A true blue liberal turned bigot

[CountAllVotes]

I called a friend of my late mother's the other day. She listens to a lot of liberal talk radio programs and is 85 years old. She is a Democrat and she voted for Kerry in the presidential election.

I was totally shocked to hear her speak about the subject of immigration in a harsh tone.

She said, "Did you see "them" out there yesterday? Now they are waving American flags whereas the week before they were waving the flag of Mexico! "

I said to her, so what? Immigrants from Mexico are nothing new to the USA and they serve a vital role in our society whether you believe it or not.

She went on to tell me how her son had recently been in an automobile accident and that the driver was a Mexican and an illegal immigrant having no insurance and did not own the car that he/she was driving. Hence, her son was unable to get any restitution from the accident because this person was simply "let go" right after the accident had occurred and being her son wasn't carrying collision insurance nor medical, hence he has no recourse.

She went on to say, "I've never been a prejudiced person in my life, but now I am! I've called up my local representative and told them that all of these damn illegal immigrants should be shipped out and that I am now a bigot!"

I was pretty shocked by this statement (especially being I've known this lady for many years). I then came back at her and said, "Well, the same thing happened to my own mother. She was in an accident and was hit by a driver that had no insurance and did not own the car being driven either. However, there is one big difference, the person that hit her was a WHITE MAN and he had just gotten out of PRISON." She had no comeback to this truthful statement of mine and just said, "Well I guess I am now a bigot."

It must be difficult to go from being a true blue "liberal" who loves John Kerry to becoming a bigot overnight I would suspect.

I swear, I cannot believe people like this. The comparison I shoved in her face had no apparent impact. She said she wants to move away from where she lives now as she is so sick of "these damn Mexicans who are stealing from the USA and taking all of the jobs and breeding like rats".

I gently reminded her that we are likely all immigrants from one place or the other (her parents were Swedish immigrants) and that the only people in America that are not "immigrants" are our Native peoples who are now scant at best in numbers. This had no impact on her now bigoted mind.

Comments anyone? I will likely be speaking with this lady again (when I don't know) but I'm not especially looking forward to it. I believe her mind has been poisoned by her son that was in the accident who is on a major bash of Mexicans and Latinos, be them illegal or legal, being he is SOL on the accident he was in.

:dem:

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Interesting,

Since her son had no collision or medical insurance of his own, and did not have a chance to cash in on this accident, now ALL immigrants were at fault.
THIS is exactly how the game works. It is so wonderful to be able to shift responsibility for our problems onto someone else.

Exactly how badly injured was her son? How damaged was the car? I would assume if there was any serious problem, the other person involved would not have been let go, insurance or not.

I guess she is just an old lady who is vulnerable to being sympathetic to her son's plight and taken in by his frustration at whatever his own shortcomings are. I wonder what he would have done if the accident situation was totally his fault and he was the one with no insurance?

[CountAllVotes]

8. I'm not sure

I think the car was basically totaled out and that her son had an injury. However, her son has no medical insurance. So he is out of luck and yes, you are right, he had no way to cash in on the accident. I know her son is still attending college so he couldn't be that seriously injured I would guess.

I find this to be a shocking situation. I feel like discontinuing my relationship with this woman being I don't like anyone who identifies them self as being a "bigot". Being she was a friend to wards both of my parents who are now deceased, I was tempted to tell her that both of my parents especially liked Mexican people and that it was them that came to my late mother after my father had passed away as they were very upset by his death.

They didn't come looking for money nor work. They came to offer compassion to a grieving widow.

I might add that this woman has a large family to fall back on for help and she herself owns two houses in a pricey area of California, both of which are in her children's names "just in case". She claims she lives in "poverty". However, those two houses are worth close to $1 million each easily.

I remember she was angry with me because I did not vote for Kerry in the primaries (I supported Dennis Kucinich and was volunteering for his campaign). We locked horns on that one too as she said I had to vote for Kerry and that he was the only "real" Democrat that was running. This is the only thing we have ever disagreed on until this ugly immigration thing came up.

