Immigration & Logic/Santa Returns to Cherokee

Emotion versus logic...which one usually wins? All too often, emotion wins out, a fact that has not gone unnoticed by con artists through the ages. Let's take a closer look at the above cartoon...a cartoon found on the wall of Amanda Hernandez' Facebook page.

Depicted is a shirtless boy wearing overalls. Is that how Hernandez, a native of Florida, sees Alabama citizens? The three panel drawing appeals to the emotions, but is it logical? In panel one we see this unkempt youth telling a young black man to return to Africa. Did African Americans surreptitiously cross our borders in the middle of the night to immigrate here illegally? We think not.

Panel three depicts an indigenous American confronting the youth over his views. Yet when Europeans first arrived in America, there were no sovereign governments and therefore no illegal immigration. Many Indian tribes welcomed the white settlers, even selling them land. We can't deny that Indians were maltreated by many, but neither can we deny the other facts surrounding Western European immigration. There are few comparisons to the illegal onslaught Alabama and other Southeastern states face today.

We have no doubt that when UNA nursing student Amanda Hernandez speaks at the immigration rally in Florence today she will appeal to emotions. That's her right. It's also our right to look carefully at her words and the Hispanic Coalition's claims with logic and a sense of responsibility toward all Alabama citizens.

*****

Shoalanda