Why Sonia Zelada is Wrong...

Sonia Zelada, manager of a local Salvation Army thrift store, recently wrote the following letter to the TimesDaily:

I am an American citizen by birth. So is my 14-year-old daughter. Our bloodline can be traced back to the Mayflower. Our ancestors helped settle the Southeast and the wild west. I am not Hispanic. My daughter is Hispanic.

According to Alabama’s new immigration law, if she were involved in any type of situation that also included police (this includes, by the way, traffic stops, witnessing an incident or even being the victim of a crime), she could be legally “detained” until her immigration status could be verified. To prevent this from happening, my daughter will have to carry documentation proving she has the right to be here ... in the country where she was born.

Does your 14-year-old have to carry such documentation? The answer to that question is no: unless, of course, their skin is the “wrong color.”

World history as well our national history provides us with many examples of why this type of legislation is dangerous.

Have we learned nothing?

I’m told that if you put a frog in a pot of water, and only increase the temperature gradually, the frog will just sit there unaware of his situation until it’s too late.

Wake up people!

We’re already in the water. Do you really want to be a frog?

Sonja Zelada

Several TimesDaily readers have pointed out Zelada's error in quoting the myth of the frog experiment. Let's look at her other errors. First, her daughter is not Hispanic unless Spanish is her first language. We doubt that it is. Her daughter is of Latino heritage.

Second, the immigration law has nothing to do with the color of anyone's skin. The law applies equally to all illegal immigrants, many of them Irish. When our friend J.J. Ray makes light of the over use of the race card, he is on to something.

Third, Zelada is missing the cause and effect principal involved. If so many from south of the border and elsewhere had not illegally immigrated to Alabama, there would be no need for this law. If our residents, both legal and illegal, didn't manufacture and sell crack cocaine, there would be no need for special laws concerning that particular drug.

Ms. Zelada, we say to you that you may be a good mother, but your powers of logic and reasoning are highly suspect. Let's not let Henny Penny rule the day.

*****

From our inbox: I don’t know of anyone sad at ECM to see Joe Roach leaving. Talk around is about getting some of those Penn State shirts that say “Joe Who?”



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