WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2022, IMMIGRATION CONTINUED

 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2022, IMMIGRATION CONTINUED

This week I’m looking at immigration and love.  Monday I wrote about Indigenous Peoples Day and Columbus Day; yesterday I wrote about Irish immigration - and the hatred that followed.

I grew up in a loving home - when I say LOVE WINS - it started at home.  I learned hate and mistrust as I grew older.

As kids in the early 1950s, playing war games, we shouted “Bombs over Toyko” and didn’t even think want that meant.  (I guess it meant the wonderful “home” team - the United States and Allies beat the Japanese, Germans, and Italians in World War II).  We played Cowboys and Indians - and the “good guys” were the cowboys.  I didn’t pay attention to the statement “The only good Indian is a dead Indian” - but I did hear it.  The Polish kids were dumb.  I’m not sure why, but we good WASPs (White, Anglo-Saxons, Protestants) were right and everybody else was wrong. 

There were a lot of people from Czechoslovakia in our community.  My father joked (I assume it was a joke) “Why did Waterloo [Iowa], get all the blacks, and Cedar Rapids got all the Czechs?  Waterloo had the first choice!!” 

It was cool (or at least acceptable) to find an ethnic group to make fun of.  I didn’t sense a lot of black hating in my community - but maybe there just weren’t many black citizens in Cedar Rapids Iowa at that time.

We liked to poke fun at others.  

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Time out

Okay, some of the stupid jokes needed winners and losers.  When I lived in Minnesota, there were Minnesota/Iowa jokes.  I’m only putting them here to illustrate - these are NOT TRUE!!

1 - What do you call a good-looking girl in Iowa?  A visitor from Minnesota

2 - Why did they put artificial turf on the football fields in Iowa?  So the cheerleaders won’t graze

3- Who won first prize in the Iowa beauty contest?  Nobody!!

In some way, these are funny - if you think Minnesotans are better than Iowans.  But, deep down inside they were poking fun at a specific group.  

We justify hate.  

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We are still fighting immigration and hate - especially in Texas, my current state.  The border between the United States and Mexico has thousands of potential immigrants seeking a better life in the United States.  In the past, some thought the streets of America were paved with gold.  

Maybe some (adapted from the description of the Irish from yesterday):

“The refugees seeking haven in America were poor and disease-ridden. They threatened to take jobs away from Americans and strain welfare budgets. They were bringing with them crime. They were accused of being rapists. “And, worst of all, these undesirables were Central Americans and Mexicans”, “And, worst of all, these undesirables were Muslims (or Hindus, or Buddhists or homeless, or anything BUT conservative Christians)” Let’s build a wall to keep them out and send oodles of troops and National Guards to stop them as they try to cross the Rio Grande River.

“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” (Inscription on the Statue of Liberty”

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They say that “Change is inevitable”.  From the 2020 census, we have this:

“Between 2010 and 2021, the share of the population that is Hispanic/Latino grew the most, increasing 2.5 percentage points to 18.9%. The white (non-Hispanic) population had the largest decrease dropping 4.5 percentage points to 59.3%.

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From Texas Statistics: “The state’s Hispanic population is now nearly as large as the non-Hispanic white population, with Texas gaining nearly 11 Hispanic residents for every additional white resident since 2010.” (Texas Tribune)

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It might be human nature to hate - it takes guts to love all people.  And, yes, when I write “Love Wins” - I’m not perfect (I’m far from perfect!!!)  

Lately, the political rhetoric in Texas is stepping up on immigration.  “Let’s keep America for Americans”!!  (That might have been the cry of the original Native Americans!!!)

My guess is that it always will be this way until we can learn to LOVE.

More tomorrow!!!

LOVE DOES WIN

(I have to believe that - I must believe that - even if it doesn’t look that way now, I have to have faith that LOVE WILL WIN!!)

Karen Anne White, October 12, 2022, ©