Translations on the internet are often that way.
The problem is some people come here and instead of wanting to be part of our society, they want to reap the befits give nothing back. Then they have the nerve to thumb there noses at our society and system. I know it is not a majority, at least I hope not, but far to many.
Reap the benefits but never give anything back!?!?
Let me tell you about my wife's grandmother. A middle-aged Sicilian woman of the old school who came here with her husband and children in the 60's because her husband needed work to feed that family, only to have her husband get killed by a drunk driver less than a year later when he was riding his bicycle home from his factory job, thus leaving their 19 year old son (who only has a grade school education) as the family's main breadwinner. Back in Sicily, she was not given an education of outside of "traditional female household tasks" because women didn't get educations in those days.
Her American dream was destroyed by the careless act of a man who never even spent one day in jail for his crimes because he had political connections in Chicago. But she stayed here, not for herself, but for her
children's sake. For her future grandchildren. She didn't learn English. Instead, she turned toward people from her own culture who could help her out. Her oldest son, my father-in law, became the patriarch of the family, helping to put his two younger brothers (who were only in grade school at this time) through college.
Now fast forward 40 or so years. The 19-year old with only a grade school education just retired this year after putting in 40+ years as an electrician, and being given a huge retirement bonus from his company because, as they put it, "You made us a
lot of money over the years. We hate to see you go."
His younger brothers went on to become a vice president at a major bank and a very successful broker, both of whom
easily qualify as being "1 percenters". They probably pay more in taxes than 50 average Americans combined.
Yet here she is, an elderly immigrant who barely speaks English even after 40+ years in this country. I guess because she never really assimilated herself, she didn't give back, though, right?
I may be jaded because I grew up in Chicago, no matter as I have seen it.
You grew up in Chicago
outside of the immigrant culture. Whereas I grew up in Chicago
inside of the immigrant culture. I know the stories of
why these immigrants came here. I know the stories of what they have dealt with while they were here. I know their struggles, I know their woes. I know what they came here with (rarely more than a work ethic and some hope), and more importantly, what they
didn't come here with (Things that we often take for granted, like a 9th grade education).
These aren't retirees who come here with money and resources. They are people who have to struggle for everything they get in life. They usually don't do it for themselves. Instead they do it for their families, either back home or here or even the ones they hope to one day have. My father used to say to me, "I could have stayed back home and went on the dole like other people did, but where would that have left ye?"
He didn't
have to come here, of course. He made a choice. But it's not an easy choice, nor is it an easy road. It requires hard work and determination. They have to leave their family behind without knowing when or if they will ever see them, or in some cases like my father's,
speak to them, again (my father's money that he sent back paid for his parents' first phone). They often start off with nothing, literally nothing, because all of the money they had was spent getting here in the first place.
My father came out here utterly alone and broke. If it wasn't for the Irish community, he'd have certainly failed, because no Americans were willing to hire this uneducated Mick who could sheer a sheep in no time, but didn't have much in the way of non-farm skills. He had a keen mind, a
hell of a work ethic, and a very strong back, though. So, through the Irish community, he got connected with some Italians who were working in the concrete business and pretty much needed a mule to haul the concrete forms around 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. He was lucky he was Irish, cause he definitely didn't have time to
learn English. He
did pick up some Italian during that time on the job, though. And he
also learned the concrete trade (which was far more important than learning English at that point).
In his
spare time he went out with some of the other Irish guys he knew on side jobs as often as he could, learning plumbing, carpentry, masonry...
useful things that would get him more work.
Like I said, he's lucky he was Irish. If he was from a country that didn't speak English, he'd have had an even tougher time than he did.
Then on top of that we have the government bending over backwards to help illegals etc while our own people get the shaft.
Our government does not bend over backwards to help immigrants of any stripe. I'm not sure where this myth came from, but ask any immigrant whether or not the US government has been helpful to them and I'd be shocked if anyone but the political refugees says yes.
If you are going to live someplace, learn the language. Show at least a little respect for the country that took you in.
That's the problem. People seem to think
they do something for these immigrants, when we in truth we show them no respect and expect them to suck our balls in return for allowing them to sully our lives with their very presence. We put forth no effort to understand their situation, we simply assume that
we've made it great for them and that they owe us something. They don't owe us ****. We're a better country for them being here. They, and those like them who have come here throughout time, are why America
became great in the first place.
