What I Learned About Gays and Lesbians

The presentation on Maria’s blog did a great job showing what gays in America have to go through. I thought that our country was taking some steps towards equal treatment of everybody since in the news we hear about state allowing gay marriage. I guess I was wrong. I had no idea that it is legal in 31 states to fire someone because they are gay. That to me is crazy. If someone is good at their job and does a great job for the business, then what does it matter if they are gay or not. Why in the world should that be the reason that the person should lose their job? The interview with the middle school student was interesting as well because it showed firsthand how people are treated and what kind of affects it has on the individual. It is even worse that a child has to deal with things like this since adolescence is the hardest time for anyone. It is when people establish their opinions and become a person and for them to grow up and feel hated is a crime. The video about the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Policy” got me very frustrated. It is amazing to me that some people can be so stupid and think like that. If that angry old man truly believes that gay people are going to be the reason that our country is taken over by terrorists he should be hit straight in the head, and I’d love to be the person to do it. I think that honestly this man is scared that other soldiers will be upset that the gay soldiers are going to be the only ones getting any and the straight ones have to wait to go home to their girlfriends. In a country where military service is not mandatory like some other countries why would you ever want to turn away someone willing to help? This country is in the middle of wars they shouldn’t even have started in the first place and that fact that some people are willing to fight in it is a miracle so why turn people away. Especially the people who speak the language of the people we are fighting against like the example they were talking about. Fox News was able to do it. They made themselves look even stupider than before. Halfway through their segment they stopped just to laugh at a stupid mistake that the president made. If you actually look at it the bottom says “NO REACTION FROM THE PRESS”. These people only want to bash the man in charge because they have nothing better to do. This presentation did a great job informing me about a topic I didn’t know much about and even provoked me into having an opinion on the topic now.

Responce To Colleen's Thoughts

Before I read Colleen’s blogs about education all I knew was that where we live now is full of very good schools and that in other places, such as inner city environments, schools were not as good as us. I had heard of the No Child Left Behind Act. All I knew was that it was supposed to make our schools better. I have seen it take effect since there are students in our school who live in other close by cities but can attend our school because of this law. I thought this law was helping American education. I guess since we live in our own little perfect bubble called Deerfield, IL I had nowhere to look at for real proof. After seeing the photos of inner city schools compared to middle schools in our area it is clear that this law hasn’t changed much. I also found it extremely interesting that there were only 1% white students in the city schools and more than 90% white students in the suburbs. I know that our town is not very diverse but I thought that in the city there would be closer to a 50-50 ratio of students. I think Colleen did a great job pointing out where the American government has failed in the area of education. She made a lot of great points that are easy to understand and I feel like I have a whole different perspective of education in America.

Works Cited

Kern-Jedrychowska, Ewa. "On a corner in Brooklyn, Polish gives way to Spanish.(women day job)(Metropolitan Desk)." The New York Times. (Jan 29, 2010): A17(L). Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Deerfield High School. 9 Feb. 2010 .

Ceasar, Stephen. "In Arizona, a Stream of Illegal Immigrants From China.(National Desk)." The New York Times. (Jan 23, 2010): A11(L). Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Deerfield High School. 5 Feb. 2010 .
Steven A. Camarota. "Illegal Immigrants Create a Drain on the U.S. Government." Current Controversies: Illegal Immigration. Ed. Debra A. Miller. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Deerfield High School. 5 Feb. 2010 .


Weyrich, Paul M. "Illegal Immigrants Should Not Receive Social Security Benefits." Current Controversies: Immigration. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Deerfield High School. 5 Feb. 2010 .
 
"Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 11 Feb. 2010. .
 
"Theodore Roosevelt: Gentleman's Agreement (1907)." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 1 Feb. 2010. .
 
"anti-immigration movement." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 1 Feb. 2010. .
 
ID: 290653
 
"immigration." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 29 Jan. 2010. .
 

