[quote]thunderbolt23 wrote:
Tiribulus wrote:
Every race, ethnicity, anthropological strain, whatever you wanna call it has morons, geniuses and everything in between. I do believe that intelligence is innate and is entirely distinct from education. In other words intelligence is how big a container you’re born with and education is what and how much you put in it to use an imperfect and incomplete analogy that still makes the point.
Are there differences in average bucket size between races? I think probably there is, but I don’t think it’s large enough to declare races of morons or races of geniuses.
I also believe it is undeniable that an alarmingly large percentage of people from anywhere who violate our borders illegally do so with no intention of ever contributing anything of value to this society regardless of how intelligent they may or may not be. There are smart lazy ass lowlifes and there are not so smart hard working people of character.
I generally agree with this, and that has been my point.
To begin, I simply do not think that Hispanics, as a group, are any less inherently intelligent, as a group, than any other ethnicity. That would be true for any ethnicity, in my view. Individuals certainly are not “blank slates” - inherent individual intelligence varies, and this is a matter of observable common sense - but again, as a group, Hispanics are not inherently “inferior” in the brainpower department.
If someone does, in fact, believe something different, I would not shrink away from telling them I think they are full of manure.
Many, many Hispanics - by way of legal and illegal immigration - have come into this country to merely be parasitic. They take advantage of a generous welfare state (that naturally differs by state) and refuse to assimilate, thus setting up a subsidized “subculure” predicated on taking but never giving anything back to the society that treats them as mere beneficiaries. These folks are aided and abetted by the grievance industry and the multicultural Left, which give them cover by damning anyone who dare criticize this “beneficiary only” relationship on the basis that we should respect their culture and that somehow, some way they are “victims” of American society and deserve “beneficiary” treatment.
On the other hand, there are many Hispanics here - by way of legal and illegal immigration - who want to escape desolate countries in search of the opportunities presented by America. They are willing to work hard. They are religious - often Catholic - and family-oriented. They don’t fear hard work and they contribute to society, if not as engineers or investment bankers, then as tradesmen and ultimately small business owners.
The salient point being - they are human. They are a mixed bag - some awful, lazy, and shaneful…some diligent, responsible, and appreciative. California exacerbates the problem by attracting the worst of this lot due to bad public policies - but that doesn’t mean that the entire group is subject to vile stereotyping at best or racism at worst.
However, regardless of which “subgroup” better defines the larger group, their illegal status is a problem that cannot continue - our national security and national sovereignty has to trump all else. Additionally, even for those that are here legally, their lack of assimilation on the broader American culture cannot continue.
America should be immigrant-friendly - we are a tribe based on ideas above all else. There should always be a place for non-Americans to come into this country legally if they want to take advantage of the “shining city on a hill”. But one of the aspects that makes America better than so many places in the world is our near-religious approach to the Rule of Law (even if it has waned). And we cannot undermine one of the very things that makes America worth coming to.
These are my views on the matter. I don’t support amnesty or anything like it, but nor do I support - or tolerate - hateful idiocy that is merely designed to slander an entire race of people but is cloaked in “public policy concerns”.
When I think that someone is coming a little too close to racist remarks, I don’t look the other way - I challenge them on them. If that causes a case of the vapors among our more delicate readers, not my problem to fix. The US had worked too hard, made too many mistakes along the way, and spent too much blood and treasure to protect our “tribe of ideas” grown out of the Declaration of Independence to yield to the kinds of sloppy and destructive ideas we see emerge in the debate on illegal immigration.[/quote]
Excellent post.
