Addressing Immigration Myths - Skeptoid - JosephBruceBustillos.com

It’s far too easy to assume that these new arrivals who don’t speak our language or understand our customs are getting away with something. It’s a natural human assumption to be cautious around strangers and those one doesn’t know. Different countries or cultures have interesting stereotypes about which ones are more “friendly” toward strangers and which ones are more withdrawn. It’s not quite the same thing, but there was a time when American travelers were criticized for smiling too much and being so damn positive all the time. I’m afraid those times are long gone.

A girlfriend, several decades ago, was angry whenever she saw young mothers pushing strollers around the neighborhood while she had to drive to work. It didn’t help that she didn’t liked her job, but the real problem was that the mothers were brown and she thought that they must be taking advantage of the system in a way that she didn’t or couldn’t when she was a young single-mother. So, besides having no idea what these women’s stories might have been, she was more than a little bitter about the difficult situation she had been through when she had a little one to take care of and couldn’t enjoy the bliss of being a stay-at-home/full-time mom. And the more she felt pressure paying bills and having split responsibilities, the more it pissed her off when she saw others getting what looked like an easier deal. It seems that if you overcome your struggles sometimes the result is that you become strong and compassionate towards others’ struggles or you become strong and bitter because what you faced wasn’t “fair.” In this case, she was the latter. Sadly, that would seem to be the way that our whole nation has decided to deal with the situation of immigrants and immigration.

A couple weeks ago a podcast called Skeptoid addressed a list of myths regarding the harm caused by immigrants and immigration. It was as clear an introduction and presentation on what’s true and not true about how this country has prospered because immigrants, in the past, have wanted to come here, but not for the reasons so often cited by the current national administration. it’s interesting how those who would say that they are promoting a lifestyle and government based on the Bible completely ignore Old Testament and New Testament commands on how we should treat those strangers among us, having learned our hard lessons from when we were strangers in a strange land. Please give a listen to the presentation by Brian Dunning from Skeptoid media. Enjoy.