Syrian refugees…..& Chicago (Oak Park, Albany: middle-class, movie theaters, schools)

[pete6032]

Originally Posted by edsg25

if syrian immigrants (and others like them) could come to Chicago and the city developed a program to steer them into the underperforming parts of the city (sections of the south and west side) and produced the social programs that would allow this to be implemented, we could help revive areas of Chicago that were long dead.

I'm pretty sure that would be unethical.

[treemoni]

Originally Posted by pete6032

I'm pretty sure that would be unethical.

Why would it be unethical? You all are thinking like the privileged Americans you are (totally not surprising) I'm sure there are plenty of refugees who would welcome the opportunity to start a new life in a "bombed out" American city.

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by treemoni

Why would it be unethical? You all are thinking like the privileged Americans you are (totally not surprising) I'm sure there are plenty of refugees who would welcome the opportunity to start a new life in a "bombed out" American city.

i'm wondering the same. i can't think of anything unethical in my suggestion. i made it clear i was not suggesting that residents would be removed (and definitely not that they should)….so where exactly is my unethical lapse here?

[PerseusVeil]

Originally Posted by treemoni

Why would it be unethical? You all are thinking like the privileged Americans you are (totally not surprising) I'm sure there are plenty of refugees who would welcome the opportunity to start a new life in a "bombed out" American city.

There would also be plenty more who wouldn't even bother applying for asylum in the US (well, Chicago's South and West Sides specifically) and instead continue to try and get to places like Germany and Sweden. Why go from one literally bombed out country to a figuratively bombed out and dangerous neighborhood? Find them a rundown, but still relatively safe, neighborhood, and it might be a bit different.

If it was just about making it to another country, then we wouldn't see a lot of the mess that's currently going on in Europe and various EU countries. These refugees seem to be well informed about what countries have to offer them versus other ones.

[jwuk45]

Even the most dangerous neighborhood in Chicago isn't close to being as dangerous as Syria is right now. Over 200,000 people have been killed there in the past 4 years of civil war alone, not to mention the people being slaughtered and captured as sex slaves by ISIS. Chicago has had 1% of that number. Also, more then half of the deaths are civilians just going about their daily lives, thousands of them small children. Even in the worst Chicago neighborhoods it's very rare for random civilians to be killed. You're not going to walk out of your front door in West Garfield Park and see a school bombed with everyone inside killed, piles of burned babies, 50 heads on spikes in the middle of the street and people hanging from their intestines from a tree. The most that's going to happen to a Syrian immigrant is a possible stray bullet hitting them if they're really unlucky.

Germany might be a better option but relatively speaking it's not going to matter that much to them.

[PerseusVeil]

Originally Posted by jwuk45

Germany might be a better option but relatively speaking it's not going to matter that much to them.

Depends where we take them from. The ones too poor to be smuggled into Europe who are in camps in Lebanon? Sure, they'd probably be happy.

The ones that had the money to make it to Europe either due to personal reasons, working, selling their belongings, etc, not a chance. That's why we're currently seeing them bouncing from country to country, all of which are vastly better off than Syria, until they make it to the specific countries they want to go to.

In that case I guess it comes down to where would we get our refugees.

[jwuk45]

I think most would be eager to get to America. Not because America is better, but because it's generally viewed as one of the most desirable places to live (regardless of the reality) and it one of the best countries in the world to get rich from nothing. They might be disappointed when they arrive and find themselves in a bit of a grim little neighborhood, but they're not going to know that beforehand, and they can always try to work their way to something better. Being granted a visa for America alone is like winning the lottery for some. Also, at least Chicago is pretty multicultural. Heaven help any of them that get sent to rural Alabama.

[MassVt]

I think if I was a Syrian refugee, Sweden would look just fine to me..

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by MassVt

I think if I was a Syrian refugee, Sweden would look just fine to me..

If you've kept up with the news about other ethnic disharmony you might realize that no place is that looks as glorious as the happy talkers make it out to be -- Swedish MP Says Jews Aren't True Swedes - Jewish World - News - Arutz Sheva

[MassVt]

Originally Posted by chet everett

If you've kept up with the news about other ethnic disharmony you might realize that no place is that looks as glorious as the happy talkers make it out to be -- Swedish MP Says Jews Aren't True Swedes - Jewish World - News - Arutz Sheva

Next thing you know, you'll be telling Syrian refugees to go back to Syria, and avoid Chicago, because of "pension deficits". The look on their disbelieving faces would be priceless.