Free Press Houston
I struggle to find a better title to suit this story.
Earlier this year the Young Conservatives of Texas’ UT chapter held a controversial bake sale in a misguided effort to show how affirmative action is hurting, rather than helping, minorities because the policy suggest that minorities need the policy to succeed. They sold their baked goods at special prices based on race and gender. In the photo below, you will see that they were charging less if you were a non-white with an overall $0.25 discount for women, implying that minorities need reduced pricing. After that beautiful display, they decided to produce another offensive and insensitive event, ‘Catch an Illegal Immigrant Game’, “to spark a campus wide discussion about the issue of illegal immigration, and how it effects our everyday lives” claimed Lorenzo Garcia, the leader of the campus organization.
Everyone has their opinions and they are entitled to them. This piece is my opinion on this group of scum at UT Austin. I am sure you have all read by now, the article about the Young Conservatives of Texas UT Chapter and this game they hoped to hold this last Wednesday, November 20th. Students were given the chance to collect a $25 gift card (probably Walmart of Chick-fil-A) from the YCT recruitment table by ‘arresting’ a volunteer that was wearing a shirt that said ‘Illegal Immigrant’. Some of you may think this is despicable, some of you may think they were spot on, I think they should run into traffic.
This country was built on immigrants. Lorenzo Garcia, himself, is of Hispanic-American decent. I’d like to know why he seems to believe he has more of a right to be in the US than anyone else and why he doesn’t understand that immigration laws are simply the reflection of an ever changing political climate that individuals worldwide are subject to at any given moment, based on their location. This is Texas, where we host three of the most racially diverse cities in the US, per CNBC. We live in a country that runs on the hard work of the people that live and emigrate here, and their ancestors - that means all of us, unless you’re Native American.
Some are able to come to this country through the legal constructs our government implements based on an array of factors including the economy as well as election dates, to name a few, while others arrive here due to a need that has left them with no other choice. Most are simply desperate for an opportunity to care for their families or to join relatives that have already emigrated.
The plaque on the Statue of Liberty says “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free.” This is what our country was, and continues to be, built on, so why would this concept apply only to those from a certain place at a certain time? Isn’t there a word for that? Oh yeah, discrimination. Funny, at the bake sale they claimed affirmative action causes discrimination, I guess they only support the discriminatory laws that suit their agenda. This game ostracizes and shames those who weren’t fortunate enough to come here legally, and to what end? What does the act of pretending to arrest an illegal immigrant do? What point exactly was Lorenzo and co. trying to illustrate?
Immigration to the US has been happening since before this country’s inception. How is it that we now believe we have the right to operate under the assumption that this land is ‘ours’ just because we are already here? At what point does the descendant of an immigrant (a.k.a. everyone…again, unless you’re Native American) living in the US have the right to pass judgment on who can and can’t be a member of our society? 10 years after arriving? 50 years? 100?
The YCT, and others like them, are using the term ‘illegal’ as a value judgment. Unfortunately for them, this value judgment only reflects on the insidious subconscious they suffer from and their inability to recognize their fear of change, fear of someone different, fear of having to share, as what it is, fear. Instead of facing it, and approaching the issue with inclusive action, it’s easier for their tiny little brains to invoke that same fear in others.
Their game intended to alienate students who are attending UT under the DREAM Act, a federal bill that allows states to grant residency for higher education or military purposes. I wonder if the people who choose to become involved in an organization like the YCT, know that under Texas law undocumented students are allowed to enroll in Texas colleges and universities. They claim they wanted to insight a discussion that visits the effect of illegal immigration on our everyday lives, they just chose a really nonsensical, shitty way of going about it. Tell us, Lorenzo, where and when would this campus wide discussion happen, before or after they collect their gift card? How does pretending to arrest illegal immigrants convey the affect on our everyday lives? Instead of shaming these people, why not involve yourself in the political process? Of course the event has been canceled, but it wasn’t because they realized what they were doing was wrong. Maybe it dawned on them that the safety of their volunteers might be at risk or maybe it was because they were met with threats of expulsion.