What's Really Going On Now

In the past, many Americans were opposed to any form of immigration to the United States of America. Now however the focus seems to have shifted toward illegal immigration. Many Americans are extremely opposed to illegal immigrants in our country and feel that they will be the downfall of the United States. There are many people trying to fight to keep our borders closed to everyone. These people feel that all illegal immigrants should be deported and that America should stay for Americans. In "Illegal Immigrants Should Not Receive Social Security Benefits”, the author, Paul M. Weyrich argued that illegal immigrants should not be eligible for social security when they retire even if they worked in the US. Weyrich felt that because these people are not American citizens they should not get to benefit from the money that Americans have deposited over the years. According to Weyrich there is no reason for illegal immigrants to benefit from Social Security because they have not done anything to deserve it. Others like Weyrich believe that illegal immigrants are taking away money from Americans and the American government. Steven A. Camarota wrote an essay entitled "Illegal Immigrants Create a Drain on the U.S. Government." He gathered many facts about the national deficit such as "Households headed by illegal aliens imposed more than $26.3 billion in costs on the federal government in 2002 and paid only $16 billion in taxes, creating a net fiscal deficit of almost $10.4 billion, or $2,700 per illegal household." Facts like these cause many people to be opposed to illegal immigration. They see illegal immigrants as people who sneak into this country, take away jobs from Americans, and do not repay the country for the opportunity they have taken. Now with the economy the way that it is, even other illegal immigrants in this country are starting to get upset. In New York City for example, illegal Polish immigrants are starting to lose their work to illegal immigrants from Latin America. Even though it is illegal, the day labor market that the illegal immigrants have created is being threatened by other illegal immigrants. "The Hispanic women may be willing to accept less money -- $7 or $8 per hour -- than the Polish women, who generally charge $10." This undermining of the Polish day labor market in New York City is causing not only Americans to fight against illegal immigration, but now other illegal immigrants are frustrated with the number of people entering this country illegally each year. It is clear that as the number of illegal immigrants rise each year, the amount of frustration in the hearts of Americans will increase as well.

A Closer Look at The First Seven Years

One main theme in Bernard Malamud’s The First Seven Years has to do with the achievement of the American Dream. Immigrants come to this country in order to obtain what they call the American Dream. Immigrants try to make a better life for them in America than they had in their home country. This could mean getting a better education, making more money, or even something as simple as being able to raise their children in a safe environment. The main character in this story, named Feld, worked hard to achieve the American Dream. He left Poland to start a new life for himself and his family in America. Even though he could not make much as a shoemaker, his main goal was to allow his daughter to get all the opportunities in life that he never had. Feld wanted to send his daughter Miriam to college but she would protest and tell her father she would rather find a job. “He had begged her to go, pointing out how many fathers could not afford to send their children to college, but she said she wanted to be independent” (Malamud 14). This push for his daughter’s education shows Feld’s desire for his daughter to grow up with the best. Because she had not had to grow up in the conditions he did outside of America, it may be hard for Miriam to understand that he father only wants the best for his daughter because he did not have it in his home country. Feld did not want for his daughter to grow up to be like her mother because he felt that he was unable to provide the best for his wife. When his assistant Sobel admitted his love for Miriam and the desire to marry Miriam, Feld was crushed. “He felt for his daughter a strange and gripping sorrow, as if she were already Sobel’s bride, the wife, after all, of a shoemaker, and had in her life no more than her mother had had” (Malamud 25). Though this may not be the American dream he sees for his daughter, he knows that it will make her happy and will give her a fulfilling life so he allows this to happen. This story showed some of the things that motivate immigrants to come to this country and start a new life for themselves. In their homeland they might not have been able to do all they wished to do with their lives or it might not have been safe for them to do so. In America however, even if they try and do not succeed, most immigrants will be happy with the choice they made because it is possible here. This story shows the better side of immigration that the history books do not express as much. It shows why immigrants come to this country and how they improve their life. It does not show any negative side to people coming in and living in America. The fear that America had of immigration in the past is not present in this story. This story just shows how hard immigrants have to work to get what they want out of life in the long run.