Bigots come in all shapes, sizes and colors sadly. Liberal is how she identifies herself but I'd say she needs to find another group of people to identify with. Liberal bigots of America? :sarcasm: :shrug:

I am disgusted nonetheless by this vile exchange.

:dem:

[BrklynLiberal]

19. Why isn't she providing medical insurance for her son "just in case"?

Very strange family, it seems.

[CountAllVotes]

25. one reason: money

She doesn't want to pay for his health care needs so he has none. She could easily help being she owns two houses but then again she appears on paper to be living in poverty. I'll tell you, people like this baffle me!

:kick:

[Opusnone]

2. Liberals can be bigots

Anyobdy can be anything.
I know that's oversimplifying it, but that's the way of the world. Everybody has a story.
The most conservative right-wing asshole might have a soft spot for animals, for instance, or the most liberal leftie may be a bigot.

All the cliches are true:
It takes all kinds
Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, etc.

Just trying to understand the other guy's point of view makes you a better person.

[mtnsnake]

3. I think she knows deep in her heart she's not a bigot, just someone who's

upset at what happened because of illegal immigrants. I'll bet she's a good person who has no prejudices against all the good people of Mexico or against any other nationalities....just against anyone who she feels does not belong in this country illegally, especially in light of what happened to her son. Don't give up hope on her. She's probably just calling herself a bigot to stress her point.

[NoodleBoy]

4. some people you should just give up on

seriously... if I encountered a person talking like that in my precinct, I'd just cross their name off my list and move on. sure it's shocking that someone you thought was very progressive would turn around and become a bigot, but you're not inside their head and 999 times out of 1000 you can't really do anything to change their mind-- just imagine if a Republican friend of yours was getting all anguished because he couldn't make you like Bush. Some things just won't happen and your energies are best used elsewhere.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

5. Well....

I believe that the reason no country has its doors wide open to every immigrant, and why they all have requirements to immigrate, is because if they kept the doors wide open, the country would end up overrun by all poor nations. The U.S. is not the only one that controls immigration, and in fact is one of the more lenient. European countries are beginning to shut their doors. Canada has some very very difficult requirements for immigration. Far more difficult than the U.S.

On the other hand, poor nations (such as Mexico) are kept poor by the U.S., as the U.S. is the Nazi policeman out there, ensuring that all nations have dictators and a controlling upper class friendly to the U.S. This, of course, means the poor are exploited and kept that way in part by the U.S. So the U.S. bears monstrous responsibility for the hunger poor Mexicans suffer, and one would imagine that therefore the U.S. should have to take in all the Mexicans that manage to cross the border. The solution is not to let in everyone. The solution is to take back our country and make damned sure they cease being the Nazis of the planet.

I'm all for a strong control of immigration. I think the first sort of immigration that should be controlled is that of individuals who have college degrees and want to come here. I could go into the reasons why, but will not as it would take me too long.

Poor immigrants from Mexico who are already here, should remain here.

All immigration should be stopped for several years.

As for your 85 yr old neighbor, give the woman a break. She's 85 for chrissakes. She has earned the right to be menopausal and perhaps a bit P.O.'d at the world.

[NewJeffCT]

6. I dated a liberal woman once...

She was left of center on just about every issue out there, and she despised even moderate Republicans like Christie Whitman (she was originally from New Jersey)

However, she almost dumped me when she found out that I had dated some (gasp) non-white women. For some reason, however, she didn't believe in inter-racial dating. Good thing I didn't get into the extent of my interracial dating (I'm guessing probably 50-50 white & non-white) She couldn't understand why any white man would find Halle Berry attractive.

She'd probably have a stroke if she learned my ex-wife was Jewish (and Irish) and my wife now is smoking hot Chinese woman.

[Swamp Rat]

26. Halle Berry is a GODDESS!!!

:loveya:

[sandnsea]

7. Stupid auto insurance laws

People should carry the kind of auto insurance on their own cars that they want and be done with it. People with expensive vehicles are already carrying insurance to cover anything that happens to them or their cars. The only ones making money off low-income people carrying car insurance are the insurance companies because they usually don't cover themselves, just like this guy didn't. And obviously didn't purchase uninsured motorists, which was his own mistake as well. If we had universal health care, his medical bills would be paid for too.

