Wednesday 29 January 2014

http://www.maldef.org/

For pro-Hispanic/Latino immigration, I have chosen the advocacy site MALDEF, which stands for Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. The website is laid out in a clear and professional manner. MALDEF aims to help immigrants and Latinos assimilate into American society and become a productive, and protected, part of it.
Unlike Huntington's article, which sees America as founded solely upon the values of white, British Protestants, MALDEF states that immigration is at the core of American identity, thus acknowledging the fact that the citizens who contribute to what America has become come from all over the world. MALDEF also strive, through their project Truth in Immigration, to refute the stereotypes that have arisen about Latino immigrants, both legal and illegal. In his article, Huntington states that Latinos are lazy and uneducated, but MALDEF have proved that they see education as important. It was due to MALDEF that Latino children of illegal immigrants were able to go to public school for free in Texas. They also promote fair employment practices, showing that Latinos are hard-working and do have a use for education. MALDEF creates a picture of immigrants who have come to America seeking a better life, but who are held back by prejudice, stereotypes and unfair practices, not by their own failings as Huntington's article suggests. The use of videos, accounts of law suits MALDEF has helped win, and the professional tone of the website make it very convincing.

http://www.vdare.com/

For anti-Hispanic/Latino immigration, I have chosen the website V-Dare, the most famous collaborator of which is anti-immigration activist Peter Brimelow. Like MALDEF's website, the site is clean and professional in layout. However, the 'about' page fails to say anything describing what the organisation does, instead relating the story of Virginia Dare, who was the first English child to be born in America. To me, this seems like it is skirting the issue of what the website is really about, which is immigration, as if they are afraid of admitting what they are arguing for. Looking deeper, it can be seen that the page is advocating the superiority of the early white settlers. The Native Americans are mentioned, but nothing written about the way in which their land was taken from them. Instead, speculations that the 'lost colony' to which Virginia belonged assimilated with local Native Americans, are used to subtly mock people who believe in multiculturalism - such as calling them naive and fantasists. The writer is taking examples from history, which superficially makes it appear that what he says has credence, until it becomes obvious that his historical anecdote has nothing to do either with his argument or what the website is about. He also states that "immigration enthusiasts" are ignoring the statistical consequences or immigration, yet he also ignores them by not using any statistics.

Similarly to MALDEF, the people who write for V-Dare see themselves as victimised by the stereotypes that surround them. In their FAQ section answering the question "Is V-Dare white nationalist?" they stress that they are just civilised, reasoning, educated people who love their country. They then go on to attack anyone who might call them racist, saying that the term is just used by liberals who are losing an argument. Hiding behind this attempt at humour suggests that they know their position against Latino immigrants is racist, but are unprepared to admit it. Some of their arguments are convincing on the surface - such as the protest that they are just being stereotyped instead of listened to - but underneath they seem to avoid talking about the real issues and have no substance to their arguments, and nothing to back them up.

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