did leave a lasting scar on our family. This subject is still - 20+ years after the fact - very much an open wound to me and I always wonder what kind of person it would take to punish a child for the act of either one or both of their parents, even if it were true (which it was not). I think you just showed me a little bit of an answer for that question and for that I'm grateful even though I absolutely despise your position.

WizardlySquid 11y ago

This has nothing to do with empathy. The author took advantage of systems built to help people and exploited systems built to help people for personal gain, screwing over everyone that follows the rules and not giving back to the system that has given him so much. Not only that but he was able to use the color of his skin to land himself a job in one of the most privileged fields at one of the most prestigious schools in the world. Really what's so wrong with living elsewhere? Dominican Republic has a high HDI and a decent economy. People move all the time, the author had no family in The United States and his mother probably had way more connections in the Dominican Republic than the US, it would certainly have been easier for her to find work in her country of origin too.