"Illegal Aliens"

[bumcheekcity]

I'd just like to make a small rant on "Illegal Aliens" I hate this phrase. Are immigrants not human? Are they somehow less superior to you because of the fact that they come from the 2nd World?

Normally, I would think this is the American Media hyping-things up and being stupid and I would ignore it, but now the Right-Wing papers in the UK have started calling all immigrants that appear on our shores "Illegal Aliens"

1) An unnaturalized foreign resident of a country. Also called noncitizen.
2) A person from another and very different family, people, or place.
3) A person who is not included in a group; an outsider.
4) A creature from outer space: science fiction about an invasion of aliens.
5) Ecology. An organism, especially a plant or animal, that occurs in or is naturalized in a region to which it is not native.

These are the search results I got for the noun "aliens" on http://www.dictionary.com. It's a very negative word. All 5 definitions imply outsideness, displacement and unwantedness (which may or may not be an actual word).

Why do we have to call immigrants "aliens"? Also, is it just me that hates this phrase, or not?

[MMT]

1. Owing political allegiance to another country or government; foreign: alien residents.
2. Belonging to, characteristic of, or constituting another and very different place, society, or person; strange.

There's nothing wrong with the term 'illegal alien'. It's a person from another country who is not legally allowed to be in our own.

[ryoshi100]

although the definition may seem harmless, the tern "alien" is what the government uses as a scare tactic to promote an uneasy feeling around such people.

The word alien, is associated with negative imagery, so by calling some immagrants "illegal aliens" it makes them sound undesireable and therefore there is less public outcry when they are deported or withstand unbareful lifestyles here in the US.

(and who the fuck are we to tell anyone they can't come here when we stole this land from the Natives???- shit we were illegal aliens too.. we just stole this country with the clever use of flags)

[BWS]

At 1/15/04 03:20 AM, ryoshi100 wrote: (and who the fuck are we to tell anyone they can't come here when we stole this land from the Natives???- shit we were illegal aliens too.. we just stole this country with the clever use of flags)

FYI: Take some History classes. America isnt the only country that has been conquered. Lets see, pretty much every country in the world is like this. They may not have been Indians, but land has been fought over for quite some time now. Oh wait, that not conveiniant for you people.

[ryoshi100]

At 1/15/04 03:47 AM, BWS wrote:

At 1/15/04 03:20 AM, ryoshi100 wrote:

)

FYI: Take some History classes. America isnt the only country that has been conquered. Lets see, pretty much every country in the world is like this. They may not have been Indians, but land has been fought over for quite some time now. Oh wait, that not conveiniant for you people.

okay.. that's a nice piece of information, It fails to negate that the entire concept of this being "our" country is entirely phaliscious.

What you said is true, however I am looking for an arguement as to your thoughts on the term "illegal alien"
You just threw some information out there that is entirely different than what was being discussed. And Who the hell said America was the only country ever conquored? And was it really conquored? Aside from the obvious battles with the Natives, I see no actual war fought with them where we declared ourselves winners and "conquored" the country. ( not to say that we didn't steal land and resorces) Im just saying that Americans... really aren't americans..
None of us are actually from this region. We all immegrated here and now that we have our country up and running it's chickenshit to say other people can't come too.

So here.. I will acknolege that other countries have been conquored..

why don't you acknolege that that fact has no bearing in a responce to anything I said in my last post. Oh, but maybe that wouldn't be "convienient" for you.

[karasz]

i have with illegal aliens, just so long as they keep their ray guns away from me...

seriously, why does it matter if we call them aliens OR fuzz-a-box-tas?

granted fuzz-a-box-ta is not a word but you get the point

[ryoshi100]

At 1/15/04 05:06 AM, karasz wrote: i have with illegal aliens, just so long as they keep their ray guns away from me...

seriously, why does it matter if we call them aliens OR fuzz-a-box-tas?

granted fuzz-a-box-ta is not a word but you get the point

becasue the word "alien" paints a negative picture about those poeople and encourages hate. ( especially now that we have the hole iraq issue)
everytime the media mentions an "alien" it's either a mexican, or someone of middle eastenor descent.

the word is being used not only to exclude these poeople, but also to cause Americans to question these people.

