Thanks, AMike, for the reminder that the liking and tolerance we have for differences among our friends should also be applied, as a principle, to those with whom we are not personally involved as friends and with whom we differ mightily.
If you are an Emerson fan, you may have read, or might enjoy reading this, a copy of which is probably in your university library:
http://openlibrary.org/b/OL4468308M/Ralph_Waldo_Emerson.
If you can't find it, it is quoted here:
http://books.google.com/books?id=7w5xBSIA-NAC&pg=PA172&lpg=PA172&dq=warren+staebler+ralph+waldo+emerson&source=bl&ots=A4j4Eayl1C&sig=N4xct33WafTkkrGtlzREzqZ4iKI&hl=en&ei=TyS1SvDpMZHM8QaIqcmTDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5#v=onepage&q=warren%20staebler%20ralph%20waldo%20emerson&f=false

There I found it. Not many comments here but a lot of people read your post Professor.:

Accidentally, some of the tens of thousands of Jews who were partners in mixed marriages were included in the roundup. Himmler, bombarded with petitions, petulantly complained in a speech to SS generals:
And then there come eighty million worthy Germans, and each one has his decent Jew. Of course, the others are vermin, but this one is an A-1 Jew, a decent Jew...among ourselves it should be mentioned quite frankly--but we will never speak of it publicly--just as we did not hesitate on June 30, 1934, to do the duty we ordered to stand comrades up against the wall and shoot them, so we have never spoken about...cleaning out the Jews,the extermination of the Jewish race. Most of you must know what it means whe a hundred corpses are lying side by side, or five hundred or a thousand. To have stuck it out and at the same time remained decent fellows, that is what has made us so hard. This is a page of glory in our history which has never been written and will never be written.

Justice At Nuremberg.. 268-269

We Americans must do the right thing and make sure illegals never get access to medical care.
But we will need funding to get rid of the bodies.
WHO IN THE HELL IS GOING TO PAY FOR THE BURIALS?
And what about underground doctors who help the helpless in violation of the law. we must make examples of these traitors.
We need to 'round them up' as soon as possible. Oh there will be citizens who have particular affinities and relationshps with these illegals.
But in order to help the American Reich, SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE RIGHT NOW.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JAXKIKehbc

Really nice post. I can tell I'm missing a part of the bigger point. You bring up a reaction that surprised me at first too ... but not after pondering the situation.

I think you miss some of the larger context with the illegal immigration problem. The reason why the "undocumented worker" frame is simply inaccurate to many is because when the individuals are detected they are not given paperwork. They are detained and removed from the country. The presence within our borders is not legal. Those who come know it full well, which is why they seek in instead of passing through a legal port of entry. Getting caught up in the semantics probably isn't really helpful.

A lot of perception is based on geographic location and profession. Someone in the NE is never going to understand the pressures that exist in San Diego or Tucson, and a professional will never understand through personal experience the impacts on a blue-collar worker. Some points of view make it far easier to approach the problem in the abstract - place the individuals in an anthropological frame and apply the aspirations of the Latin American lower class on an overall humanistic level that largely ignores borders. But it is only isolation from the interaction in the context of America that makes such academic detachment possible.

Imagine if you came to work and someone informed you that the history(?) department was bringing in a different teaching crew and you were fired (in construction, "you" are a framer). After a few weeks, on unemployment you realize that many of the universities in the areas are also using similar crews for history instruction and there are no jobs available in the field. One guy offers to let you be an assistant technician in the science lab because he feels sorry for you, but it only pays $8/hr and he can't guarantee 40 hrs a week (a framing journeyman offered a job helping hang doors).

Later at the bar, you run in to one of your old colleagues who is still at the university teaching economics(the drywall guys). He tells you that everyone in your old department is working for half the wages through a subcontractor and all they have to do is put a body in front of the class. The individual instructors change frequently, and he found out the swap-out instructors are processed on the same social security number and paid through a wolf(long story). But he tells you a hilarious story about how when immigration visited the school - the entire history department scattered like ants ... jumped out of second story windows ... one even ran into his classroom in front of all the students and dove into the broom closet; says they must have arrested at least a dozen people. When you ask if that means they're hiring again he just chuckles and says "Nah, they had a new bunch back in time for an evening lecture."

Oh yeah, and you notice a couple three bedroom houses in your neighborhood now have what appears to be at least 14 people each living there. A few individuals always seem to be the same, but many only stay a month or two. But they are awful nice (no sarcasm, generally wonderful individuals) and even invited you over for beers at a weekend BBQ when there was a celebration.

This happens in the specific(that's pretty much the story of a good friend) and abstract(there are thousands of people with similar stories). Beers, BBQ and even a sleepover won't relieve the underlying issue of friction. Individual interaction and relationships are quite cordial, but the stress of the situation creates support for policies that aggressively respond (or purport such) to resource depletion. It's not xenophobia or a lack of human understanding, it is scarcity.

While important to put yourself in the shoes of the immigrant community - it is also important to stand in the shoes of effected Americans as well. By understanding the competition for finite (dwindling) resources, it makes it far easier to discuss policy in terms that address the real underlying needs that result in strong policy beliefs which are often trivially dismissed as a lack of empathy.

As mentioned, I was somewhat surprised at the point of view demonstrated by some people here regarding health care for immigrants. In my mind it seems sort of a no-brainier that ER wait times would decrease and overall costs would come down if we dealt with immigration health issues outside the emergency room. This is true as far as that goes. But retrospectively, it makes sense that in a toe-to-toe competition for basics some people view difficulty getting care as a disincentive to come illegally in the first place. That's a trickier nut to crack. Bridging the divide will take understanding of those in America who feel this way and addressing their needs.

This is really just a prelude to the immigration reform debate that is on the horizon. When it arrives, don't judge your fellow TPMers too harshly. Folks are coming from very different points of view and under very different pressures.

Short and sweet. Not just by class, amike...but economic segregation as well.

And this occurs in all races, sects and genders.

C

Neat post, amike. Very thoughtful. Hey, why not design a curriculum on crossing ethnic and cultural frontiers. If one hasn't done it, they've missed something very beautiful in their lives.

Two thoughts stuck in my mind before I read all the comments:
On strangers, and the way Emerson depicts the household reacting (very well-said): If a stranger comes to your door; treat him well, because it might just be the Buddha. A hard, but sound rule to live by.
I agree with Emerson: I have always wanted my closest friends to be willing to kick my butt when I need it; not from envy or pique or some petty reason, but if I am off course, and I need a reminder, even if it's not all that gentle!
It's so interesting that three such diverse posts gelled for you so well. It was clear in your brief comment to curt's post that you were gonna do some heavy cogitatin'! You did, and it was grand; the Emerson was just what i needed this morning. Thank you, miketheharbor.