Word association

[o'dubhlaoich]

Why is that when someone says the word illegal immigrant they are deemed a racist? Just wondering people's thoughts on this. To me if you associate the word illegal with a race, its that race's fault for being the poster child of illegal immigration. Lets all be honest here, if I say illegal, what race do you think of? Mexican most likely. Why?

 

[ucunc156]

just so we're clear, illegal immigrant is a term and not a word.

Also while we're at it, can you add to your OP that when you hear the word rape and associate it with women that its also the women's fault for being the poster child for rape victims? Thanks!

stupid threads gets stupid replies. /thread.

 

[SammyPops]

same reason why if you use the word zionist your are anti-sematic.

People are stupid.

 

[PrinceOfPain]

'Illegal immigrant' makes me think 'Nigerian drug dealer'.
'Mexican' makes me think of food.

 

[ryan3434]

Why is that when someone says the word illegal immigrant they are deemed a racist? Just wondering people's thoughts on this. To me if you associate the word illegal with a race, its that race's fault for being the poster child of illegal immigration. Lets all be honest here, if I say illegal, what race do you think of? Mexican most likely. Why?

Is Méxicans a race?

 

[Trotsky]

Is Méxicans a race?

Yes, and it's a race that we are losing, people, okay? We're losing the Mexican race, okay, and the world is laughing at us because of it.

No, Mexicans are a national citizenry.

 

[ryan3434]

Yes, and it's a race that we are losing, people, okay? We're losing the Mexican race, okay, and the world is laughing at us because of it.

No, Mexicans are a national citizenry.

Thought maybe Obama apologised for something and somehow upped Mexican's status as a race lol

 

[Lead]

It's an attempt to shut down a conversation. Altering/ rebranding terminology may be the most annoying thing I find with politics. Makes me just as mad that it works too because that's why it continues to be done.

 

[meauneau]

just so we're clear, illegal immigrant is a term and not a word.

Also while we're at it, can you add to your OP that when you hear the word rape and associate it with women that its also the women's fault for being the poster child for rape victims? Thanks!

stupid threads gets stupid replies. /thread.

Being a rape victim isn't something one willfully choose, they are forced into that class. Being an illegal immigrant is something many Mexicans wilfully choose to be, they were not forced into that class.

 

[Hearse Lightning]

It's the thought police trying to iron out your wrinkly brain.

 

[IDL]

While I'm not sure about the OPs premise, the phenomenon can be understood under classical conditioning

It is a key component in politics and social control.

http://www.learning-theories.com/classical-conditioning-pavlov.html

 

[T-Bone]

If I see "illegal," I immediately think Hispanic. Because we have all of those populations from Mexico and southward.

And I know statistically that at one time in the early 2005 Mexico made up 56% of all of the illegals. And another 25% was everyone south of Mexico.

So 75% are Hispanic. Seems reasonable that we make that connection.

And as one reply already mentioned, Mexican is not a race.

In fact, if you talk to Mexicans, some will also hear that they believe they are not Hispanic. Say they are not of the people of Spain. They happen to speak Spanish. But they are a tribe. Not hispanic.

-T

 

[Trotsky]

It's an attempt to shut down a conversation. Altering/ rebranding terminology may be the most annoying thing I find with politics. Makes me just as mad that it works too because that's why it continues to be done.

It is very often necessary, even if written off by persons such as yourself as meaningless lip service to cultural sensitivity. This may be due to the origins of the word (i.e. "oriental" or "Indian," even though the latter presents a complex conversation due to subsequent cultural branding) or the evolution of the word's particular usage. I think undocumented immigrant is a more accurate and less conclusory term. Beginning a conversation about an "illegal immigrant" immediately frames the subject as one of criminality instead of necessity. If the country had a more accessible immigration process and therefore undocumented immigrants actually were disproportionately criminals who could not immigrate through reasonable lawful means, it would be less tenuous.

 

[Trotsky]

If I see "illegal," I immediately think Hispanic. Because we have all of those populations from Mexico and southward.

And I know statistically that at one time in the early 2005 Mexico made up 56% of all of the illegals. And another 25% was everyone south of Mexico.

So 75% are Hispanic. Seems reasonable that we make that connection.

And as one reply already mentioned, Mexican is not a race.

In fact, if you talk to Mexicans, some will also hear that they believe they are not Hispanic. Say they are not of the people of Spain. They happen to speak Spanish. But they are a tribe. Not hispanic.

-T

The Latino vs. Hispanic nomenclature is a pretty interesting subject.

For instance, my brother-in-law is from Puerto Rico but is of white European descent i.e. the kin of Spanish settlement. Here therefore identifies as Hispanic.

On the other side, my sister-in-law's step father was a Mexican migrant worker. He is darker skinned and identifies with the cultural roots of Central Mexico. He identifies more as Latino.

 

[meauneau]

It is very often necessary, even if written off by persons such as yourself as meaningless lip service to cultural sensitivity. This may be due to the origins of the word (i.e. "oriental" or "Indian," even though the latter presents a complex conversation due to subsequent cultural branding) or the evolution of the word's particular usage. I think undocumented immigrant is a more accurate and less conclusory term. Beginning a conversation about an "illegal immigrant" immediately frames the subject as one of criminality instead of necessity. If the country had a more accessible immigration process and therefore undocumented immigrants actually were disproportionately criminals who could not immigrate through reasonable lawful means, it would be less tenuous.

Why not call a duck a duck?

 

[ehtheist]

Just one side successfully controlling the broad political narrative. Something like "illegal immigrant" is a perfectly reasonable term to describe someone who jumped the border and resides in a country illegally... But when a group wants to quell dissent against people breaking certain inconvenient laws, just manipulate the prevailing opinion until it's widely dubbed as racist to acknowledge that a law is broken when someone hops the border. Quite the elegant solution - no law needs to be changed, the government doesn't have to act in any official capacity, and there is tremendous social censure for having the audacity to acknowledge that someone hopping the border is breaking the law. We wouldn't want to be racist now, would we?

 

[Jesus Freak]

Why is that when someone says the word illegal immigrant they are deemed a racist? Just wondering people's thoughts on this. To me if you associate the word illegal with a race, its that race's fault for being the poster child of illegal immigration. Lets all be honest here, if I say illegal, what race do you think of? Mexican most likely. Why?

As silly as this may sound, but MANY people don't actually know that illegal immigration is ACTUALLY a federal crime...

8 U.S.C. 1325 Thread

 

[Anung Un Rama]

I've never heard of the term "illegal immigrant" being referred to as "racist".
Perhaps it's the context?

 

[IDL]

Just one side successfully controlling the broad political narrative. Something like "illegal immigrant" is a perfectly reasonable term to describe someone who jumped the border and resides in a country illegally... But when a group wants to quell dissent against people breaking certain inconvenient laws, just manipulate the prevailing opinion until it's widely dubbed as racist to acknowledge that a law is broken when someone hops the border. Quite the elegant solution - no law needs to be changed, the government doesn't have to act in any official capacity, and there is tremendous social censure for having the audacity to acknowledge that someone hopping the border is breaking the law. We wouldn't want to be racist now, would we?

Yeah in politics it is used to push and mask political agendas. Seeing it as such, it is then possible to reverse engineer such agendas by following the word smithing.

 

[Trotsky]

Why not call a duck a duck?

Because words are nominal and we don't live in a world as simple as a bird analogy.

Do you still call s s?