I think the word "Indian" has been written close to 10 times in this thread now.

Why do we still call them Indians even though it was determined over 500 years ago that America is not India henceforth its inhabitants are not Indians.

It's simple, we as colonists have not abbandoned the ethnocentric idea that it doesn't matter if native Americans are the rightful owners of this land. In other words, they are viewed as insignificant so it doesn't matter what they're called.

I, for one, poo on the word "indian". If you're reffering to all of them in both Americas, refer to them as Native Americans, because that's what they really are. If not, try to refer to them according to their real race (Cherokee, Mohawk, Inuit, etc.)

As for the term "illegal alien" it has the same purpose as the term "indian". it's irrational (why not call them illegal immigrants or illegal humans? It's what they really are) and is used in an ethnocentric manner to demonize anyone undesired in a country.

[bumcheekcity]

At 1/15/04 03:04 AM, Rector wrote: 1. Owing political allegiance to another country or government; foreign: alien residents.
2. Belonging to, characteristic of, or constituting another and very different place, society, or person; strange.

There's nothing wrong with the term 'illegal alien'. It's a person from another country who is not legally allowed to be in our own.

Technically, and legally, there's nothing wrong with it, but aliens are not human, it just implies that immigrants aren't either.

[CapitalistSocialist]

Because they are "alien" to that country.
If I started learning media studies I would be "alien" to that subject.

[bumcheekcity]

At 1/15/04 04:26 PM, JamsterBoyo wrote: Because they are "alien" to that country.
If I started learning media studies I would be "alien" to that subject.

True, but you wouldn't like it if you went into your first Media Studies class and the teacher said "Here is James, who is an Alien" would you? The phrase "Illegal Aliens" donates implies they aren't human, when they are very much so.

[CapitalistSocialist]

At 1/15/04 04:28 PM, bumcheekcity wrote: True, but you wouldn't like it if you went into your first Media Studies class and the teacher said "Here is James, who is an Alien" would you? The phrase "Illegal Aliens" donates implies they aren't human, when they are very much so.

I guess but does bogus asylum seekers make them seem anymore human? It makes them seem ike leeches of society.

+ If a teacher said that I would walk right out of that classroom.

[Dagodevas]

I don’t think the term “illegal alien” is all that bad of a term. “Alien” is just fine by itself, but there’s a difference between an “alien” who’s only temporarily visiting the country and one who is here to live and work without knowledge from the government. If you’re the later, that is illegal. Hence the word “illegal alien”. It’s not meant to be mean-spirited, but politically correct.

[JoS]

lets call them sneaky visitors, unwanted tourists, unknow citizens, people that hide in trunks, special immegrants?

[bumcheekcity]

At 1/15/04 04:34 PM, Dagodevas wrote: It’s not meant to be mean-spirited, but politically correct.

I was unaware that calling someone an alien was politically correct in your part of the world.

[Dagodevas]

At 1/15/04 05:15 PM, bumcheekcity wrote: I was unaware that calling someone an alien was politically correct in your part of the world.

In American, the word “illegal alien” is a bit like the word “gay”. There’s nothing wrong with the word. It’s not intended to be a mean-spirited slur or anything, just a word of identification. It’s not supposed to be a demeaning term. However, some immature, short-minded people might use it as an insult.

[bumcheekcity]

At 1/15/04 05:23 PM, Dagodevas wrote: In American, the word “illegal alien” is a bit like the word “gay”. There’s nothing wrong with the word. It’s not intended to be a mean-spirited slur or anything, just a word of identification. It’s not supposed to be a demeaning term. However, some immature, short-minded people might use it as an insult.

Possibly a bit of a Culture Clash here. In the UK, calling someone an alien would be a very derogitory thing. Anyway, shoudn't we (we being both the US and UK) be trying to accept them into our cultures, and accept their own cultures and beliefs?

[BWS]

At 1/15/04 05:04 AM, ryoshi100 wrote:

None of us are actually from this region. We all immegrated here and now that we have our country up and running it's chickenshit to say other people can't come too.

