Reality
Make your own luck.
I think brehs in here are really struggling to understand the white fragility at play here with respect to illegal immigration. You know how we feel about gentrification of areas like SF, Harlem, Brooklyn, etc.? That's how white people feel about the entire country. Right or wrong.
Imagine if you lived in Harlem, and were voting for city council / board, whatever for that area. You've loved Harlem, Harlem's always been a place for you and people who look like you. It's familiar. It's black. You know your history and story as a Black-American is intertwined with Harlem's.
There've always been some Hispanic people in Harlem - you know them and they know you. You even have a special term for their small part of Harlem, "Spanish Harlem". Things have gotten tense at times with them, but there's still no question that Harlem is really yours.
Recently, though, white people have been moving into Harlem. And Harlem's feeling less and less familiar to you. With the influx, rents have gotten higher and things have gotten more expensive. To make it worse, you overheard one of them mentioning being new to the "SoHa" area recently. When you asked them to show some respect and refer to the area as Harlem instead, they looked at you crazy like you were out of line. "I have every right to call it SoHa," they said.
Mentioning the interaction with the "transplant" to one of your mixed buddies, he rebukes you - the proper term is unseasoned resident. "Transplant is harsh and makes it sound as if they've moved from somewhere else." But they have. The fukk?
There's an election for city council for the area that covers Harlem...
Candidate #1 says:
"We want to make Harlem a great place to live and work, for all people. We welcome all those who want to take part in what has made Harlem so great. All those who embrace it's vibrancy, energy, and creativity are welcome. Together, we will move Harlem forward so that it remains the greatest neighborhood in the world. And of course, many of you have seen rents and higher prices lately. We are going to work together so that the developers and corporations in Harlem give those who live in Harlem a fair shake."
Candidate #2 says:
"Harlem was the greatest neighborhood in the world, but unfortunately, it's been changing. I want to make Harlem great again by embracing the values that made Harlem so great for past generations: its vibrancy, energy, and creativity. And we want to make sure Harlem remains great for all the people that have made it so great. We're not going to let anyone change what Harlem is. If you live here, you don't call it NoHa, SoHa, or anything else. It's HARLEM. And Harlem's not Starbucks, Whole Foods, or luxury condominiums. Harlem is jazz. Harlem is Malcolm. And Harlem is Hughes. Harlem is HARLEM. And we're not going to let any outsiders change that."
A lot of people are going to vote number 2 no matter what, because at least candidate #2 is addressing the elephant in the room: Harlem's changing and you don't like it.
What's worse is that there are many in the country who have the perception (often correct) that their tax dollars are going to protect / serve / help the very people who they don't think should be here. The Democratic Party's economic message is bound to fall flat provided that they aren't willing to talk about illegal immigration as an economic issue. As it stands, the Democratic Party's discussion of illegal immigration is one of the least intellectually robust / honest discussions it has in my opinion.
Imagine if you lived in Harlem, and were voting for city council / board, whatever for that area. You've loved Harlem, Harlem's always been a place for you and people who look like you. It's familiar. It's black. You know your history and story as a Black-American is intertwined with Harlem's.
There've always been some Hispanic people in Harlem - you know them and they know you. You even have a special term for their small part of Harlem, "Spanish Harlem". Things have gotten tense at times with them, but there's still no question that Harlem is really yours.
Recently, though, white people have been moving into Harlem. And Harlem's feeling less and less familiar to you. With the influx, rents have gotten higher and things have gotten more expensive. To make it worse, you overheard one of them mentioning being new to the "SoHa" area recently. When you asked them to show some respect and refer to the area as Harlem instead, they looked at you crazy like you were out of line. "I have every right to call it SoHa," they said.
Mentioning the interaction with the "transplant" to one of your mixed buddies, he rebukes you - the proper term is unseasoned resident. "Transplant is harsh and makes it sound as if they've moved from somewhere else." But they have. The fukk?
There's an election for city council for the area that covers Harlem...
Candidate #1 says:
"We want to make Harlem a great place to live and work, for all people. We welcome all those who want to take part in what has made Harlem so great. All those who embrace it's vibrancy, energy, and creativity are welcome. Together, we will move Harlem forward so that it remains the greatest neighborhood in the world. And of course, many of you have seen rents and higher prices lately. We are going to work together so that the developers and corporations in Harlem give those who live in Harlem a fair shake."
Candidate #2 says:
"Harlem was the greatest neighborhood in the world, but unfortunately, it's been changing. I want to make Harlem great again by embracing the values that made Harlem so great for past generations: its vibrancy, energy, and creativity. And we want to make sure Harlem remains great for all the people that have made it so great. We're not going to let anyone change what Harlem is. If you live here, you don't call it NoHa, SoHa, or anything else. It's HARLEM. And Harlem's not Starbucks, Whole Foods, or luxury condominiums. Harlem is jazz. Harlem is Malcolm. And Harlem is Hughes. Harlem is HARLEM. And we're not going to let any outsiders change that."
A lot of people are going to vote number 2 no matter what, because at least candidate #2 is addressing the elephant in the room: Harlem's changing and you don't like it.
What's worse is that there are many in the country who have the perception (often correct) that their tax dollars are going to protect / serve / help the very people who they don't think should be here. The Democratic Party's economic message is bound to fall flat provided that they aren't willing to talk about illegal immigration as an economic issue. As it stands, the Democratic Party's discussion of illegal immigration is one of the least intellectually robust / honest discussions it has in my opinion.
