ALPERN AT LARGE - I realize that it's a new century, a new millennium and a new way of thinking for all of us, and "all of us" certainly includes me. So I guess it's time I apologized to all of those that I offended because I suggested they did something illegal. Because clearly the problem is ME.
So while I always thought that driving wasn't a right but a privilege (that's what I was taught, but I guess all my teachers were wrong), it's clear that I was in error when I thought that giving driver's licenses for being here illegally was a bad thing. So I was the one who was wrong, and I'm sorry!
And while the LA Times proclaimed Friday, September 13th that the "State passes bill to license more drivers", of interest is that the Times now acknowledges those now eligible for licenses are here illegally. But that's still a good thing, right?
Friday the 13th, indeed--especially for troglodytes like myself that still thought that "illegal" was a bad thing. And maybe the Times should apologize for using that "I” word, which is on its way to being as pejorative to Latinos as the "n-word" is to African-Americans.
And I thought that flooding the labor market with cheap, unskilled labor was also a really bad thing, because while I believe that no man or woman should support their family on our current minimum wage, I can't think of a better way to keep wages low that to encourage that flood. But I was wrong, apparently--and so was my thinking that the best way to help low-wage workers was to abide by that ol' "supply/demand" thing.
So I'm sorry, all you kids who thought fast food jobs would and should be there for you, with upward mobility and the opportunity to make a few bucks before moving on to more lucrative opportunities. And I'm sorry, all of you grown men and women who are forced to get by with ridiculously low wages. I always thought that enabling unscrupulous employers with generations of breaking immigration law was bad ... but I was wrong.
And while I think it's high time that the minimum wage caught up with modern times, I thought that the concerns about the consequences that would result--less hiring, higher food prices--were bad for everyone ... but I was wrong. Really, I'm sorry!
And the misery I feel towards black Americans and legal immigrants devastated by the flood of low/unskilled labor? Clearly, I was in the wrong, because prominent African-American leaders are all jumping on board with defending the rights of illegal--er, undocumented--immigrants to work.
And the tendency of "undocumented" immigration to undercut worker rights? Well, I was wrong about that, too--because the new Secretary of Labor Perez really GETS capitalism and knows what it takes to make jobs, and the President who pushed for Perez' nomination was able to undercut AFL-CIO complaints about Obamacare while disallowing union exemptions about it.
And those awful Republicans like Marco Rubio who opposed Perez' nomination? Clearly, Rubio (who first proposed the Dream Act before President Obama co-opted it during the last election cycle) is not as in touch with Latino needs and goals as is Mr. Perez. Rubio owes Latinos and Mr. Perez an apology, too, right?
So my concerns about the devastation of the middle class, worker opportunities and rights, and full-time employment because of "comprehensive immigration reform" and Obamacare and a union agenda designed to benefit Washington political agendas? All wrong--really, I'm sorry!
And those "immigrants lacking papers" using their smarts and sweat to become independent contractors, as just lionized by the Times?
Well, their efforts are truly exemplary, but I guess the efforts and opinions and plight of legal immigrants aren't important, because I just never read about it...and probably these legal immigrants and their attitudes about "undocumented" immigration DON'T EVEN EXIST, because their lives don't merit any articles from the Times or any other major newspaper.
And the opportunities for legal work permits, green cards, military service or other opportunities for "undocumented" immigrants to be here legally ALSO DON'T EXIST, because they're just not given much ink in this big debate.
Closer to home, it's clear that Angelenos don't mind the $100,000 or so per child that taxpayers pay for a K-12 education for children smuggled here illegally...although I see an awful lot of Angelenos (most of them proud, self-described liberals) doing amazing things and spending an awful amount of money to have their children educated in schools that don't have "those people" enrolled.
So when I see my Latino nurses glaring and resentful towards young Latino patients who've been here for years and who just don't want to learn English? I guess they're wrong, and they should be sorry, too.
So the lack of discussion about Filipino and Asian immigrants here illegally because of overstaying their visa? Well, maybe there's racism there as well--after all, Filipinos and Asians don't learn English and try to fit in either, right? Clearly those concerned about undocumented immigrants who refuse to learn English (who are predominantly from only one country on the planet) never would be racist against Filipinos and Asians.
So the discussion of what separates an illegal from a legal immigrant, and what separates an immigrant from an alien is just all racism and bigotry and short-sightedness, from which myself and others clearly suffer. And we all need to open our eyes and realize that words and laws shouldn't mean anything...because they can be so very easily changed if a popular and convenient agenda--er, paradigm shift--requires them to be changed.
So when we talk about Wall Street banks, firms and hedge fund operators as violating the law and ripping off investors and stockholders ... we really should be describing those entities as "free-thinkers" and "innovators".
So when we talk about those not paying their taxes as required by federal, state and local laws...we should be describing those individuals and corporations as "capitalists" and "freedom fighters".
So when we talk about federal, state and local politicians spending more money than government takes in, and when they spend it on political donors and groups of constituents who will re-elect them even if the general electorate suffer because of these unsustainable spending policies...we should be describing these individuals as "leaders" and "compassionate conservatives" and "champions of the poor".
And when we talk about giving drivers licenses and special benefits to individuals who presumably knew rather well that they were breaking the law when they snuck into this country and/or overstayed their visas? Well, rather than come up with a method to separate those who are truly contrite and want to do right by their new country to become American, from others who may not have those noble and human sentiments...
...we should recognize that we're offending everyone here illegally (er, "undocumented"), and especially those who do not want to become part of the American tapestry.
And we need to prioritize those who choose not to operate by silly rules devised in barbaric times, over those silly and old-fashioned enough to cling to the ridiculous notion that these barbaric laws and rules still matter in these open-minded, tolerant, and ultra-compassionate Brave New World.
Really, everyone ... I'm sorry!
(Ken Alpern is a Westside Village Zone Director and Boardmember of the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC), previously co-chaired its Planning and Outreach Committees, and currently is Co-Chair of its MVCC Transportation/Infrastructure Committee. He is co-chair of the CD11 Transportation Advisory Committee and chairs the nonprofit Transit Coalition, and can be reached at [email protected] This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . He also co-chairs the grassroots Friends of the Green Line at www.fogl.us. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Mr. Alpern.)
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 11 Issue 75
Pub: Sept 16, 2013