.
.
.
.
.
A new campaign from Colorlines and the Allied Research Center calls on members of the media to stop using the word the I-word – “illegals”- in the newsprint, radio and television airwaves. As the website for the action states:
Use of the I-Word affects attitudes toward immigrants and non-immigrants alike, including people of color who come here from all over the world. The racially discriminatory message is not explicit, but hidden, or “coded.” The term has deliberately been made popular in the media by a web of people and organizations that both promote anti-immigrant sentiment and encourage fear and division instead of facts and understanding. This has happened in the past with other communities. The good news is that together we can Drop the I-Word and hold media and public servants accountable.
The Media Pledge Founding Signers are no real coups: The Progressive Magazine, Grit TV, The Nation Institute, et al haven’t really made a reputation for themselves as outlets that rant about immigration screaming “illegals!” Now, if our very own Orange County Register signed up and dropped the I-word, that would be a real shocker! Well, many of OJ readers may be thinking, “What part of illegal don’t you understand?” If I had pesos for every time a Know Nothing told me this, I’d be as rich as Carlos Slim!
The campaign breaks it down in 4 points: 1) It’s dehumanizing 2) It’s use impacts us now and in the future 3) It’s misleading legally and grammatically 4) It’s part of an anti-immigrant strategy.
The I-word has already triggered a boycott of the Fresno Bee. I’m not to found of its primo “illegal immigrants” either nor is the campaign. I have always used “undocumented immigrants,” but in my zeal, I will start to insert “NAFTA refugees” when appropriate into my journalistic vocabulary!
So how’s about it O.C. Register. Drop the I-word! And since I’m demanding the impossible, how about a gold-plated toilet too!
when does chicano studies class start .. lets not use the word because its the truth .. lets call when you break the law thats its not illegal to change lanes . or run a red light to lets change it to grammatically mistaken .. we should not call them illegals = maybe LAW BREAKERS , CUTTERS =people who cut in line .. NO RESPECTOS ..slang for people who dont respect our laws .. leeches = suck money from tax payers to pay for their health care , FORGERERS =people who use others soc sec number and copy them . .. would that suit you better .give me a break HERE JUST FOR YOU = ILLEGAL .
As always your Spanish is as bad as your English, cubano ignorante – it’s respeto.
What are you, the Ali G. of xenophobic foreigners?
Your the Cubano, right? Must be nice for Cubans to enjoy a different (more favorable) set of immigration laws and policies than Haitians and Mexicanos…
same old mexicans crying about the policy . boy you would love to get your hands on that policy . the whole country of mexico would be over here . in mexico you have elections , your free . cuba you have neither . slick willie put in that law . . cmon vern got to keep the anger going now that pedroza is gone .
Mexico was a one-party dictatorship up until 10 years ago. At no point during the reign of the PRI were Mexicans given any similar consideration concerning immigration…there were/are massacres, flagrant human rights abuses, a dirty war, and disappearances…your simplified dichotomy doesn’t shift that fact not even an inch.
Yes, love most likely you are! You’re parents ran from their country!
No they didn’t. One size does not fit all. My family lineage in the Southwest predates the Mexican-American war and the Gadsen purchase.
The border crossed us.
Well, well, you hit the lottery! You didn’t need to cross the desert to get here!
Lucky you! Don’t rub it in!
Did you hear about the 14 year old Mexican hit man for the drug cartel, he was born in SD!!!!! Then he crossed over to Mexico and cut off the heads of poor Mexican citizens! Maybe we need to more SD border in a little!!!!!
Your people have a lot of problems and this country is not your answer!
It is called deception! When you tell people to lie about the truth it is called deception!
New word for it?????
Nice picture of the lovely kid. And then their is the real picture! NAUI!
Allow me for be the first: What part of illegal don’t you understand?
You wouldn’t be the first: especially as noted in the blog. What part of human being don’t YOU understand?
Do they only become human beings when they cross the border, or do they just become relevant too your cause!
If you cared as much as you say you do! Then why would it not be more relevant to better the country they come from!
More nonsense coming out of your mouth. What are you doing to fight the corporate take over of this country? You really like lecturing Mexicans? Why don’t you lecture the Cubano?
I am a corporations! Most corp’s are small businesses that keep food on the plate’s of homes throughout this country. We are not rich by any means and we work our bollocks off!
You have no idea what YOU are talking about! Your have a double whamy problem; you are inflicked with liberalism and you also are a racist!
So therefore you see productive people as greedy white invaders! But really, we not only keep food on the plate of alot of YOUR PEOPLE, but make this the country a place for them to flee!
Cubans don’t need a lecture, they are not the one’s f&*KIng up!
