My favorite football team, the BYU Cougars, just fired Jaime Hill. Mr. Hill had coached the defensive backfield, then was promoted to defensive coordinator. He had that job for a couple of years before being fired. Now he happened to be a black man at a mostly white university so I'm sure you can guess what some people are saying. To Hill's credit he has not played the race card, at least as far as I know. However others have, accusing BYU of picking on the minority coordinator.
In thus playing the race card those accusers ignore a few facts. First, BYU is off to a 1-4 start, its worst in many years and the defense has given up way too many points. Then there are the comments from former BYU defensive players. According to them, Hill was a great position coach before being promoted to coordinator. However he seemed out of his depth in the coordinator position. This seems to be a manifestation of the Peter Principle, he was apparently promoted to a job he could not do well. His play calling was suspect at best. Worse, his volatile personality drove several players to quit the team and others nearly left. He simply was not a good fit for that particular job.
I'm sure Mr. Hill will get another job soon and I wish him well there (unless he's coaching against BYU). However the reports I've seen lead me to believe that it was wise to dismiss him from the BYU program. I doubt the color of his skin had anything to do with that dismissal. In sports, coaches who don't get good results are fired regularly.
Hill’s firing is only one manifestation of the tendency of many in the media and elsewhere to play the race card. Any time someone from a minority group or a woman is fired, some people assume that it was because of race or sex. The examples are myriad. Van Jones left the Obama administration after his communist background and blaming of Bush for the 9-11 attacks came to light. However Jones is black and many assume he was targeted for his skin color. Even more common is the tendency to call anyone who opposes Obama's programs racist. It is common for Obama supporters to overlook the fact that some people just don't like his czars, his profligate spending, his increasing of government power, etc.
There are many reasons people oppose Obama. While some do not like his skin color, there are many more who don't like his politics. Playing the race card may score political points but it is simply wrong unless there is actual evidence of racism.
Illegal aliens are another issue often creating false accusations of racism. Surely there are some who want to keep out specific races. However there are many others who want border control because of the number of gang members and drug dealers entering the country illegally, or because of the jobs illegal aliens take away from citizens. Opposition to illegal aliens is not automatically racist.
How effective is playing the race card in politics? Unquestionably it does get people riled up. However it is not at all clear that it changes votes. The people who get riled up probably already oppose the alleged racist. Meanwhile the supporters of that target will also get energized. And I think voters are getting wiser in this regard. The undecideds seem to be becoming skeptical about the race card. It has been overused and is wearing thin. The leftist news media and others still swallow it but they are becoming isolated in that regard. That is a positive sign.
I hope we can all continue to regard accusations of racism with skepticism. While racism does exist so do false accusations of racism. We must ask for solid evidence and look to see if there are other explanations for events that may appear racist.
Showing posts with label border control. Show all posts
Showing posts with label border control. Show all posts
Monday, October 4, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
A Hornets' Nest
The reaction to Arizona's recent laws to regarding illegal aliens reminds me of when I was a kid and stepped in a ground hornets' nest. That was a memorable experience to say the least. The hornets were as angry as opponents of that legislation are today. I suppose any comment I make here will risk a similar reaction no matter which side I support. However I shall attempt to inject some reasoning into what is now a very emotional topic.
First, we should agree on two things:
(a) Border control should be a federal responsibility, and
(b) The federal government has shirked that responsibility. A sieve holds water about as well as our southern border stops illegal entry.
Some those who enter the country illegally are hard workers and are the type of people we should want as immigrants if we could only provide them a good way to come here legally. However others are a danger to our country and our way of life. They import methamphetamine and other drugs, and many are criminals. The MS 13 gang, imported from Central America, is one of the most violent gangs in the country today. We don't need imported criminals, we have too many of our own already.
This situation cries for solution. Unfortunately neither party has the guts to take the necessary action, and that has been the case since the Reagan Administration. That administration presented a plan of getting control of the border while providing a path to citizenship. The government promised that the borders would be controlled and that illegals who entered the country after that time would not be granted legal status. The plan was reasonable and became law. However just planning does not get things done. Only the path to citizenship was ever put into action. Illegal aliens continued to ignore both the border and U.S. law. Congress again tried to legalize the illegals, a proposal stopped only by massive citizen opposition. The federal government broke its promise to the citizens.
Justifiably we as citizens feel betrayed. Why should we trust the government to do it any better now?
Is the Arizona law an act of desperation? Probably. Many residents of that state are desperate. The drug cartels control many of the “coyotes” who smuggle illegals through that state. This is no longer a few men crossing the border to find work picking fruit or milking cows. Yes, some of the illegals will do that but much of the traffic involves drugs and gang members. The coyotes are now often armed and willing to use force. U.S. citizens living in that area fear for their property and their lives. This amounts to an armed invasion.
