This is Not "Your" Country

For those not caught up in the scared anti-immigration frenzy gripping a sizable segment of the population, the entire culture surrounding the anti-immigration movement (with its Minutemen, fears of Mexican conquest, and demonization of virtually all non-European immigrants) can be bewildering. Why is it, exactly, that so many people feel so threatened by anyone entering the country without the intent to completely abandon their heritage and cede the superiority of white, Christian, European traditions? Whether the immigrants in question are Hispanic, Arab, Muslim, or Asian, the fear seems to be the same -- that these people are intent on conquering and subverting white Western civilization in one way or another.

With Muslims and Arabs, the alleged plot always involves the establishment of a totalitarian Muslim theocracy, most likely using terrorism; with Hispanics, it is the (re)conquest of the Southwest and the imposition of the Spanish language on all Americans. In addition to these large-scale conspiracy theories, there are always a handful of more mundane libels: Mexicans are criminally-inclined, they leech off social programs, or they steal American jobs; Muslims are hostile to democracy and/or sympathetic to America's enemies abroad. That there is no evidence supporting these grand accusations is of no concern to those who are so obviously motivated by fear -- of the unknown, of change, or of any number of other things.

Although we can understand the hysteria of these people (on some level) in the context of this fear, we should not make the mistake of excusing the absurd ideas that comprise their paranoid, irrational subculture. I have neither the time nor the will to debunk every silly, ignorant stereotype or theory put forth by the anti-immigration community, however there is one subject -- one central to the community's thinking -- that can and should be addressed. This is the sentiment, expressed over and over again in hundreds of different ways, that immigrants are imposing on a culture, society, and nation that is "theirs."

It is hard to read a single page of anti-immigration (anti-immigrant?) writing without coming across the phrase "This is our country", "This is my country", or something similar. This idea constitutes the entire basis for the anti-immigration crowd's grievances against their imagined foes: it is the real Americans (Christian Americans of European descent) who have the right to determine what language should be spoken, what laws should be written, what should be taught in schools, and so on with every aspect of society. If this is not what they thought, there would be no objection to the influences of immigrants and their cultures. Of course they never say so in such a direct manner, but what else could they mean, when their stated goal is the defense of "their" America against the illegitimate influence of others?

Throughout America's history, it has in fact been the case that this majority group did dominate American society in all these ways. The anti-immigration community is simply claiming the right to continue this dominance. Because of this, in their minds, anyone who even indirectly challenges the power of their class of people over everyone else is trying to destroy America, plain and simple.

What scares these people is the idea that their beloved majoritarianism, which has served them so well throughout history in ensuring their privilege above all other groups in society, could be turned against them if they were somehow to become (gasp!) a minority. The cute fiction that their "American values" are about anything other than the rule of the largest group over and against all others is torn to shreds by the fear generated by even the possibility of such a change. Although the anti-immigration crowd is far from admitting it, it is this realization -- that they are vulnerable and could suffer the same fate as those they dominate -- that scares them.

Imagine the horrors, they think, of having some other group of a different race, a different religion, or a different culture ruling over you. Such a fate is unimaginable to the average white anti-immigration American -- hence the scramble for massive walls and mass deportations. Everything was fine and good as long as "we" were doing the imposing and dominating, but immigration threatens this arrangement. Beneath all the outlandish conspiracies and ignorant stereotyping, these Americans are deathly afraid of losing their hold on power. This is our country, they say, and we will keep it that way however we can, even if it means systematically dehumanizing, excluding and outlawing everyone who refuses to kowtow to "real" American values.

If this all sounds rather sad and disturbing, that's because it is. Luckily, there are more than a few Americans who want to see our country rise above this crude politics of domination. These people must realize the seriousness of the situation and see the threat to freedom that it represents. When the frantic cries of the anti-immigration movement are seen in this light, it becomes even more important to work against their xenophobia, and to affirm the value and dignity of every person, not just a favored few.