Commentroversy: Rev. Nate Walker And Quite Possibly The Smartest, Most Beautiful Thing Anyone Has Ever Said In Philebrity Comments
Now, we know that the bar has not been set particularly high — that’s your problem, Philebrity Wack Pack — but in response to this post about yesterday’s immigration reform march in Philly, Rev. Nate Walker of First Unitarian Church left his account of yesterday, and quite frankly, it got us. Right here. He said:
We gathered today to stand on the side of love with immigrant families. We gathered at the birthplace of our nation to remind elected officials of their duty to uphold the U.S. Constitution.
We gathered as people of faith, to not only condemn Arizona’s SB1070, but to make clear that we will not accept any such copycat legislation here in Pennsylvania.
We forcefully condemn any legislation that permits the police to harass, detain and discriminate against racial minorities regardless of their citizenship status. This is clear violation of the Constitutional guarantee to due process and equal protection.
Too much of our public discourse about immigration reform is driven not by love, but by fear, which often scapegoats racial minorities and deem immigrants as somehow less than human. This is not only a violation of all faiths which are centered in love but also a violation of our country’s founding documents.
When will our Union learn to be united? No one is illegal; no human being can ever be deemed illegal – an identity, a race cannot be legislated out of existence. We hold these truths to be self-evident. All humans are created equal and endowed with certain unalienable rights.
We gather as part of a national movement to harness the power of love to stop oppression, exclusion, and violence. Let this gathering serve as an invitation to all people to stand on the side of love with immigrant families.
Rev. Nate Walker
First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia
Hear, hear! Thanks Rev.
May 27th, 2010 at 11:58 am
beautiful!
May 27th, 2010 at 2:26 pm
The state of Arizona is enforcing existing federal immigration laws. Protesters should be demanding immigration reform not boycotting Arizona.
My brother-in-law got his green card a few years ago. It cost him a pretty penny due to all the attorney fees, etc.
May 27th, 2010 at 2:48 pm
Everyone stands on the side of love with immigrant families. Just not illegal immigrant families.
May 27th, 2010 at 4:40 pm
With all due respect to the Reverend, this comment is the kind of feel-good fluff I have seen laughed out of the Philebrity comment section on numerous occasions (which is just as much a condemnation of the “Wack Pack” as it is the moderators).
The fact is, undocumented workers are diluting the labor pool. They are not doing work “that not even blacks want to do.” They are doing work that no one wants to do for sub-minimum/standard wage without benefits. Of course people are scared irrational when compounded with outsourcing, high unemployment and the media sensationalizing Mexican drug gangs. However, you don’t punish the people who come over seeking a better life. You find a way of severely disincentivizing those that exploit such labor. So yes, legislation like that of Arizona is mean-spirited bullshit (though not unprecedented).
However, just granting blanket immunity to those that illegally enter the country – because “no one is illegal” – is also unreasonable. As much as I would love an anarcho-syndicalist utopia, that will just not fly in the face of reality. We have laws to protect our current socioeconomic framework and simply flinging all borders open is something that no industrialized nation is prepared to do. Yes, people themselves are not necessarily “illegal,” but some have certainly sought residence here in an illegal manner. If you get caught, tough shit – you took that gamble coming up (or over or down, you filthy Canadians). You are not entitled to citizenship without going through legal channels.
Those that exploit undocumented labor will join the compassionate cause and decry true immigration reform as xenophobia. We must not focus on the compassion argument (though we should avoid mean-spirited legislation) but instead approach the problem from a pragmatic approach: cut off the undocumented job supply and stream-line legal channels of immigration (while heavily subsidizing/facilitating micro-lending that will aid in Mexican and South American autonomy).
I guess it’s nice that folks are paying more attention to the matter, but it is far too often that you only hear the “gotta catch ‘em all” or “amnesty for all” arguments.
with love,
A Feculent Cesar Chavez