It’s not a lecture, its VERY needed advice! Try it! it might be understood better in spanish!
You have an insatiable appetite for putting words in people’s mouths don’t you! I’m not a Liberal. You take that back! haha
Now go talk to yourself in the mirror!
Least, I can look at myself in the mirror! My conscience is clear!
YOU are a liberal; embrace it, then let it go!
Ha ha!
michell notice the words right out of the reconquista playbook . we didnt cross the border the border crossed us .. what was also missing was . no one is illegal , and we clean your toliets .. these hispanics activist nau chipolti salsa , quesadilla , and someone like gabe are reconquistas saying that california belongs to them ..
That’s no reconquismo – which I don’t subscribe too. It’s just historical fact. Don’t like it? Tough titty.
I think Gabriel the color of the people matter more to you than the human being!
I believe without a doubt that your culture has serious issues with race!
michell your right maybe we can lecture the so called hispanic la raza gabe . race , race , race , its all about race . the former owner of this site thought the same way . WE HAVE RULES IN THIS COUNTRY . something that gabriel does not respect . could we go into mexico and DO the samething over there . NO . we have had enought of the invasion . santa ana is already 90% hispanic . 80% of the homes in that city english is not what they speak .. michell speaks of santa ana often . just look in the register everyday …shooting in santa ana , man shot on a bike in s.a . fix your problems in your city . AND DONT BLAME THE WHITE MAN . none are around in s.a
How sad, this thread has had no real on-topic debate. Just immigrant ranting from the usual commentators. This is the result of the “Illegals” slurring media and its dumb dumb discourse!
.
.
.
.
Pssst! NAFTA refugees!
It is on topic! Except the difference is I am able to have a discourse with you! I am able to debunk your propaganda and ideological nonsense!
It is excellent! It is an open world inside the internet where ALL voices ideas, concerns can be voiced; not just yours using the liberal media!
I applaud and am grateful to the people who have developed this site for the reason’s above!
Say what you must and know that you will have discourse with someone who might not agree with you; its rare these days!
I bet you haven’t even clicked any of the links on the original post.
“It is excellent! It is an open world inside the internet where ALL voices ideas, concerns can be voiced; not just yours using the liberal media!”
The liberal media is a comfortable myth. HELL, the liberal class is a comfortable myth! If the media was really liberal, there would be no I-word campaign in the first place!
First of all it actually is a legal term. ICE refers to foreign nationalist who enter this country as Illegal Aliens! Other words illegally entering the country!
The myth is that you consider illegal Aliens from south of the border as the actual citizens!
Ie… The border crossed us!!!!
the media is not liberal haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa haaaaaaaaaaaaa are you on dope . please keep watching msnbc . AND DONTT COME BACK WITH THE NUMBER ONE NEWS STATION IS CONSERVATIVE . ITS THE ONLY ONE THAT PUTS ALL OTHERS TO SHAME .
MSNBC’s opinion people – Olbermann, Maddow, O’Donnell, Schultz, and to a lesser degree Matthews and Ratigan – are liberal although they criticize the Obama administration a lot, mainly for not being tough and liberal enough. FOX of course is batshit insane right, with no regard for the truth, which is why people like you and Michelle love it.
The rest of the media pretty much reports whatever the government and corporations tell them, and our government even under Obama is run by corporations almost as thoroughly as it was under Bush. Big corporations own most big media outlets. We liberals NOTICE when the media says or does anything “liberal,” which ain’t often.
And Gabriel says he’s not liberal. Probably because folks who have called themselves liberal for the last fifty years have been so disappointing. But I’d say my values (most of which Gabriel seems to share) are good old-fashioned liberal values. Like freedom, peace, prosperity, and giving everybody a chance.
This is what makes for real discourse: The truth!
Yes, Vern you are a liberal and Marsha the Marxist is a communist and that makes for a good debate!
You cannot have a logical debate if you cannot even stand by your own convictions!
Ok, so you’ve pointed out one channel — HOLY LIBERAL MEDIA CONGLOMERATE BATMAN!
And tell me, how many connections has the “liberal media” made between NAFTA and immigration?
What we have is a corporate media for the corporate state. It’s amusing to watch from the sidelines how people invest their emotions in the whole charade: MSNBC, FOX NEWS, DAILY SHOW…they ain’t sayin’ nothin’ when you really get down to it.
That is the difference between conservatives and liberals.. Liberals base their beliefs on emotion’s. Conservatives base it on common sense and facts!
You can’t bear to call illegal Aliens, Illegal Aliens based on the emotional connection you feel for them! The fact is they illegal enter this country within days when thousands of human beings try to legally enter this country for years
Last time I checked, “hate” is an emotion and drives the term “illegals” and indeed hate crimes of such aroused passions.
