4 ms·

Immigration in the US has never been a "took our jobs" thing. Not sincerely. It has always been about xenophobia.

tomjen3 15y ago
I am not so sure. I am a WASP which means that they shouldn't have any xenophobia against me. I can't get a visa either. Personally I am guessing that the education they receive is as bad on the subject of economics as it is here and the people really just assume that those who come from the outside is out to get what they have. This wouldn't be so bad when the economic times are good, but when they are bad (or perceived to be bad, historically they are ridiculously good) people becomes less willing to talk to, and help, strangers.
- dagw 15y ago
  I am a WASP which means that they shouldn't have any xenophobia against me xenophobia means fear of foreigners or strangers, and as such has nothing to do with race or religion per se.
  - tomjen3 15y ago
    Okay I only thought it was strangers (and since I am a WASP I am not a stranger anymore than a guy a few blocks down the road).
    - Vivtek 15y ago
      You have an accent. Trust me, I'm from Indiana. You're a stranger. My accent is weird enough from having left Indiana... Let's not even talk about my Hungarian wife.
- jcromartie 15y ago
  The uber-conservatives driving the anti-immigration movement don't want WASPy Canadians or Europeans because they are very likely liberal, and therefore outsiders to the "real America" that they are trying to defend.
Newgy 15y ago
No, its about the fact that several billion people will come here if the door is completely open.
- potatolicious 15y ago
  Except this guy (and many, many, many others) is not one of the "several billion". He is highly educated, and highly intelligent. This sets him far apart from the majority of the world's population, which is predominantly impoverished, uneducated, and illiterate. Surely he is not just another one of the uneducated, unwashed masses that America fears so much from its immigrants? I simply don't understand why productive, educated, intelligent people are ever turned away. These people will find opportunities elsewhere - and make some other country more powerful in exchange. There was time when you would give your kidney to be in the USA - what Americans need to wake up and realize that that day has passed. The US is still a very valuable place to be, particularly for a tech entrepreneur, but the advance in the rest of the world over the past two decades has been even more dramatic. The US is unquestionably losing its edge, and IMO there is more justification than ever for a (finally) sane immigration policy.
- dereg 15y ago
  Not at all. Immigration laws are not the primary inhibitor of migration, (lack of) money is the greatest barrier. The fact that you say your un-learned opinion is a "fact", proves burgerbrain's point that immigration laws are more xenaphobia than anything.
- Symmetry 15y ago
  "Several" billion? That's half the world's population.
  - anamax 15y ago
    > "Several" billion? That's half the world's population. Yes, it is. Are you suggesting that more than half of the world's population wouldn't move to the US if doing so was a reasonable option for them? Seriously - for most people, being poor in the US would be a huge step up. (As someone put it, almost every "Occupy" protestor is in the 1% on a world-wide basis.) And they're pretty sure that they would do better than the worst.
Symmetry 15y ago
Supporting evidence, from when we first tightened immigration: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Red_Scare http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Red_Scare
- BerislavLopac 15y ago
  Ah, seems like the US government has a long tradition of using vague and distant foreign threats to tighten the internal pressure on its people. ;)
rubashov 15y ago
US immigration policy is clearly not motivated by ethnic identity or "xenophobia". The 1965 immigration act and the visa lottery make that clear. But I sincerely ask: why would it be wrong to base immigration policy on such concerns? A nation should have the right to preserve its identity and make-up.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- srl 15y ago
  Whether or not it is "wrong" is irrelevant. It would fly in the face of one of the things we claim to like most about this country. And it would probably end up hurting us, one way or another. (Irrelevant: yes, I think it would be "wrong". I consider discrimination to be a form of human rights violation. Not being a citizen doesn't mean you don't have rights. Or, it shouldn't. /idealism )

I am not so sure. I am a WASP which means that they shouldn't have any xenophobia against me. I can't get a visa either. Personally I am guessing that the education they receive is as bad on the subject of economics as it is here and the people really just assume that those who come from the outside is out to get what they have. This wouldn't be so bad when the economic times are good, but when they are bad (or perceived to be bad, historically they are ridiculously good) people becomes less willing to talk to, and help, strangers.

dagw 15y ago
I am a WASP which means that they shouldn't have any xenophobia against me xenophobia means fear of foreigners or strangers, and as such has nothing to do with race or religion per se.
- tomjen3 15y ago
  Okay I only thought it was strangers (and since I am a WASP I am not a stranger anymore than a guy a few blocks down the road).
  - Vivtek 15y ago
    You have an accent. Trust me, I'm from Indiana. You're a stranger. My accent is weird enough from having left Indiana... Let's not even talk about my Hungarian wife.
jcromartie 15y ago
The uber-conservatives driving the anti-immigration movement don't want WASPy Canadians or Europeans because they are very likely liberal, and therefore outsiders to the "real America" that they are trying to defend.

Newgy 15y ago

No, its about the fact that several billion people will come here if the door is completely open.

potatolicious 15y ago
Except this guy (and many, many, many others) is not one of the "several billion". He is highly educated, and highly intelligent. This sets him far apart from the majority of the world's population, which is predominantly impoverished, uneducated, and illiterate. Surely he is not just another one of the uneducated, unwashed masses that America fears so much from its immigrants? I simply don't understand why productive, educated, intelligent people are ever turned away. These people will find opportunities elsewhere - and make some other country more powerful in exchange. There was time when you would give your kidney to be in the USA - what Americans need to wake up and realize that that day has passed. The US is still a very valuable place to be, particularly for a tech entrepreneur, but the advance in the rest of the world over the past two decades has been even more dramatic. The US is unquestionably losing its edge, and IMO there is more justification than ever for a (finally) sane immigration policy.
dereg 15y ago
Not at all. Immigration laws are not the primary inhibitor of migration, (lack of) money is the greatest barrier. The fact that you say your un-learned opinion is a "fact", proves burgerbrain's point that immigration laws are more xenaphobia than anything.
Symmetry 15y ago
"Several" billion? That's half the world's population.
- anamax 15y ago
  > "Several" billion? That's half the world's population. Yes, it is. Are you suggesting that more than half of the world's population wouldn't move to the US if doing so was a reasonable option for them? Seriously - for most people, being poor in the US would be a huge step up. (As someone put it, almost every "Occupy" protestor is in the 1% on a world-wide basis.) And they're pretty sure that they would do better than the worst.

Symmetry 15y ago

Supporting evidence, from when we first tightened immigration: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Red_Scare http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Red_Scare

BerislavLopac 15y ago
Ah, seems like the US government has a long tradition of using vague and distant foreign threats to tighten the internal pressure on its people. ;)

rubashov 15y ago

US immigration policy is clearly not motivated by ethnic identity or "xenophobia". The 1965 immigration act and the visa lottery make that clear. But I sincerely ask: why would it be wrong to base immigration policy on such concerns? A nation should have the right to preserve its identity and make-up.

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
srl 15y ago
Whether or not it is "wrong" is irrelevant. It would fly in the face of one of the things we claim to like most about this country. And it would probably end up hurting us, one way or another. (Irrelevant: yes, I think it would be "wrong". I consider discrimination to be a form of human rights violation. Not being a citizen doesn't mean you don't have rights. Or, it shouldn't. /idealism )