Return-Path: <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id h83HoH723363; Wed, 3 Sep 2003 13:50:17 -0400 (EDT) Date: Wed, 3 Sep 2003 13:50:17 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <26583D62A957714EAD30C4979B9359829E0FBD@mccmail.fpsnet.org> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Kevin O'Connor" <koconnor@framingham.k12.ma.us> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-ESL:9383] RE: "poem" X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Content-Type: text/plain; Status: O Content-Length: 3015 Lines: 30 Joe, Sorry you feel rebuffed, but the experience you describe is insufficient to justify painting all immigrants with such a broad brush. Many of the immigrants I know work menial jobs, pay taxes and receive far less from the government than most Americans do. They make better Americans than most citizens. Your party affiliation doesn't put you in a box, your narrow-minded judgment of "immigrants" does. To dismiss the struggles of every immigrant, casting them as social parasites, based solely on your experience with one group, is reductive and childish. Where did your parents come from? Don't be so proud. But for an accident of birth, you'd be in line at INS too. Kevin O'Connor -----Original Message----- From: Joe Little [mailto:fyi@americanliteracy.com] Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2003 12:39 PM To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: [NIFL-ESL:9360] RE: "poem" > It seems that you don't work with immigrants or don't see the realities of > their lives. Actually I *hope* you don't work with immigrants, because it > seems you would be insulting them daily. Sylvan and all, That's the thing-- the trouble-- with politics and labels. I can be a libertarian, which i am, and that instantly puts me in a box. But i don't live or work or think in that box.I worked with immigrants-- Domican Republicans, primarily-- from 1998-2001 in north Manhattan for a respectable, mainstream community service organization.u did well to hedge your hunch about my treatment of immigrants because i am, truly, a xenophile. It takes lots of guts to leave your community and come to a new one -- no matter how many uncles and cousins u have there waiting for u. I broke my neck for them, entered into their experience by learning more spanish, asked them query after query about their original culture, about their daily lives, went on field trips with them, called them at home, askd them to call/Email me at home, introduced them to my wife and kids, tried desparately to learn merengue, met their families. It was a mutually charmed relationship. And i'll be dang if they! learned more than 1 or 2% more english during their fall/spring with me! a huge part of the hurdle is the damnable nature of english spelling but a similar cliff for them was the utter reality that they didn't need to learn english. They didn't have to. No-body was giving them the tuff love they needed. To the best of my knowlege, they were either unemployed and received government aid......or worked menial jobs and received government aid. That's Washington Heights for u--tho i loved it, lived it and worked it for 6 happy years. But to be honest, as much as my wife and loved it, we grew weary of living and working in a community that spoke little English and had little incentive to do so--or i should say lots of financial disincentives. To the best of my experience, that is the reality of their life. Does the spirit or letter of what i'm saying sound insulting to u? All the best, Joe
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