Annika on the immigration protests

I liked the summation, provided over a week ago online somewhere, of the essential difference between the French labor protests (and mini-riots) and the current peaceful demonstrations by illegal immigrants in America: the first group wants to shirk work; the second group wants to work. Simplistic, yes, but how much sympathy can you have for people who are lobbying to keep a 35-hour work week, 5 weeks of vacation per year, and safeguards against being fired for arguably justifiable reasons? I have much more sympathy for the demonstrators on American soil than I do for those on l'Hexagone.

Because I try to read up on both sides of an issue, and because the immigration issue is large and complex (it's simplistic, for example, to argue "illegal means illegal"), I've been attempting to gain an appreciation of the pros and cons of having illegals among us in the States. Along with this, I've been trying to figure out how best to articulate where I currently stand on the issue, but it looks as though Annika has done my work for me: she lays out a reasonable position that appreciates the stress of being illegal in America and the dreams many of these workers have, all while remaining mindful of the severe negative economic and social effects of millions of illegals in American society. I'd encourage you to visit Annika's blog and read this post.

In another post, Annika links to Latino comedian Carlos Mencia. I caught a bit of Mencia's comedy while I was home in December 2005; he's quick, he's hilarious, and in many cases, he's spot-on. I especially like the fact that he's comfortable talking about race-- a subject that provokes a walking-on-eggshells reaction among too many otherwise well-intentioned people. Some will say Mencia goes too far, but in my opinion he, like Dave Chappelle, is an artist who knows how to strike a balance between provoking thoughtful discussion and simple provocation. A commenter to Annika's post notes Mencia's spiel on immigration. Watch it here. Mencia takes a dim view of Latinos who protest while carrying flags of various paises hispanohablantes.


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