Friday, September 23, 2005

"Katrina aid too risky for some illegals"

http://g.msn.com/0MN2ET7/2?http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9403169&&CM=EmailThis&CE=1

The link above used to point to an article I encountered online Wednesday, September 21. Unfortunately, between Wednesday and this morning that link has gone dead.

The article began:
"Much has been said about the suffering of the poor in New Orleans, but Latino civil rights advocates and relief workers say those troubled Americans are better off than immigrants who live in Gulf states illegally, working in restaurants, casinos, farms and construction."

The upshot of the article was that for those poor unfortunates harmed by Katrina who were in this country illegally life was even more miserable than for those who are citizens. Why there were rumors that the mean old government might actually deport them to their country of origin and LEGAL residence if they were detected through the aid application process. So, these poor souls with nothing at all are foregoing requests for aid rather than apply and risk a free flight home to a country not devastated by hurricane Katrina and not spending billions of their legal citizens tax dollars on the relief effort.

At the risk of having Jesse Jackson label me a racist yet again: So what?

Don't misunderstand me. I could care less if half the population of Mexico moves to US. India, South America, Asia - welcome home.

When they do come though, they need to use the front door. Procedures exist for entering this country legally and becoming a fully contributing member of society. President Fox certainly would not welcome me with open arms if I chose to enter his country without benefit of a proper port of entry. I would not be labeled an "Undocumented Entrant" or given food, housing, and medical care. I would be tossed in a nasty little box when picked up - when, not if, since my inability to conduct more than the most basic of communications in the native language would brand me as a foreigner in need of closer scrutiny - and if I was very fortunate eventually sent back to the United States.

I suspect that very few if any of the Liberal Do-Good Crusaders would feel better upon returning home to find their home emptied of its valuables if the perpetrator were identified not as a criminal but as an economically disadvantaged wealth reallocation specialist. They would no doubt want the law breaking thief caught and punished.

Laws exist to provide an orderly framework within which societies can exist and function. Some laws are good, some are even better, and some should have never been enacted at all. Neither individuals or social movements have the right to ignore those laws they disagree with or find distasteful, disagreeable, or inconvenient on the campaign trail. The legislative process exists to change the current reality to one that is more comfortable. The current reality must be honored though until it is changed. Selectively ignoring even a single law invalidates the basis for every other law. Such points seem trivial to most people, and the exceptions made to existing laws obvious and non-controversial. Until a law is overlooked and there is a personally felt negative impact. Then starts the outrage!

So where is the outrage against those who violate the laws of this country and enter illegally? Why are the champions of the (voting) illegal population permitted to portray themselves as compassionate humanitarians - while reaching deep within you pocket to impoverish your present and mortgage your children's' future?