Xenophobia - here and there

Tim James and his teabaggin' supporters think it's great that he is being criticized by the New York Times.

I think it's great, too. Let's the world know that there are still phobic (xeno - in this case) people in our state. And helps educate the people who live here about things like this.

Some of the auto plant workers in our state speak Japanese, Korean and German (that's the home countries of the auto industries that have located here, you know).

The state also offers tests in Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, French, Greek, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese and American Sign Language.

I personally want people who are seeking a driver's license to be tested on how well they know the laws and how well they can drive, not on how well they can speak the English language.

Some people come to this country with full intentions of learning English and they need to be able to make a living while doing so. Being able to drive really is a necessity in our state if one wants to work because we refuse to provide decent public transportation in most (all) areas.

Xenophobia is a fear or hatred of anyone or anything foreign or unfamiliar. The result is a pandering to the far right group of voters that want Alabama to change from a red state to a white state.

Xenophobia is fueling the immigration debate surrounding the Arizona law also. Anyone with any knowledge of our nation's history can see the parallels between this law and the actions in the 1920's and '30's in Alabama and other southern states where blacks were picked up under suspicion of "loitering" and charged and convicted using racist laws. Then when they couldn't pay the fines and court costs they were forced into labor with corporations that were in on the deal.

Many of these black men were never allowed to see their families again, just as many of the immigrants being targeted would be separated from their loved ones and may never see them again.

Hatred hurts. So does ignorance. When you combine the two, watch out.

Oh, another good thing resulting from Tim James' ad is this parody by Dustin Timbrook. I'm not familiar with Three Happenin Guys, but I might go see them at Bottletree this month (May 28).