Yeah, that guys problems are all because of the Mexicans. :eyes:

[CountAllVotes]

11. yes it is tossing the root of the problem towards a Mexican

and the real problem is this: NO HEALTH INSURANCE!
:grr:

[Warpy]

9. Uninsured motorist coverage is dirt cheap

and shee needs to check her policy.

I wonder if she'd be the same kind of bigot had the driver been a drunk Native American in a borrowed car with no insurance. Or a drunk white kid joyriding in a stolen car.

Shit happens. I'm sorry it had to happen to her, but maybe time and healing will allow her to regain her common sense.

[Opusnone]

12. I was almost killed by a high white punk last year

In a hit and run accident. He hit me so hard my trunk was in my backseat, then fled the scene without stopping to see if he'd killed anyone.
The little shit spent a month in rehab, and I don't think he's served any jail time or paid any fines. I could have sued him but I decided to let the karmic Gods work it out for me.

Now if using the terms "high white punk" or "trailer trash" or "white trash" in my post makes me a bigot, so be it.
I am caucasian.

[Gold Metal Flake]

10. Bigotry is easy, and when you let it in it feels good.

It's a weakness. Try redirecting her feelings of anger in a positive direction. Check out Thom Hartmann's article on the immigration issue and then pass it on with a discussion of how prosecuting the big corps that depend on undocumented workers and thus drying up demand for same will have a chilling effect on the flow of undocumented workers while having a positive effect on wages.

As far as the flags are concerned, some people just want to be outrageous. That would be easy enough for her to understand. The main thing is to focus attention on what draws undocumented workers here. When the opportunity to earn here is gone, undocumented workers who are unable to gain employment here will return to their own countries and hopefully take up the job of removing the oligarchies and establishing a viable and just economy.

[Zorra]

13. I'm completely against immigration, legal or illegal, from anywhere.

Overpopulation is destroying the land and using up our resources.

[earthside]

14. Clearly Emotionally Overwrought ...

... she probably isn't a "bigot" but is exaggerating for rhetorical effect.

Being for stemming the invasion of illegal immigrants does not make one a bigot or intolerant. It is too bad that this particular issue has brought out the 'knee-jerk' liberals who immediately throw out the 'bigot' and 'racist' label when other progressives simply have a different point of view.

I, for instance subscribe to Thom Hartmann's perspective on this subject. See: Today's Immigration Battle - Corporatists vs. Racists (and Labor is Left Behind) | Thom Hartmann/CommonDreams.org and Illegal Workers - The Con's Secret Weapon | Thom Hartmann/CommonDreams.org.

Frankly, I think her point about the car accident and insurance is right on the mark. We cannot continue to be a civilized, progressive nation if the laws and social contract are torn to shreds. An 'illegal immigrant' without auto insurance should be thrown in jail or fined just like anyone else inside of this country. Right?

Finally, no one wants to hear it, but it is an absolutely true distinction -- the debate is not about immigration, it is about illegal immigration. As so many of us have said in our criticisms of the Bush regime ... "we are a nation of laws" ... no one is above or beyond the law -- not Bush or Rumsfeld, not an individual who breaks the law when entering this country.

So. perhaps a bit more compassion and understanding for this elderly woman. She has engaged in hyperbole perhaps, but many of her points are reasonable and need to be debated.

[EFerrari]

18. Well, this knee jerk lefty is watching the march in Los Angeles.

It's in honor of the 14 year old citizen that took his own life because a bigot at his school told him he'd go to jail for participating in the walkout.

There's every shade of person in the march.

You should turn it on. :hi:

[BlooInBloo]

15. Bigots aren't just made overnight...

... and it takes even longer to make a bigot who is willing to identify themselves as such.

I'd suggest that you've been taken in by a snow job - the bigot has always been there.