We are all originally from the Fertile Crescent Area. If we cannot say it, then no country in the world should be able to say it. So, thats why I said that.

why don't you acknolege that that fact has no bearing in a responce to anything I said in my last post. Oh, but maybe that wouldn't be "convienient" for you.

Oh good (That sure was a snappy comeback), you made a witty comeback! YAY. Too bad you didnt think about what I said, smartass.

[Dagodevas]

At 1/15/04 05:35 PM, bumcheekcity wrote: Possibly a bit of a Culture Clash here. In the UK, calling someone an alien would be a very derogitory thing. Anyway, shoudn't we (we being both the US and UK) be trying to accept them into our cultures, and accept their own cultures and beliefs?

Ah, well that explains everything. “Alien” isn’t really seen as a derogatory remark in the states. And yes, we can accept cultures and differences, but at the same time, we must respect the law.

[Dagodevas]

At 1/15/04 11:17 PM, JesusCyborg wrote: I freaking hate indians and I'm very glad America belongs to western civilization and not a crazy primitive culture.

All right pal, the gig is up. Now I know that you're just being a wise-ass and trying to pull one over us.

[bumcheekcity]

At 1/15/04 11:25 PM, Dagodevas wrote: All right pal, the gig is up. Now I know that you're just being a wise-ass and trying to pull one over us.

I do wonder if half of the posters on this board are just regulars having a laugh.

[Dagodevas]

At 1/16/04 03:03 AM, bumcheekcity wrote: I do wonder if half of the posters on this board are just regulars having a laugh.

I wonder that myself. Some of these people are too stupid to be real, like the new guys in the "Any Liberal's With Guts?" topic.

[bumcheekcity]

At 1/16/04 03:16 AM, Dagodevas wrote: I wonder that myself. Some of these people are too stupid to be real, like the new guys in the "Any Liberal's With Guts?" topic.

Shrike went... and we getg a load of annoying n00bs in.. Interesting.

[Dagodevas]

At 1/16/04 03:23 AM, bumcheekcity wrote: Shrike went... and we getg a load of annoying n00bs in.. Interesting.

I'd say that there's a connection, but I'm afraid someone n00b will want to start a flame-infested debate over it and tell me to "Shut Up" like Bill O'Reilly at a Democratic convention.

[bumcheekcity]

At 1/16/04 03:26 AM, Dagodevas wrote: I'd say that there's a connection, but I'm afraid someone n00b will want to start a flame-infested debate over it and tell me to "Shut Up" like Bill O'Reilly at a Democratic convention.

I'd say there was a connection, but knowing my luck Shrike would ban me :P

[Slizor]

bum: I think you mean 3rd world. The 2nd world is Communist.

FYI: Take some History classes. America isnt the only country that has been conquered. Lets see, pretty much every country in the world is like this. They may not have been Indians, but land has been fought over for quite some time now. Oh wait, that not conveiniant for you people.

There's a big difference between conquered and colonised. Places like India were conquered, but they were not colonised (to a very large extent.) In fact even some places that were colonised have managed to live with both peoples. In America one people were wiped out.

[bumcheekcity]

At 1/16/04 10:52 AM, Slizor wrote: bum: I think you mean 3rd world. The 2nd world is Communist.

Exactly right. Just... testing...

[CapitalistSocialist]

At 1/15/04 05:35 PM, bumcheekcity wrote: Possibly a bit of a Culture Clash here. In the UK, calling someone an alien would be a very derogitory thing.

Since when exactly?

[bumcheekcity]

At 1/16/04 03:31 PM, JamsterBoyo wrote:

At 1/15/04 05:35 PM, bumcheekcity wrote: Possibly a bit of a Culture Clash here. In the UK, calling someone an alien would be a very derogitory thing.

Since when exactly?

Well, ever since the entire pupulation connected the word "alien" with a little green man with purple spots and tentacles.

[CapitalistSocialist]

At 1/16/04 04:11 PM, bumcheekcity wrote: Well, ever since the entire pupulation connected the word "alien" with a little green man with purple spots and tentacles.

Only the idiot population. Look illlegal aliens > bogus asylum seekers anyday.