Rootless Response

The promised land for these folks

Inscription on the Statue of Liberty

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,With conquering limbs astride from land to land;Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall standA mighty woman with a torch, whose flameIs the imprisoned lightning, and her nameMother of Exiles. From her beacon-handGlows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes commandThe air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame."Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
' With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

@Rootless

Colonization and immigration are two separate issues.

Colonization first. You could say that the British, the French and the Spanish colonized the land mass that is now called the continental United States.

The British surrendered control to the new Republic. The French were bought out (The Louisiana Purchase) and I am not sure why the Spanish left. Maybe they couldn't find gold out west and gave up.

I consider myself a Native American as I was born on US soil.

As anywhere in the world where there is a conflict of interest over land and resources between parties, the one with superior numbers and technology always wins. I am not saying it is good or bad, it just "is".

I look at it as more of a social and cultural Darwinism than what you describe as "genocide and slavery". The westward expansion of US citizens certainly did not have bloodthirst in mind.

Immigration makessense if it benefits the home country. The UAE is a great example. We expats come here, and under strict rules and regulations, work hard for a few years, hope to save some money and go back home. The country ends up better for our efforts and skills.

We do have a few mandated benefits, but they are small and not intended to keep us around past our usefulness. I think this is a good immigration policy and the UAE has to do this as the native Emiratis are outnumbered 40 to 1 by immigrants.

In the US, an illegal, pregnant Mexican woman only has to give birth to her child on US soil and the child is automatically a US citizen for life.

Believe me, these births are arranged. The US has a huge social safety net that will take care of them. There is proposed legislation in Washington that is designed to remedy this loophole that is being taken advantage of.

Lax immigration laws of the past are being revised by many countries because of the "not what I can do for the country, but what can the country do for me" attitude of a growing number of immigrants.

When immigration becomes a liability, the doors will shut. Same in the UAE, when I outlive my usefulness, I will be deported. Its only fair to the Emeratis, I don't wish to be a burden.

The  immigrants you personally know may not fit into the category, but the mere fact that it is harder to obtain US citizenship in the past few decades is proof that more and more wannabees have the wrong attitude, and us Native Americans are tired of it. Its happening in many European countries too.

As far as my Muslim taxi driver in Hartford, Connecticut a few years ago, he was only one of about 30 other Muslim taxi drivers who would agree to stop by a store so I could get a six-pack of beer to take to my hotel room. I was honest and told the dispatcher what my intentions were.

He announced my desire over the radio and everyone of the drivers in the cue refused. Finally the dispatcher said he found a guy but I had to meet him away from the taxi queue of his peers, so I did.

He duly stopped by a convenience store and when I came back with a 6-pack of Bud, he told me to put it in the trunk. The driver knew I was not going to stiff him because I left my luggage and valuables in the taxi. I should have been more worried about him running off.

When we got to the hotel, I tried to give him a generous tip because I felt he had taken a chance of getting his ass whupped by his brethren if they found out he transported alcohol. He told me to keep my fucking stinking money. That's when I got pissed-off!

This was the way I was treated in my own country by an immigrant. He was the agent of a government regulated taxi company that existed to serve the public without discrimination. Yet here I was refused carriage by his Muslim brothers and insulted by him.

I wasn't the only one this happened to. The same thing was big news in Chicago when a Flight Attendant was refused a taxi ride because she carried a bottle of wine from her trip to Italy. Muslim taxi drivers also refused to let seeing-eye dogs for the blind into their taxis because they were considered "unclean".

The government had to step in and the madness was finally stopped. Hopefully the Muslim immigrants found employment more suitable to their temperament.

This would have never happened in the UAE to an Emirati or the lot would be on the next flight eastward. AS IT SHOULD BE!!!!