A reader called Bob sent a comment about immigration and race to one of our posts. I’m not going to post his comment where he sent it, but I want to respond to what he says, so I’m putting it right here:
“Send ALL immigrants back where they came from NOW. Not tomorrow NOW! I do not want any more NON-WHITE people in my country! I am ready and willing for a civil war or a revolution, if that is what it takes! If my government will not protect me, my race and my culture, then I don’t have a use for that government, and I WILL NOT pay taxes to that government.”
We’ve been getting a lot of readers from a white-supremacist website on which someone linked to one of our posts. That’s probably where Bob found RRW. So in case anyone thinks that our views on refugees reflect any racial animosity on our part, let me set the record straight.
We have posted a great deal on Somali refugees. The reason is that wherever Somalis go trouble seems to follow. This is not because they have black skin. It is because of two other characteristics of theirs: One, they come from a primitive culture that has difficulty fitting into our society, made worse because one of their cultural characteristics seems to be arrogance. And two, they are Muslims, and many of them have been radicalized either in their country of origin or during their sojourns in other countries.
As Ann has pointed out time and again, Sudanese blacks and American blacks come into frequent conflict with Somalis. Somalis don’t seem to get along with anyone. Yet they are one of the largest recent refugee groups in the United States. We object to the way refugee agencies and the U.S. government bring people here without any thought to the effect they will have on the communities in which they settle — that was the original reason for our setting up this blog. The Somalis are the poster children for this problem, but other refugees, black, brown and white, cause problems too when they are not properly settled, which very few refugees are today.
Bob seems to confuse immigration and race when he calls for sending all immigrants back now. Does he think all immigrants are non-white, or does he just consider everyone besides Americans to be non-white? And his call for civil war or revolution reveals either his personal inner turmoil or his complete lack of historical knowledge. Neither one ever leads to the result its initiators wish for, but they do lead to a lot of destruction and misery.
Ann and I have slightly different opinions on immigration. She is more restrictionist than I am. But we agree that we prefer people who fit into our society, who are eager to assimilate, and who contribute something to America. Neither one of us has any animus against immigrants or anyone else based on skin color. After all, which immigrants have contributed more to this country, the Indian parents of Bobby Jindal, the brilliant governor of Louisiana, or the white Bosnian gang members in Fort Wayne, Indiana? And who is better helping to preserve our culture, the white homosexual activist and Episcopalian bishop Vicky Gene Robinson or the black African Anglican bishops who are providing a way for Episcopal parishes and dioceses around the United States to find a more traditional home.
Addendum: See our Diversity page for more on this subject.