[CountAllVotes]

27. and I think that YOU are right!

The bigot has always been there hiding behind the guise of being a progressive liberal Democrat! :grr:

As for her age, that is no excuse IMO. She is the same age as my parents were and they certainly never acted like this to wards other people be them immigrants, illegal immigrants or whatever.

I'm thinking to hell with her now! Bigotry has a ugly and awful smell that goes with it. It stinks and I don't like it.

So I guess it is bye-bye for this old woman sorry to have to say it, but that is how I feel as I am so very disgusted.

Not everyone is born white and has 2 homes in this country. She is likely one of the "haves" in our society but enjoys crying poor mouth for sympathy ... "I'm old and I need help!". :(

Sick!

[Greyhound]

16. There is a difference...

and it is the "special relationship" we have with Mexico. Due to the politiwhores pandering (re:puke: driving wages and benefits down, and Dems whoring for votes) when an illegal does this, they just skip and the Mexican Gov steadfastly refuses to cooperate, whereas an amerikan can be tracked and the vic has some redress through the civil courts (garnishment of wages for example). We have a situation where if they make it to the border they get away scott-free.

This allows the situation this lady's (grand?)son has gone through to happen, as well as the epidemic of car-theft of gangs that operate out of Mexico we have in the southwest, or the swoop-and-stop insurance scam that kills and injures hundreds of people every year.

Of course, this has nothing to do with their being Mexican except that it is their totally corrupt government that allows, and even encourages, this kind of operation.

[silverlib]

17. IMO, it just says the GOP plan is working...

pit the poor immigrants against the poor American legalized/citian worker.

[Jane Austin]

20. Wow - - no uninsured motorist coverage?

Why doesn't California require it?

[CountAllVotes]

22. in California the only type of insurance you are required is:

Strict liability - which is apparently what her son (actually grandson I believe) had. It covers you if you are at fault but if you are hit by an uninsured motorist, you must have collision insurance, etc. to pay the bills. If you have health insurance that covers the medical costs. However, in the son/grandson's case, it was nonexistent so he did not have enough coverage. He should have been carrying medical and uninsured motorist's insurance being he has no health insurance.

[Innoma]

21. Happened to me too...

Just last month, I was involved in an auto accident where a vehicle with three Hispanic males made a sudden turn into my lane, resulting in a total loss for my car. They abandoned their vehicle and fled the scene on foot - turns out their car was titled, but uninsured, and I can only assume they were here illegally.

It was certainly very inconvenient for me, and had the guys stuck around, I might have had some choice words for them, but I never once projected my feelings for those three individuals onto every Hispanic in the entire country, whether legal or illegal - I've known a few American citizens who couldn't be bothered to title or insure their car, even though they could well afford to.

A few people I know who heard about the accident later made comments like "you really gotta watch out for these Mexicans," but for my money, you really gotta watch out for the white man too. Or anyone who drives, for that matter.

Ultimately, I the biggest problem I have in this situation is with my insurance company. Given the circumstances, I am obviously not at fault (something corroborated by witness statements and the police report), my car is propely titled and insured and obviously totalled, and yet, its been 40 days and counting with no settlement.

If I'm going to apportion blame anywhere, I'll blame the insurance companies.

[CountAllVotes]

23. if I was you, I'd get a lawyer

That is what my mother did when she was hit by the white guy that had just got out of prison. She retained an attorney to get her expenses back. It took about 1 year for her to get the money though and yes, she was fully insured. :(

Best of luck to you!

:kick:

[Opusnone]

24. Glad you're OK!

Get checked out by a doctor anyway.

[CountAllVotes]

28. yes good advice!

You never know about injuries. Sometimes they don't present for a couple of months afterwards.

[Innoma]

29. I'm still kickin'...

For the amount of damage done to both vehicles, I wasn't injured beyond a bruise, and I assume the other people were OK as they were able to flee the scene rather rapidly on foot. In any case, I saw a doctor (on my own dime), and I'm good to go. I hope the other 'participants' are OK too (aside from maybe a touch of guilt).

About the insurance company, though...