Fausta Wertz – a conservative blogger who’s originally from Puerto Rico – has written a great post for her blog about the mainstream media’s inability to understand that many legal immigrants have little to no sympathy for illegal immigrants. As Fausta puts it:
What CNN can’t figure out is that Latinos in the USA who have worked their way to legally live here in accordance of US law, and who have taken the trouble of learning the language and the customs, and are fully integrated into American society are not happy to see people who willfully violate the law be granted special treatment and issued instant victim status…
It’s all because of the Left’s beloved identity politics. If you’re “Hispanic” (which is a completely artificial term, by the way), you’ve got to be in favor of amnesty. After all, most illegal immigrants are Hispanics, just like you. And if you’re an African American you have to support affirmative action. If you don’t, you’re a traitor. Why? Well, because most beneficiaries of affirmative action look just like you.
I know, if a conservative argued in a similar way he’d immediately be labelled a racist – and rightfully so. But different rules apply to progressives; hiding behind “social justice,” they get away with collectivism, identity politics and racism.
The reason they get away with the above is because conservatives haven’t done a good enough job calling them out on it. When progressives say this or that person should support this or that plan because of the color of their skin, they instantly have to be accused of racism and of an un-American lack of respect for individuality. When it comes to illegal immigration and racism, the Right has to be on the offensive, not on the defensive.