2008 Woodie Awards
Dust Bowl descendents from Bakersfield are immigrants, too.
Maryann Kopp
Issue date: 10/10/07 Section: Opinion
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Like so many other inhabitants of Bakersfield, I come from a family of farmers who came out here during the Dust Bowl because there were few other choices at the time.
My relatives were poor and exploited as a result of circumstances that beyond their control. They were just trying to find a way to keep on living.
Many other people in Bakersfield have this same background.
How quickly we forget.
The issue of illegal immigrants has been everywhere, and Bakersfield just made the motion to stop being a so-called safe haven for any illegal immigrants.
I understand that immigration is something that should be monitored (because what would we ever do if we weren't able to say we're better than another region?), but I can't help but be a bit perplexed over how it all seemed to balloon overnight.
And what really bothers me the most is the incessant and generally unreasonable babble from people whose relatives were going through something very similar to what is going on right now.
I don't get you people. It's abhorrent when it happens to Americans, but if it happens to non-Americans right in front of our faces, it's OK?
Oh, that's right. Non-Americans are not human.
People are so quick to jump on any stupid bandwagon that I just want to know where the puppeteers have their hands shoved to make you all nod at the same time.
How can this bother people more than ignorant people having ignorant children, a war or the fact that thousands die from hunger every day?
For the most part, we are neck deep in "dummy" and it doesn't seem to trouble people a bit.
But anything the media may be blowing up does. And having your job stolen by an immigrant does.
I have to say that I find such accusations to be a total crock. I have never had any prospective job "stolen" from me because there was an illegal immigrant in line behind me. And if they wanted it that badly, I would even give them cutsies in line because I know perfectly well that there are other places just waiting to beat me up for some crummy hourly wage.
My relatives were poor and exploited as a result of circumstances that beyond their control. They were just trying to find a way to keep on living.
Many other people in Bakersfield have this same background.
How quickly we forget.
The issue of illegal immigrants has been everywhere, and Bakersfield just made the motion to stop being a so-called safe haven for any illegal immigrants.
I understand that immigration is something that should be monitored (because what would we ever do if we weren't able to say we're better than another region?), but I can't help but be a bit perplexed over how it all seemed to balloon overnight.
And what really bothers me the most is the incessant and generally unreasonable babble from people whose relatives were going through something very similar to what is going on right now.
I don't get you people. It's abhorrent when it happens to Americans, but if it happens to non-Americans right in front of our faces, it's OK?
Oh, that's right. Non-Americans are not human.
People are so quick to jump on any stupid bandwagon that I just want to know where the puppeteers have their hands shoved to make you all nod at the same time.
How can this bother people more than ignorant people having ignorant children, a war or the fact that thousands die from hunger every day?
For the most part, we are neck deep in "dummy" and it doesn't seem to trouble people a bit.
But anything the media may be blowing up does. And having your job stolen by an immigrant does.
I have to say that I find such accusations to be a total crock. I have never had any prospective job "stolen" from me because there was an illegal immigrant in line behind me. And if they wanted it that badly, I would even give them cutsies in line because I know perfectly well that there are other places just waiting to beat me up for some crummy hourly wage.
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