Now, the drop the I-word campaign makes cogent points as to why the terms use in the media is misplaced due to its grammatical and legal inaccuracies.
Do your homework!
ICE agents don’t deport people because they hate them! It is because they are illegal Aliens and they are doing an important job to protect American Citizens from the likes of Ramos who murdered three innocent men!
I don’t need to do my homework! I am an immigrant and I know the terms used to describe me! I am a legal Alien!
As legally came here from some where else!
YOU do your homework!
“Now, the drop the I-word campaign makes cogent points as to why the terms use in the media is misplaced due to its grammatical and legal inaccuracies.”
Visit their website. Attempt to grapple with their arguments.
fox is batshit insane right . ?????/ what do you call mslsd … yes lsd because they are taking that before the show starts you calll them normal . i call them looney tunes far left . they get their asses kicked by fox because they spend all their time trying to out do them overbite spends his hour ripping them . rachel i have no ratings maddow does the same . and lawrence odonnell . does he have any one who even tunes in . oh and i forgot i dont even know if he is on ed schultz who has what 4 viewers .
REASON #3 from the website.
3. IT’S MISLEADING LEGALLY AND GRAMMATICALLY INNACURATE: The i-word is used as a sweeping generalization to label people who are out of status due to a variety of circumstances. For example, many people:
* • Are brought to the country against their will.
* • Are brought by employers and often exploited for cheap labor.
* • Fall out of status and overstay their VISAS for a variety of reasons.
* • Risk being killed in their country of origin.
* • Are refugees due to bad economic policies such as NAFTA.
* • Are affected by natural disasters and/or other reasons beyond their control.
* • Are forced by economics and/or politics to risk everything simply to provide for their families.
This language scapegoats individual immigrants for problems that are largely systemic. The system itself pushes certain people into categories that are impossible to get out of. There exists a backlog of people who must wait years to get processed, even when they are eligible to get papers through a relative. In this broken system, there can be families with mixed status that get torn apart because family unification is not a priority of the system.
The i-word also ignores the fact that our laws are unjustly applied. Immigrants without documents are regularly hired as cheap, exploited labor with a limited ability to protect their own rights. No one else who benefits from the set up, including the employers who recruit and hire these migrants, is labeled this way. Reason.org illustrates this well with a chart of “Our Nation’s Broken Immigration and Naturalization System.”
The I -WORD is nothing like the N-Word for two reasons!
The N-word is very much an offensive term and it has a history of being offensive
Illegal is just that illegal!
The N-word could be used to describe an American Citizen (not very nice though)
Illegal Alien would not!
All the above which you termed are terms used to describe foreign nationalists in the country under different immigration status.
Illegal Aliens is a term used to describe someone who has bi-passed the immigration system and entered the country illegally!
And the fact that Americans hire illegal immigrants only hurts the country in a number of ways: it brings down wages, brings diseases, crime, over crowded schools and hospitals, gang members, and over all is not a good thing when it comes to the import of the third world poor. It also is not good for the third world to have a place to send your people instead of actually improving the country!
Immigration works fine; just ask any immigrant!
I understand your passion and I really do admire you for it!
But you must understand that illegal immigration in the long term is neither good for poor Mexicans/Central Americans or Americans citizens!
It’s the exploitation of a people both in their own county and here!
“But you must understand that illegal immigration in the long term is neither good for poor Mexicans/General Americans or Americans citizens! It’s the exploitation of a people both in their own county and here!”
If you believe this, where is your compassion?
When people have committed hate crimes, they don’t yell out “get the eff out of my country you …human being!’
Words matter.
I have compassion, but I put it to good use!
The schools that have a majority of hispanic’s are failing for two reason’s: Bad educators who could not care less about their job and parents who couldn’t care less about their job!
My compassion is also for the American citizens who have been pushed out of their local school districts, and neighborhoods because with a third world population comes all sorts of problems of course exasperated by corrupt American Citizens who see this third world population as a means to federal cash!
Your compassion has clouded your judgement. Santa Ana has the fastest growing single mother rate in the country!! Why do that is Gab? It is because the fathers are abandoning their kids to the welfare daddy!
Compassion has its place, but Santa Ana and it’s residents don’t need compassion they need a leader!
michell could not agree more , my girlfriend used to live in a part of industry /la puente years ago . she said it was so nice back then . we went to visit that same area this weekend .. 8 cars park in a home . dirty , you could see the quailty has gone down . bars on windows . first signal right there . values of homes in the area has dropped . i know prices are down but if you saw what isaw . it reminded me of driving into santa ana – sad