DISTORTION

Negative impacts of mass migration aren't treated fairly in the media and elsewhere. A plethora of special interests promote mass migration through various techniques designed to emphasize only the benefits. Far too frequently the costs and consequences of mass migration are never mentioned.

Because of political correctness, a form of bias, writers distort the truth by promoting their agenda, typically liberal, and by avoiding objective reporting. For example, newspaper writers (using 'journalists' usually is a stretch when it comes to immigration) overdose the columns with immigrant and illegal alien 'heart-breakers.'

Politicians likewise distort the truth (like this is a revelation) to pander for ethnic votes.

Race-biased groups, under the veil of 'immigrant rights,' distort the truth to gain advantages for their special interest group.

The basic techniques used to distort mass migration, with possible counter arguments, are:

• Immigrant / Illegal Alien Glorification. Mass migration proponents extol the virtues of immigrants and illegal aliens with glowing characterizations such as "hardworking."

Counter: Immigration glorification needs a reality check! There are plenty of lazy immigrants and illegal aliens. Our jails are over-flowing with immigrants and illegal aliens. Lower their glorification to the reality that foreign-born persons are neither inherently good nor inherently bad. Making generalizations is generally inaccurate and the issue is mass numbers.

• Economic Benefits. Cheap labor advocates are prone to say something like lettuce will cost $10 a head without migrant labor.

Counter: Cheap labor benefits only a few and only over the short-run. The wealthy benefit by cheap labor but the middle and especially lower class suffer by having fewer and lower paying jobs. Taxpayers have to pay for the infrastructure costs or face declining quality of services. Competitors suffer too. Point out the unfairness and stress the long term.

• Victimization. In order to justify rewards, illegal alien advocates portray illegal aliens as victims instead of law breakers. For example, many illegal alien 'rights' groups want an amnesty because the illegal aliens have worked hard and are just trying to improve their lot.

Counter: Agree that illegal aliens have indeed been shamefully exploited. However, the solution is to garner the American will to end acceptance of any underclass, not by rewarding those in the underclass and not by condoning existence of an underclass. Importantly, sanctions against employers of illegal aliens and protection of our porous borders are desperately needed. For more, see Solutions. Ask when and how the opponent expects to end the victimization.

• Character Assassination. This is generally name calling of the messenger using direct or veiled accusations of racist, xenophobe or other derogatory characterization in an effort to avoid discussion of the negative impacts of mass migration. For example, The Denver Post tried to butcher the character of Rep. Tom Tancredo.

Counter: If anything, mass migration is an issue of nationalism, not racism. If appropriate, point out that the opponent was the first to bring up race, so is the opponent playing the 'race-card?' Ask for an apology and then raise the discussion back to the issue of mass numbers.

• Perverted Fairness. Mass migration advocates often promote mass migration as a solution to global inequity of wealth.

Counter: While many of their claims of inequity may be true, the unconditional right to violate America's borders is not the solution. Poor people of the world can and should be helped where they are at. America should overhaul foreign aid to emphasize sustainable agriculture, libraries, and contraceptive access instead of giving cash and military hardware to despots. America should refrain from recruiting skilled people away from their homelands. With their perverted sense of fairness mass migration advocates generally choose immigrants and illegal aliens over the welfare of American citizens who bear the consequences and costs. The real issue is to whom fairness is due -- citizens or immigrants and illegal aliens. Immigration is not the solution to global problems.

• Humanizing Distancing. A humanist-centric person might use word distortion even though the issue is acknowledged. Sometimes this humanist-centricity is called 'liberal guilt.' For example, mass migration advocates and the media call illegal aliens 'undocumented' to distance the reality of illegality to a status of legitimacy.

Counter: Use realistic words. If appropriate, embarrass them with their political correctness because 'undocumented' means the foreign-born have the unconditional right to violate America's borders and immigration laws.

• Humanizing Avoidance. In this more extreme type of Humanizing Distancing (above) the issue is ignored because the problem is contrary to the opponent's humanist philosophy. Admission that 'undocumented workers' negatively impact health care, sprawl, environmental degradation, traffic congestion, and school overcrowding is not perceived as a humane story to expose and consequently the negative impacts are not attributed to mass migration. Typically the humanist holds a globalist perspective.
  
  For example, school overcrowding is due to mass migration but it is blamed on "The Baby Boomer Echo". Arizona is a war zone of illegal invaders but we hear 'nary a whisper' about it. Border Patrol agent Kris Eggle was murdered by illegal alien drug smugglers but the story was ignored.

Counter: It is difficult to debate these rather abstract concepts, but we must try. Stress that these major impacts are due to mass migration and can no longer be avoided. Humanism is a worthy goal but to what extent should Americans sacrifice for the benefit of others? Despite injustices, illegality and invasion are not the solutions. Americans should take care of their own first. Stress patriotism and alternative solutions.

Humanizing Avoidance even shows up in the way statistics are accumulated. For example, school districts are by law prohibited from asking if children are illegal aliens. Anchor babies (children born in the US of illegal aliens) are counted as citizens.

For an article on media distortions see Newspaper Editors Endorse Diversity.