My Olympic Size Pool Full of Money and Response to Jenny
Jenny commented on my first post "The Beat Goes On". Read "The Beat Goes On", then read her comments and then read this post.
Hi Jenny. There is a Brazilian population here in Hartford, CT, where I live and work, and consequently there is an older and vibrate Portuguese population as well. These populations both exist in Danbury, CT. and are drawn to each other because of the language they share in common. I mentioned the Portuguese specifically because, as you mentioned, they have a longer history as immigrants in the U.S. and still decided to support the human rights of their Brazilian friends and neighbors.
Yes. It is immoral for business owners to take advantage of an economic situation were they are always able to boot legal workers in exchange for illegal immigrants who are often willing to work under harsher conditions for less money. Clearly this is a practice that needs to end. Understand though, that it is not the undocumented immigrant that is to blame, but the business owner that is immoral enough to make and let any employees work in inhuman situations and disregard basic human rights.
My support of oppressed and disenfranchised peoples is based on the belief that the denial of human rights to one is a denial of human rights to all. My support of one group is not a denial of the needs of another group, but a manifestation of my belief that what is beneficial to the “least of these” is beneficial to all.
It is important to find where disenfranchised peoples’ stories connect and overlap in order to make true progress on important issues. Therefore, better treatment for women in the work place and an end to sexist imagery and language is also beneficial to our LGBTQ brothers and sisters. It follows that, improving the working conditions and compensation of Americans in low wage jobs also improves the working condition of newly legalized American immigrants and undocumented immigrants, who many American companies continued to hirer.
The rally in Danbury was in support of families that had been divided by ICE raids conducted on there homes. Danbury’s small police force works to stop the unfair treatment of workers (undocumented and documented). They also have the capacity to find illegal immigrants in the community, which they certainly should be doing. The fear was that this new partnership, between the city police and the federal ICE agents, was going to end any level of trust between undocumented peoples and the local police force.
Undocumented workers whose human rights were being violated, or who are in life threatening domestic disputes, or who feel they were being discriminated against would not longer be able to go to the local police for support.
These are human rights issues that are universal and do not just extend to legal citizens, but to all people within our boarders whether they have a green card, no card, or a drivers’ license. The Human Right agenda also extends far beyond our borders and calls us to act on the continent of Africa. You are right to say we need to stand up for the human rights of documented American citizens, but my experiences in Mexico and Spain and on my street in Hartford, CT. call me to go even further and work toward adherence to basic human rights anywhere I am in the world. Thanks for your comments.
P.S. I do roll on dubs, swim in a pool of money every morning, and only wear clothing made of polar bear skin.