Drop the I-Word - don't call people "illegals" please

navycpo7 wrote:

The Blunt Ugly Truth wrote:

navycpo7 wrote: As my mother is a naturalized citizen of the United States, I still refer to anyone from where ever that is here illegally, as an illegal alien. I am not much for one to say it is only hispanics as it is not. They are from all over the world.

So... do you believe if you asked my question above ("Ask 10 people what illegal alien signifies to them") you would get an answer of "They are from all over the world" more times then not?

As I have not done that I could not give you an honest answer. I will tell you though that among those that I do talk to, we all feel pretty much the same.

Honest answer. Just as an afterthought... try it some time on someone who you don't usually talk to. They will identify the term "illegal alien" with a person of Hispanic origin 9 times out of ten. I've done it. How would you feel if every time the term "knuckle-dragging neanderthal" was used, the term was automatically assumed to be addressing you?

Ryt_Rick wrote: What does every other country in the world call someone who enters their country illegally? Accidental trespassers?

Prisoner?

Mary Scott wrote:

Ryt_Rick wrote: What does every other country in the world call someone who enters their country illegally? Accidental trespassers?

Prisoner?

My questions and my comments are only geared to the fact that "illegal alien" has just about become the domain of Hispanics. When a term that is designed to be all inclusive and descriptive of any sort of person that is in this country without proper authority suddenly becomes an appellation for a single racial group, then that term has lost it's proper meaning and has become racist in nature.

That's my problem with the term "illegal alien." Other than that, I am as concerned as most people about the number of people who enter and stay in this country illegally. But I think it's about time to find a better term, one that is not so racially tinted.

It also seems by the silence of our liberal friends on 285 Bound that they are fine with the term. Not a peep out of them on this thread. In a situation where I suspect that there could be agreement between left/right ideologies, there is no input. Interesting.

The Blunt Ugly Truth wrote: They will identify the term "illegal alien" with a person of Hispanic origin 9 times out of ten.

Makes sense to me considering more than 9 out of 10 illegal aliens are hispanic.

My sister is married to a Mexican (his preferred terminology) and my goddaughter (who refers to me as Nino and I to her as Ahijada) is also of Mexican ancestry. He, his father, and everyone from his family use the term illegal alien, so why should there be any attempt to try and portray the term as a racist one? As ntm mentioned, the fact that the majority of illegal aliens in our union are from either Mexico or Central America doesn't impart a racial motivation to the use of the term. It is entirely proper to refer to anyone here in violation of immigration laws as an illegal immigrant/migrant/alien. They are not an "undocumented worker" or an "economic refugee" - they are aliens who have intentionally immigrated or migrated here in violation of our laws. I will call a spade a spade instead of trying to be generic and use the word shovel instead.

I am also in the group who will not change the terminology- I know there is a push from the left to soften the terms we use to describe those who came here illegally.

To hell with them. They are illegal because the first thing they did was disregard the laws of this land. They are aliens because they are not US citizens. The term fits like a glove. It is not racist- as much as people like you would like to make it so.

Honest answer. Just as an afterthought... try it some time on someone who you don't usually talk to. They will identify the term "illegal alien" with a person of Hispanic origin 9 times out of ten. I've done it. How would you feel if every time the term "knuckle-dragging neanderthal" was used, the term was automatically assumed to be addressing you?

It seems that since you married an hispanic that you are now hyper-sensitive to the words- but they have nothing to do with being hispanic at all- reference my definition above. As one poster points out- 9 out of ten illegal aliens are of hispanic origin- that's just a real fact- so don't be shocked.

It's not that the term illegal aliens means hispanic, but that the numbers alone justify the correlation. An illegal alien can in fact be from anywhere outside the USA and it's possesions.

No- I will not go along with your "new speak", and to insinuate the term is racist is quite "progressive" of you.

You have no idea how many hispanic people I know, have known as friends, are still my friends- and yes, a number of them are STILL "illegal"- I know them personally.

While there is a very personal aspect to this issue, even for me- it does not change their lawful status- or the problems that Illegal Immigrants in such great numbers are causing to our social and economic condition in this country.

It's all about odds, what are the odds that someone enters this country ILLEGALY and is not Hispanic. It's not that I think ALL illegals are Hispanic, but I know what the facts are and illegal is illegal no matter what the odds might be. Trying to sugar coat a an illegal act seems silly to me, kinda like calling an act of terrorism a "man made disaster' or calling a terrorist a "freedom fighter". We are a country of laws, and even if our administration decides not to fully enforce those laws, an illegal act is still just that.

When you hear the words "undocumented immigrant", do you change the mental image you have?

No, you don't, neither does anyone else.

A rose by any other name, and all that.