What is to be done? First we have to face the fact that it won't be easy. Both parties fear a backlash from Hispanic voters if they take effective action. Only a massive citizen movement has a chance of forcing congress and the president to act. That action should start on two fronts:
1. We must get control of our borders. That must include something beyond the “catch and release” program too often used today. And we must deal effectively with the coyotes, the people smugglers who help with illegal entry. Even their customers regard them as the scum of the earth. They enrich themselves with human traffic and often regard women customers as fair game for rape.* People smuggling should be treated as a serious offense with appropriate punishment. In fact it is likely that the Mexican government would cooperate with us in attempting to put the coyotes out of business since those smugglers cause plenty of problems in Mexico as well.
2. We must provide a reasonable immigration path for the type of people we want to admit. Today, someone in Mexico or Central America can wait ten years for approval to immigrate here legally. Meanwhile his less scrupulous neighbors hire coyotes and enter illegally. That keeps out the best while allowing the worst to come here.
If the federal government will move effectively to control the border and to provide a reasonable path for the immigrants we want, Arizona will have no need to institute its own program. Then after a couple of years of watching that effective program, we might be able to trust the government to do something with the illegals already in the country.
We must insist that our representatives deal effectively with this problem.
*I speak fluent Spanish and have talked with many in the Hispanic culture. I find that they mistrust the coyotes and call them “mala gente,” bad people. It was from them that I learned of the propensity of the coyotes to rape their female customers.
First, we should agree on two things:
(a) Border control should be a federal responsibility, and
(b) The federal government has shirked that responsibility. A sieve holds water about as well as our southern border stops illegal entry.
Some those who enter the country illegally are hard workers and are the type of people we should want as immigrants if we could only provide them a good way to come here legally. However others are a danger to our country and our way of life. They import methamphetamine and other drugs, and many are criminals. The MS 13 gang, imported from Central America, is one of the most violent gangs in the country today. We don't need imported criminals, we have too many of our own already.
This situation cries for solution. Unfortunately neither party has the guts to take the necessary action, and that has been the case since the Reagan Administration. That administration presented a plan of getting control of the border while providing a path to citizenship. The government promised that the borders would be controlled and that illegals who entered the country after that time would not be granted legal status. The plan was reasonable and became law. However just planning does not get things done. Only the path to citizenship was ever put into action. Illegal aliens continued to ignore both the border and U.S. law. Congress again tried to legalize the illegals, a proposal stopped only by massive citizen opposition. The federal government broke its promise to the citizens.
Justifiably we as citizens feel betrayed. Why should we trust the government to do it any better now?
Is the Arizona law an act of desperation? Probably. Many residents of that state are desperate. The drug cartels control many of the “coyotes” who smuggle illegals through that state. This is no longer a few men crossing the border to find work picking fruit or milking cows. Yes, some of the illegals will do that but much of the traffic involves drugs and gang members. The coyotes are now often armed and willing to use force. U.S. citizens living in that area fear for their property and their lives. This amounts to an armed invasion.
What is to be done? First we have to face the fact that it won't be easy. Both parties fear a backlash from Hispanic voters if they take effective action. Only a massive citizen movement has a chance of forcing congress and the president to act. That action should start on two fronts:
1. We must get control of our borders. That must include something beyond the “catch and release” program too often used today. And we must deal effectively with the coyotes, the people smugglers who help with illegal entry. Even their customers regard them as the scum of the earth. They enrich themselves with human traffic and often regard women customers as fair game for rape.* People smuggling should be treated as a serious offense with appropriate punishment. In fact it is likely that the Mexican government would cooperate with us in attempting to put the coyotes out of business since those smugglers cause plenty of problems in Mexico as well.
2. We must provide a reasonable immigration path for the type of people we want to admit. Today, someone in Mexico or Central America can wait ten years for approval to immigrate here legally. Meanwhile his less scrupulous neighbors hire coyotes and enter illegally. That keeps out the best while allowing the worst to come here.
If the federal government will move effectively to control the border and to provide a reasonable path for the immigrants we want, Arizona will have no need to institute its own program. Then after a couple of years of watching that effective program, we might be able to trust the government to do something with the illegals already in the country.
We must insist that our representatives deal effectively with this problem.
*I speak fluent Spanish and have talked with many in the Hispanic culture. I find that they mistrust the coyotes and call them “mala gente,” bad people. It was from them that I learned of the propensity of the coyotes to rape their female customers.
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