From: Lee Corbin (lcorbin@tsoft.com)
Date: Sun Aug 26 2001 - 03:18:04 MDT
Randy Smith writes
> Actually, the immigration of all those Mexican peasants does indeed matter
> to us all, especially those of us who are planning to be frozen if old age
> ain't cured pretty soon. The substantial MAJORITY of immigrants, Mexicans or
> otherwise, are "peasants." From my observations, peasants don't run much of
> a country. Mainly, they live in kleptocracies. I don't want the USA to be a
> kleptocracy. I doubt cryonics would be legal for the common man in the USA
> were uneducated peasants to abound in the USA.
Everything hinges on the rate of cultural uptake. My own ancestors came
from a variety of European countries most of which had no clue concerning
traditions of liberty. Sometimes I suspect that the decline in the
respect for those traditions may have been the fault of a number of
nineteenth century immigrants who tried, but who just didn't "get it".
Then when opportunities to socialize a great many things in the 20th
century arose, they and their descendents embraced these "naturally
appealing" programs.
Mexican culture (as is most of Latin American culture) deeply authoritarian,
militaristic, and corrupt. Although the infusion of large numbers of
people from such a culture is dangerous, it by no means renders the situation
hopeless. New circumstances and new opportunites can have a great effect
on people, and isn't it commonly conceded that Mexicans in the U.S. are
hard-working and productive? (Of course, I do *not* mean universally so---
no group is.) This defies the stereotype of tropical nations (which,
due to geographical determinism has some truth to it, naturally).
> Another thing, most of the mexican immigrants are indians, and they are the
> uneducated peasants who get the grunt work that would be going to US
> citizens otherwise. I am part indian, so therefore by the current calculus
> of racial political correctness, I get to criticise them.
Um..., I'm not sure about whether or not you get to criticize them.
Being Indian---oops, I mean Native American---may qualify you for
affirmative action or preferences, but I don't think that you get
to criticize your own group; quite the opposite. A number of
people came out of the racism thread still maintaining that it
was just as possible for black people to be racist against blacks
as it was for white people. Recall the incomparable venom directed
against Judge Clarence Thomas, Thomas Sowell, and all the other
Uncle Toms who don't follow the party line on race or ethnicity.
Lee Corbin
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