6 ms·

Pretty much every country has limits on immigration. It is hardly unique to the US. There are different cultures and traditions in the world. It takes for peopl

by bruceb 12y ago

Pretty much every country has limits on immigration. It is hardly unique to the US. There are different cultures and traditions in the world. It takes for people to adjust to a new country and the country to adjust to them.

blutoot 12y ago
Actually white Americans don't seem to mind immigration from fellow white-majority countries, especially if it's from the developed ones. But that's an understandable phenomenon.
- _delirium 12y ago
  They don't now only because there isn't a lot of it, so it's not a political issue. How many recent German or French immigrants are there in the US? Not enough for anyone to notice. Back when there was large-scale immigration from Europe though, a lot of people minded, and formed parties specifically to agitate against the Irish/Poles/etc. You see that now in Europe. UKIP isn't complaining only about muslim immigrants (though they complain about them loudest), but also about continental-European immigrants, especially eastern Europeans. I suspect something similar would happen in the U.S. if there were a large influx of European immigrants.
exstudent 12y ago
The internet is a good example of a culture than can exist if you do away with artificial barriers between groups of people. Modern immigration policy is not inherently correct and it wasn't devised during an age of hyper connectivity.
- prodigal_erik 12y ago
  If the Internet had to ensure housing, food, and transportation would be available for every participant, we would be a lot more selective about granting access. Open borders made sense in the age of unsettled land, and they make sense when the marginal cost of delivering everything (i.e., only information) is nearly zero.
  - exstudent 12y ago
    I live in the US and I'm not ensured any of those things. Allowing more people into the country could only improve our economy. We would be more "selective"? How would we select?
    - afafsd 12y ago
      Whom should you select to let into your country? The same people you select as employees, only more so. We use "skilled migration" as a proxy for what we really want, which is people with good genes. If you have skills and good genes then you'll enrich the country not only in this generation but in all future generations to come. So an ideal immigration policy would involve some combination of testing for intelligence, physical fitness and (dare I say it) good looks.
      - exstudent 12y ago
        Good genes?! This is the most racist thing I've read on HN. I see why you have a throwaway account.
        afafsd 12y ago
        Uhhhhh, nobody mentioned race until you did. If you think "good genes" is correlated with race, then I'd suggest that you are the one who is racist.
        Dewie 12y ago
        If he had just said "talented", I suspect it would not have been controversial (at least that part). But "talent" often hints at heritage.
        exstudent 12y ago
        There are plenty of untalented natives in any country. I do not think the government is particularly good at spotting talent. We should just let everyone in IMO. Besides, "talent" can mean many things. Is the Mexican mother who can't speak English and doesn't have a college degree (maybe not even high school), but can make BAD ASS food and is capable of raising a family of 5 talented?

by bruceb 12y ago

blutoot 12y ago

Actually white Americans don't seem to mind immigration from fellow white-majority countries, especially if it's from the developed ones. But that's an understandable phenomenon.

_delirium 12y ago
They don't now only because there isn't a lot of it, so it's not a political issue. How many recent German or French immigrants are there in the US? Not enough for anyone to notice. Back when there was large-scale immigration from Europe though, a lot of people minded, and formed parties specifically to agitate against the Irish/Poles/etc. You see that now in Europe. UKIP isn't complaining only about muslim immigrants (though they complain about them loudest), but also about continental-European immigrants, especially eastern Europeans. I suspect something similar would happen in the U.S. if there were a large influx of European immigrants.

exstudent 12y ago

The internet is a good example of a culture than can exist if you do away with artificial barriers between groups of people. Modern immigration policy is not inherently correct and it wasn't devised during an age of hyper connectivity.

prodigal_erik 12y ago
If the Internet had to ensure housing, food, and transportation would be available for every participant, we would be a lot more selective about granting access. Open borders made sense in the age of unsettled land, and they make sense when the marginal cost of delivering everything (i.e., only information) is nearly zero.
- exstudent 12y ago
  I live in the US and I'm not ensured any of those things. Allowing more people into the country could only improve our economy. We would be more "selective"? How would we select?
  - afafsd 12y ago
    Whom should you select to let into your country? The same people you select as employees, only more so. We use "skilled migration" as a proxy for what we really want, which is people with good genes. If you have skills and good genes then you'll enrich the country not only in this generation but in all future generations to come. So an ideal immigration policy would involve some combination of testing for intelligence, physical fitness and (dare I say it) good looks.
    - exstudent 12y ago
      Good genes?! This is the most racist thing I've read on HN. I see why you have a throwaway account.
      - afafsd 12y ago
        Uhhhhh, nobody mentioned race until you did. If you think "good genes" is correlated with race, then I'd suggest that you are the one who is racist.
      - Dewie 12y ago
        If he had just said "talented", I suspect it would not have been controversial (at least that part). But "talent" often hints at heritage.
        exstudent 12y ago
        There are plenty of untalented natives in any country. I do not think the government is particularly good at spotting talent. We should just let everyone in IMO. Besides, "talent" can mean many things. Is the Mexican mother who can't speak English and doesn't have a college degree (maybe not even high school), but can make BAD ASS food and is capable of raising a family of 5 talented?