Please Someone Read a History Book (and learn from it)!

Anti-immigration sentiment comes and goes, often with economic trends or conflicts between countries. While nationalism is important for a country’s survival, at a point it becomes more of a detriment than anything else. Blaming economic problems on an immigrant group may be good politics, but it will not solve any real problems. The U.S. is anti-immigration with regard to “Mexicans”, I put that in quotes because many Americans don’t make any distinction between people from Mexico and those that are Hispanic. Passing blame for economic problems onto Mexican immigrants is not good, nor is treating Muslims poorly because a few people who happened to be Muslim attacked us.

While illegal immigration of Mexicans, and other groups, causes economic and social problems they are not the cause, and legal immigrants certainly are not to be blamed. Why then, do politicians blame them? I think they blame them because focusing on a group of people to blame for problems is much easier than giving long winded answers to the electorate. People respond much better to “knowing” that everything in their world would be fine if they just got rid of the Mexicans or whatever ethnic group is “ruining” their country. Sure politicians could blame Wall Street, the government, or society as a whole, but blaming a minority group is much easier. Not to mention immigrants usually make up less wealthy groups in a society. Placing blame on a group that cannot easily defend themselves because of their social or economic status is much easier than blaming those that have power or money.

I am not surprised by current anti-Mexican or anti-Muslim fervor, just disappointed. Americans used to blame Irish immigrants for our economic problems. We blame the Mexican’s now. We felt so justified in blaming all Japanese-Americans for Pearl Harbor that we shoved them into internment camps. Fortunately we learned from that mistake. Well learned not to be quite as obvious with our racism against Muslim-Americans. For example, Americans aren’t talking about taking away all their rights like was done to the Japanese-Americans. Instead the anti-Muslim groups just don’t think Freedom of Religion is something Muslim-American citizens should enjoy.

I’d rather future generations read about our time in America’s history and have it bring a feeling of pride instead of shame. I know when I look back on America’s treatment of the Irish immigrants or of Japanese immigrants in the past; I do not do so with pride. If the racist few in America become the loudest or worst become a plurality then I shudder to think of the shadow that will once again be cast on America.

--Briana Giosta