Tying Together the Background

America prides itself in being a country full of immigrants. Some even call it the world’s melting pot. Immigration undeniably played a huge role in the development of America culturally, socially, and economically. However, immigration was not met with open arms. Most Americans were very opposed to immigration and fought hard to stop it all together. Today people are still fighting against immigration, only now it’s a fight against illegal immigration. When massive amounts of immigration started to occur in the late 1800s Americans started to take a stand. In 1882 the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed. This law banned the immigration of Chinese people for ten years. Many Chinese people were coming into the country through Angel Island in California and people were afraid that the Chinese would overpower the Americans. This wasn’t the only time that people were restricted from coming into America. In 1921 and 1923 the government passed the Quota Acts. These laws limited the number of immigrants allowed into America from each country throughout the world. This law is still in effect today and only a certain number of people are allowed to immigrate to America from certain countries. The number of people allowed in is based on things like the number of people from that country already in America and the number of people who want to immigrate. All these laws express the fear that Americans have had about immigration. This fear has been very evident in most of the research found on this blog. Many people have expressed their fears in different ways such as political cartoons or public demonstrations. Most people wouldn’t say that their opposition comes from fear but it is very clear that they are afraid immigrants will “dirty up” America. Even other countries have been afraid of the massive amounts of immigrants in this country. In 1907 President Theodore Roosevelt made an agreement with the leader of Japan and the Japanese government to limit the amount of Japanese coming to the country. The Japanese were afraid that they would lose too many people to America and that the country would suffer. This agreement allowed the Japanese to limit the amount of their citizens entering the country instead of leaving it up to the Americans. This held up pretty well until the Quota Acts were passed and it was no longer needed. Even though this is a country made of immigrants, immigration has not been the best thing in the minds of Americans for many years. America as a whole is still struggling with the idea of immigration, legal and illegal, and it doesn’t seem like there will be an end anytime soon. The fights for and against it in this country will be going on for a while until something can finally be settled in the minds of Americans.

Corner Cleaners

Many immigrants who come to the United States illegally have to make their money as day laborers, both men and women. In New York City many Polish women are used to day laboring. The most common way they make their money is by house cleaning. Many of these women stand on a corner and wait for people to drive by and stop to pick someone up. "There were originally maybe 40 or 50, according to veterans of the hiring corner." Recently that number has doubled, mainly because of the increase in immigrants from Latin America and the rough economy. Right now many more Hispanic women are getting more jobs over the Polish and are causing a total flip in roles on the corner of Marcy and Division Avenues in Brooklyn. "The Hispanic women may be willing to accept less money -- $7 or $8 per hour -- than the Polish women, who generally charge $10." American citizens aren't the only ones upset about the amount of illegal immigrants in this country. It's starting to get hard for other illegal immigrants to make a living. The American argument that illegal immigrants take away jobs from Americans never really stuck with me. I never believed it because nobody wants the jobs that the illegal immigrants have. However, it is very interesting that certain illegal immigrants are now saying that they are losing their jobs to other illegals. This is one argument I'll believe because they all have the same jobs since none of the Americans want them.

Kern-Jedrychowska, Ewa. "On a corner in Brooklyn, Polish gives way to Spanish.(women day job)(Metropolitan Desk)." The New York Times. (Jan 29, 2010): A17(L). Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Deerfield High School. 9 Feb. 2010 .

