Re: Tina Aschenbrenner’s May 2 letter, “Is the U.S. great or racist?�:
Ms. Aschenbrenner’s letter has drawn an erroneous parallel to the pilgrims coming to America and the plight of the illegal Mexican immigrant.
She asks if we culturally assimilated and learned the native language of the indigenous people. We did not. So Ms. Aschenbrenner must be implying that the illegal Mexicans must learn our language! The Native Americans were Stone Age people, and although that is no excuse, it is indeed a reason. In the 1600s, might made right. In the 21st century, that is not true.
What is true is rule by law. Unlike my native brothers of the 1600s, The United States has laws and the means to enforce them. Indeed, the country was founded on rule by law, not divine right.
Ms. Aschenbrenner seems to imply that the illegal Mexican immigrants have a right to be here. They do not. They are no more pitiful than the Italian immigrant, the German immigrant or the much maligned and hated Irish immigrant. All of these people and more toiled under the same hardship, the same destitute circumstances, but all had the same dream of America.
Yes, America depends heavily on immigrants. We are all immigrants. But we learned the language. We learned the laws. We earned the respect of our countrymen.
To simply dispense amnesty like condoms or hypodermic needles is to cheapen the blood, sweat, toil and tears of those immigrants who risked everything to become an American the honorable and legal way.
If Ms. Aschenbrenner has to ask if the United States is great or racist, then perhaps she should try being a Guatemalan immigrant in Mexico.
— Tim Robbins, Thousand Oaks
Mr. Robbins: #1) Yes, immigrants "should" learn our language (it's a language, afterall, that is pretty practical/marketable worldwide). #2) How ethnocentric does one have to be to call Native Americans "Stone Age people" ? (i.e. the "civilized" Europeans coming to rescue the "wild savages-" mentality?... If one studies the Mayan calander, it's easy to see they were not so primitive. If they had been why were the Spaniards so threatened by all their documents which lead to their burning/destroying them all?) #3) So we arbitrarily decide at some randomn point in history that "might" no longer "makes right"? How convenient for us, not so for American natives. And they did have laws and tried to enforce them. #4) Immigrants are "pitiful"? Nice! And #5) I know about Mexican racism (it's actually more an issue of classism) but I expect more of the U.S.
Mexico is full of racism, class-ism and corruption!
Not to mention huge hypocrites!
Mr. Robbins point was that pilgrims migrated to what country exactly??? There was no country & in fact many tribes didn't even get along with each other.
Tina is a loon, she doesn't even know who the fist women to run for president is and never heard of a hybrid SUV. She is mean, intolerant and projects her own biases onto everybody else. Just read any of her letters. She is a democrat who accuses everybody of being exactly what she is.
I did do a search on Tina, she is odd to say the least. Her latest letter in the Acorn as usual is full of factual errors.
She stated candidates served longer then they actually did.
In fact they'd had to have won and served the next session to make her facts correct.
She said it was a precarious time and that change was needed yet supported candidates that have been on the council for years.
Then she went on to state that term limits "ensures a clear, clean balance of power" which of course it never has and never will unless someone changes the English language.
Mia,OMG, i didn't believe you but here it is.
tina should look in the mirror if shes looking for racism.
I'd love to know why tina doesn't try to raise up Mexico, but instead works to bring us down. I know she doesn't think they are bringing us down.. meanwhile CA is 25 billion in the hole and looking more and more like Mexico, corruption and financially speaking (& other ways), but don't tell tina.