The Immigration Debate... Doomed to Repeat Again and Again...
It's amazing how often this so-called debate comes around. It seems to cycle every 10 years and is full of the normal unproductive racist rants that don't seem to go anywhere. One of the more recent immigration "reform" laws went to California voters in the mid-1990s, known as Prop 187. Whatever your opinion about illegal immigration, this law would have done little, if anything, to stem the flow of illegal immigrants. Officially at MadAsian, we don't care about illegal immigration; after all, we're not planning on doing farm work.
Plus, anti-immigration measures are rarely about the popular myth of immigrants defrauding the welfare, disability, or health systems and rising crime rates. They tend to be more about the public's view of the particular races it hates at the time.
Does anyone remember a time when Asians were the original Mexicans? In California, for example, the majority of farm laborers were Asian (mostly Japanese and Filipino). California and the United States passed so many supposed immigration reforms targeted at cutting off (legal) immigration from all of Asia (Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Indian, etc.). And, they even used the same ridiculous arguments as today, citing crime and defrauding the "generous" government programs.
So, what happened when Asian immigration stopped? Farmers looked to increase usage of Mexican labor, and politicians and the public have been trying to "reform" their immigration status ever since. Who'll be the next oppressed farmers if they succeed? Our vote is for white people.
What does "liberal" really mean?
Seriously. What does it mean? From Twinkies to Chiggers, Asians are of a very diverse opinion. And all subjective opinions aside, we can't really find what "liberal" means. Think about the American political system; it's a two-party system made up of Democrats and Republicans. Theoretically, Democrats should be to the left of center in the political spectrum, and Republicans to the right. However, this is not the case when you look at both parties ideologically. Both are to the right of center, with Republicans being more to the right.
How you ask? Economics. The U.S. is a capitalist economy and there is only so far left you can go if your goal is to maximize profits. Let's face it, equality isn't really a goal in the U.S. For that matter, it's not really a real goal in Europe, the mythical hub of "liberals." Both are too busy criticizing each other's practices on specific issues, they can't step back and take a look at the big picture: we're all hypocrites.
Think about it: does slavery, sweatshop labor, or child labor, really put a damper on consumerism? When companies like Nike were found to be using sweatshop labor in the 1990s, did their profits really suffer that much? Consumerism reigns supreme.
How "liberal" is anyone? How about the supposed "liberal media?" We'd like to stand up for the entire media organization. If the media was truly liberal, they would break stereotypes and try to include more racially diverse actors into their ranks. Hollywood movie studios have consistently played up stereotypes and pushed aside diversity. They profit from it. The public doesn't want to see Jackie Chan playing a non-Kung Fu fool, or a black person who isn't a gangster or basketball player. The media is in the business of making money, not being "liberal."
Aaaiiiieeeeeee! Racial Equality has Finally Arrived... Right?!
Oh sure, it must be true. That's why people like us are around.
Some have said we are perpetuating racism and sterotypes. We say respectfully, "Go to hell". Think about it, we could never come up with all these quality racial jokes if society wasn't already conditioned to accept them. Are we exploiting it? Sure, but that's not really the whole truth.
Before MadAsian, some of us have been involved in protests and positive education about racism. Guess what... people don't listen. White people don't like to see that they are racist, let alone say they have prejudices, but they do. We all have prejudices. They won't think about it because they don't have to.
Minorities feel prejudice because we experience it. White people, as the givers of racist comments and attitudes, don't really understand so they don't change. Through humor, white people are conflicted because they want to laugh, but they wonder should they. Are they racist if they laugh? Now they're thinking.