The New Face of Illegal Immigration

The New York Times had a great article about illegal immigration. It revealed to me something I would have never thought of. I have always had the impression that the illegal immigrants that everyone in our country is so opposed to were all Mexican. According to this article, that is not true. Recently there has been an influx of many illegal Chinese into America. They are mostly making their way into the country through a very popular smuggling route in Tucson, Arizona. The number of Chinese entering America "increased tenfold in the last fiscal year, according to the United States Border Patrol in Tucson." This trend doesn't look like it's stopping either. So far "Border Patrol's Tucson sector arrested 281 Chinese immigrants from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, the first quarter of the current fiscal year." More surprising to me than the numbers of Chinese coming into this country is the way in which they get here. It has gotten a lot harder for them to come directly to Mexico from China so instead they make elaborate plans. "In the most common one, immigrants fly from Beijing to Rome, board a plane to Caracas, Venezuela, fly to Mexico City and work their way up to the northern border and into the United States. In another, they travel to Cuba, fly to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and travel north into the United States." Because of this Chinese immigrants commonly have to pay $40,000 dollars to smugglers instead of Mexicans who pay $1,500 to $3,000.
The influx of Chinese immigrants went unnoticed for a while. "In 2009, 11,628 of the Tucson sector's 241,673 arrests were non-Mexican -- nearly 5 percent. Only when the sector noticed the influx did it tally the number of Chinese entering in recent years." Still most people don't even know about this. They focus all their attention on the Mexicans that come across the border and don't even stop to think that maybe there are other groups of people that could be coming in either. I never even thought that other people would try to come in this way until I read this article. Some immigrants even have to pay a deposit before they can even leave China. Anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 dollars is paid and not guaranteed back in the immigrant gets caught and sent back. This article helped open my eyes to the idea that people from all over try to come into this country illegally. I think just because they don't fit into the stereotype of a Mexican illegal immigrant, people over look all others and don't think twice. I wonder how many other people are here illegally from other countries that we don't even realize.


Ceasar, Stephen. "In Arizona, a Stream of Illegal Immigrants From China.(National Desk)." The New York Times. (Jan 23, 2010): A11(L). Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Deerfield High School. 5 Feb. 2010 .

Drain on the U.S. Government

According to a study in 2002, illegal immigrants actually are found to cause a financial drain on the government. The article listed many major findings to help prove this point. The first thing they said was, "Households headed by illegal aliens imposed more than $26.3 billion in costs on the federal government in 2002 and paid only $16 billion in taxes, creating a net fiscal deficit of almost $10.4 billion, or $2,700 per illegal household." Where is that $10.4 billion dollars supposed to come from? How are U.S. citizens supposed to try to help close the gap and what will it cost us? I know that I'm not a fan for higher taxes and if that is the only way that we can make up for that money then I will vote against that plan. Why should I have to pick up someone else's slack? Another major finding was, "With nearly two-thirds of illegal aliens lacking a high school degree, the primary reason they create a fiscal deficit is their low education levels and resulting low incomes and tax payments, not their legal status or heavy use of most social services." I found this really interesting because I would have never thought that the reason they cause such a strain is their education. It never occurred to me that if they were properly educated they would have the opportunity to get better jobs. I never thought it was possible for illegal immigrants to get a good job in America since people just give them whatever else is left and the jobs that they don't want. I also learned that "Costs increase dramatically because unskilled immigrants with legal status—what most illegal aliens would become—can access government programs, but still tend to make very modest tax payments." This statement silences people who say that all the illegals in this country should automatically become citizens. If they were automatically citizens, but still uneducated, they would still be making the same amount of money but this time they would have access to things like welfare that they didn't have before. This also makes me question why they should have access to welfare when American citizens need that money. This topic is starting to make me understand why people have such a problem with illegal immigrants. I always thought that saying they take away from Americans was a lame excuse. I still think it is but I can understand now where these people are coming from because these illegals are taking away from us what is not theirs.


Steven A. Camarota. "Illegal Immigrants Create a Drain on the U.S. Government." Current Controversies: Illegal Immigration. Ed. Debra A. Miller. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Deerfield High School. 5 Feb. 2010 .

