How does the average citizen contribute to the flood of illegal aliens?

[Oldglory]

Originally Posted by Podo944

Well, it's like the old adage, you're either going to laugh or your going to cry.

I can't go around with mad face all the time. While I'm clearly against illegal immigration, and would never listen to a politician blather on about reform that doesn't include a fence at the border FIRST, I do live and work where there are a lot of Mexican people. I don't give people I suspect are illegals dirty looks, or throw things at them, or yell at them. (Yes, it happens) Probably the "snarkiest" thing I'll do if I'm working with them, or get to know them elsewhere is I'll ask with a wink and a smile, "So... what year did you sneak over?" Really, I do!

So on the Macro level, I don't vote for politicians that have "given up", and I have adopted more and more the "Do it yourself" lifestyle.
On the Micro level, I'm friendly with people I encounter, and most of my coworkers were swell, with the exception of a few, including non Hispanics.

BTW, even though there were plenty of young people where I worked who repeated the pattern of having babies they couldn't feed themselves, there were a few that broke away from that pattern. One older busser, sweet man, spoke very little English, and had a daughter who worked at the restaurant as a hostess. She spoke perfect English, had graduated an honor student at her high school and was entering a nursing program at the local college. She told me her dad was adamant about only having two children, and he was very strict about school. Unlike the other girls her age, she was not married and didn't have any children yet.

My favorite co worker, an individual who I got to know as a really great guy, snuck in long ago, (I asked, he told me) and was granted amnesty. He spoke with pride how he started as a dishwasher, then got promoted to cook, then he was a busboy and eventually became a server. He had the best work ethic and he could do anything. If we were really busy, he would get in the kitchen and help the cook while still doing it all in the dining room. He also only had two kids. He was old school and saw this country as a place where you could make your own fortune, not take advantage of it. He told me it sickened him to go to the market in his community and see women drive up with nice cars wearing nice jewelry and then pull out the food stamps! We often had interesting and frank conversations about the subject.

So bottom line I can walk and chew gum at the same time. If I couldn't I'd be grumpy all the time.

That didn't excuse him from coming to our country illegally and working jobs he wasn't entitled to and that's the bottom line. It's about our laws not grumpiness. I could never put a happy face on the negative impact that this all has on our own citizens and I certainly wouldn't make light about it or joke about it.

[Podo944]

Originally Posted by Oldglory

That didn't excuse him from coming to our country illegally and working jobs he wasn't entitled to and that's the bottom line. It's about our laws not grumpiness. I could never put a happy face on the negative impact that this all has on our own citizens and I certainly wouldn't make light about it or joke about it.

Well, as I said, I was in favor of amnesty the first go 'round under President Reagan.
After it became clear the promises to seal the border was a hopeless case, I changed my view on a lot of things.

I can't debate you on how different people react to all of this mess, but in the here and now life, when I worked among "the criminals", I couldn't help but to get to know a few, and good working relations make the day go much smoother than if I stuck post it notes on their backs, "kick me I'm a border jumper".

Saying that, I will confess it does get to me at times, and it was in part, one of the reasons I left that particular restaurant. It was just too much sometimes listening to another language constantly on the work line and yes, I did have moments of "aw crap" when the guy with 5 kids (I said to him once, "so glad I was able to contribute to your children's education and health care all these years!" after I got it out of him he was on the dole.) became the manager and started bossing me around! Ack! Seriously, not all restaurants are like that... I don't think... I hope... maybe I'll move to Idaho or Wisconsin... oh wait!

Have a good day in spite of it all!
And don't be worried if I have a light disposition... I do vote!