Real Workers Reborn?

Published on March 17, 2004 By stevendedalus In Current Events

The proposition that it is somehow logical to lure illegal immigrants to do the “dirty and dangerous” jobs that Americans don’t want, strikes me as disingenuous. Picking grapes at a vineyard is not dangerous, nor half that dirty either, neither is landscaping or cleaning up litter. The most dangerous job is arguably coal-mining and is not about to be taken over by immigrants because the poor souls of West Virginia and Pennsylvania — and without fear of outsourcing — have no other means of livelihood — nor will there ever be immigrants willing to go to the gates of this hell.

With all the talk of first responders putting their lives on the line, aliens will not be lining up for openings to these dangerous jobs; besides, most are unionized and pay well. What with the very hot coffee McDonald’s serves, or occasional flames from greasy grills one could argue that a job there is dangerous, but hardly life-threatening.

The “dirty and dangerous” argument does not hold water for the simple reason that Americans have always been ready to take on these jobs. What the proponents of hiring immigrants really mean is that “grateful” aliens fit nicely into the scheme of profiteering off back-breaking work at hospitals, hotels and restaurants for subhuman wages, particularly in locations where immigrants cluster and tend to crowd out the citizen worker whose demand for a decent wage, regardless of the kind of work, goes unheeded.

Unscrupulous boldness of labor exploitation has entered the American landscape not seen since the influx of immigration in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when indeed the European immigrants actually built the nation into an envious powerhouse — the daring sand hogs, road gangs, railroaders, bridge builders, pipe fitters, the bricklayers, and the incredible skyscraper construction workers.

If this nation ever again puts infrastructure on the agenda as a priority, the American worker will be reborn to rival those old immigrants that showed a nation that no job was too dirty or dangerous.

Comments

WiseFawn

on Mar 17, 2004

Well said!! There are many American workers ready and willing to take the jobs! The entire picture that is painted of Americans by Americans that are trying to justify their actions is this mass of people who are either too lazy, ignorant, on drugs or mentally ill or completely unwilling to do hard, dirty work. They sit in their offices arrogantly proclaiming how justified they are to hire in people under minimum wage as they spew stats about Americans only needing to work hard to get out of their poverty.

stevendedalus

on Mar 17, 2004

Indeed, well said, too! Generalizations are always made based on miniscule numbers--or simply a figment of their bias.

KarmaGirl

on Mar 17, 2004

Generalizations are always made based on miniscule numbers--or simply a figment of their bias

Are you referring to her generalization? It's always funny when somebody complains about a generalization by making another one.

stevendedalus

on Mar 17, 2004

Touché, Karma, I should have qualified it with vague or worthless. "Always funny" is another generalization when in truth it might just be a sign of pathetic ignorance.

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