One Man's Argument for American Social Security

The article I read was called "Illegal Immigrants Should Not Receive Social Security Benefits" by Paul M. Weyrich. After reading what Weyrich had to say, I find myself agreeing with him. Weyrich talked about a term called "totalization". What he was talking about was talks between Mexico and the United States about totalization. This is the idea that an illegal immigrant from Mexico would be able to come into the United States and work for a few years then go back to Mexico and finish the rest of his working years there. Then after he grows old and retires in Mexico he can get American Social Security because of the few years he spent working in the US. This frustrates me as an American citizen. I will be turning 17 years old in month. I have had a job since I was 15. For two years I have had to have some of my pay check taken from me and given to social security. By the time I get old and can actually see this money again I will have most likely put in almost half or maybe more than the total amount of money I have made in my whole working life. Why should someone who isn't even a citizen or who doesn't even live in this country get to benefit from the years of hard work I've put into this system. There is already speculation about whether or not Social Security will even be around by the time I can benefit from it. Why should the little amount that I'm entitled to be shrunken even more? Weyrich quoted a US Congressman saying, "The Federal government may actually allow someone who actually came to the United States illegally, worked less than the required number of years to qualify for Social Security, and then returned to Mexico for the rest of his working years, to collect full U.S. Social Security benefits while living in Mexico. That is an insult to the millions of Americans who pay their entire working lives into the system and now face the possibility that there may be nothing left when it is their turn to retire." I have no problem with immigrants. Personally I come from a family of immigrants and couldn't care less if there were any in our country or not. But the idea of someone coming in and staying here for a few years, then going back to the country he came from, and taking my money is insane. If someone wants to live and work in the United States and receive Social Security in their retirement years then they should plant themselves here. They should take all the steps necessary in becoming an American citizen so that they actually deserve the money they are taking away from me.

Weyrich, Paul M. "Illegal Immigrants Should Not Receive Social Security Benefits." Current Controversies: Immigration. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Deerfield High School. 5 Feb. 2010 .

The First Seven Years

The First Seven Years by Bernard Malamud shows the thoughts and feelings of immigrants in the United States. This is the story of a Polish immigrant in America living as a shoemaker trying to live out the American Dream. He wants to be able to provide for a good life for his family and make sure that his daughter grows up with all the opportunities and advantages she can get. In my research I found out that many immigrants did this. They would come to this country and even if they were unable to make a great life for themselves they made sure their children were able to grow up and be very successful. The shoemaker in this story tries to push his nineteen year old daughter to continue her education and go to college. She is a bright girl who loves to read and learn. The shoemaker feels that the best thing for her to do is to further her education so that she can grow up educated and find a good job for herself and be happy and successful. The daughter is hesitant and wants to get a job instead of go to college. When the shoemaker learns his efforts to push education for his daughter are not working he tries finding her an educated man to settle down with. After setting up a college boy with his daughter, the shoemaker learns that his daughter has no interest in this boy and felt he is too materialistic. After speaking with his assistant, another polish immigrant, at the shop, the shoemaker learns that his assistant has been in love with the young daughter for all five years that he has worked at the shop. After a small argument about marriage to his nineteen year old daughter, the shoemaker tells his assistant that he must wait two more years for his daughter to turn 21 before asking her hand in marriage. Though this may not be the American dream he sees for his daughter, he knows that it will make her happy and will give her a fulfilling life so he allows this to happen.

Where I'm At Now

After some initial research into immigration in America one theme seems to be occurring in everyone article I read, the theme of hate. Most Americans were extremely intolerant of immigrants and immigration into this country. Even the government passed laws banning certain people all together, and others that limited the number of others. As I go deeper into this research project I will probably start to focus my attention on hatred toward immigrants and various anti immigration movements. There seems to be plenty of information about why people didn't want immigrants out there so this seems logical to make my main focus for this project.

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

In 1882 the US took drastic measures in preventing people from entering the country by passing the Chinese Exclusion Act. This law prevented the Chinese people from immigrating to the US for a period of ten years. This act was passed because "in the opinion of the Government of the United States the coming of Chinese laborers to this country endangers the good order of certain localities within the territory thereof." Americans, and even other immigrants, felt that the rapid immigration of such large numbers of Chinese took away many jobs for people already in the US. The government's plan to ban the Chinese was very effective. For ten years no Chinese were allowed to immigrate or even come to America. To make sure this rule held up, the government would even punish any American boat captain who helped the Chinese sneak into this country. The offender could "be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars for each and every such Chinese laborer so brought, and may be also imprisoned for a term not exceeding one year." This is a pretty heavy fine to have to pay just for trying to help someone else out so it made most people not want to risk any sort of punishment. The American government meant business when they said all Chinese were banned for this country. They had no problem punishing "any person who shall knowingly and falsely alter or substitute any name for the name written in such certificate or forge any such certificate, or knowingly utter any forged or fraudulent certificate, or falsely personate any person named in any such certificate." Anyone that tried to create a new American identity for the Chinese sneaking in to our country were punished the same way that any boat captain was in they were caught. The United States was so set on keeping all Chinese out and opening up jobs for Americans that no one from China was even allowed to visit for fear that they would stay in the country and start a life here illegally. The only exception to this rule was if a Chinese government official or diplomat visited the country on business. In that case they would have all their personal servants checked out and make sure that they left with the same number of people they came with. This was a very intense way to filter immigration but I would not be surprised if we see something like this with immigrants from Mexico today since many people feel the same way about those now as they did about the Chinese then.

"Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 11 Feb. 2010. .

A Gentleman's Agreement

In 1907 President Theodore Roosevelt made and agreement with the Japanese government. The agreement that was made was to stop all immigration from Japan to America. The Japanese government was afraid that it would lose to many young men and that the Japanese military would suffer from the small numbers. Japan would only issue passports to the people that were not laborers because they wanted people the go back to Japan if they were to visit. The only exception to this rule was to people who already had family living in the United States or had previous interests in the farming industry in this country. Hawaii was a separate case for the Japanese because it was much closer than the mainland of America. When dealing with those islands it was up to Japan whether or not they wanted to give passports to their people. They decided to "be limited to former residents and parents, wives, or children of residents. This agreement stayed in place until the US tried to limit immigration even more with the Immigration Act in 1924.

"Theodore Roosevelt: Gentleman's Agreement (1907)." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 1 Feb. 2010. .

Voice of Anti-Immigration

The anti-immigration movement started around 1870 when many immigrants started coming to America. Between 1870 and 1920 America took in 27 million immigrants from Southern and East Central Europe. These immigrants were different from the normal Anglo-Saxon culture. Many people did not like these new people and tried fighting against it. "Anti-immigration activists sought to keep certain classes or races of people out of the United States, fearing that the Anglo-Saxon culture of the country would dissolve in the influx of new people." These people were so afraid that they went to Congress to try and stop the immigrants from coming in. In 1921 and 1923 Congress passed the Quota Acts which limited the amount of immigrants allowed in the country each year from any one certain country. Many of the Americans in this time period were against of the people they referred to as "polygamists" and "anarchists" because they did not want the religion and culture they had established in the US to be dirtied or changed in any way. Many people also believed that the immigrants would not be able to assimilate into America. "It was tied to attempts to "Americanize" immigrants with citizenship classes, literacy classes, and even cooking classes." The only way that the American citizens would allow in immigrants was if they were able to take away all of their foreign culture and bring them up to the Anglo-Saxon norm. "Ultimately, all immigrants experienced some assimilation, with such groups as Scandinavians becoming completely Anglo-Saxonized" Even today many people still feel that we should not allow immigrants into this country legally or illegally. In the 1980s and 1990s political figures asked for "renewed restrictions on immigration, especially in the light of increased illegal immigration from Mexico and Cuba." Even though there are not as many people trying to immigrate into this country as there were about 100 years ago, there is still a big issue with the idea of new citizens. As long as people continue to immigrate, there will always be a big debate and loud voices from anti-immigration activists.

"anti-immigration movement." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 1 Feb. 2010. .