OPINION & EDITORIAL
True liberty for all knows no boundaries
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Also by Letters to the Editor:
- Practice what you preach, Karns (April 10, 2008)
- UW Athletics, what were you thinking? (April 8, 2008)
- Greenfield's 'broken' logic (April 8, 2008)
- Prank distorts environmentalism (April 4, 2008)
- Timetable or labyrinth? (April 3, 2008)
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- Deport student, but change law (April 9, 2008)
- Readers rock the mic right (April 11, 2008)
- Deportation taken a step too far (February 26, 2008)
- Salas resignation bold, yet justified (October 31, 2007)
- Bush begins new term on high note (February 1, 2005)
by Letters to the Editor
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
We in the International Socialist Organization felt it
necessary to respond to Jason Smathers’ piece (“Deport student, but change
law,” April 9) calling for the deportation of our classmate Tope Awe and
attacking our organization’s support of the Awe family. If it is indeed true that “the law” demands Tope’s
deportation — and we don’t accept this conclusion — we cannot imagine a
better indictment of immigration law. There is no question Tope’s contribution
to this campus has been immense. What sort of standard is it that values
abstract ideas about law over the humanity and lives of real human beings? This
month marks the 40th anniversary of the assassination of a brilliant American
who knew the law and humanity may not be on the same side, and he stood on the
side of humanity — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We are proud to stand in this
tradition of valuing basic human decency above unjust law. In fact, the government has no trouble breaking its own laws
when it finds it convenient to do so. This month saw the announcement by
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff that he will sidestep three dozen
federal environmental laws to speed up construction of a wall on the border
between the United States and Mexico. We refuse to accept that legal norms that
are disposable to the government should be unbreakable when applied to real
human beings. Mr. Smathers winds up his piece with gratuitous attacks on
our organization, one of several student groups who collaborated with Tope’s
loved ones to organize a rally while Tope and her brother were still in
detention. He accuses us of using her as a “political tool,” his
“evidence” being ISO opposes immigration controls generally. Guess
what? Those of us in ISO are proud of our principle that says human rights
shouldn’t depend on what side of a line on a map you happen to be born on. That
principle is one of many reasons we are 100 percent certain that sending
someone to a country she hasn’t seen since she was 3 years old merely because
she happened to be born there, is utterly inhumane. This isn’t a game or an
opportunity for cheap political posturing; it’s real people’s lives and
futures. If one thing emerges clearly from this exchange, we hope it
is the immense outpouring of support for the Awe family’s right to stay in
their homes. We’re proud to stand with much of the campus community in this. Elizabeth Wrigley-Field (ewrigleyfield@gmail.com) is
a member of the International Socialist Organization.
Anonymous (April 15, 2008 @ 12:30am):
very well put
Anonymous (April 15, 2008 @ 12:50am):
hell yeah!
Anonymous (April 15, 2008 @ 12:57am):
well put.
Anonymous (April 15, 2008 @ 1:48am):
I think its inhumane that Bill Gates has so much money and I don't. We all should just go take some of it from him.
You know groups are crazy when you try to come up with a ridiculous satire, only to realize that they seriously would support what you just said.
Anonymous (April 15, 2008 @ 1:51am):
Worthless article. But great name! Oh my God.
Anonymous (April 15, 2008 @ 5:04am):
this article is complete trash
"What sort of standard is it that values abstract ideas about law over the humanity and lives of real human beings?"
This standard might be applicable in a tiny village setting, but be realistic. In a country of 300+ million, we cant look at every single case and judge based on how "good" the person who committed the crime was. We can only put in laws that, for the most part, end up influencing people not to commit crimes. Should the man who steals $100 worth of groceries to feed his starving family go to jail? Yes, yes he should.
ISO needs to stop living on fantasy island. We get that, in theory, your idea sounds nice, but some day you will hit the real world. This article is utter crap.
Anonymous (April 15, 2008 @ 6:38am):
pathetic the ISO needs to comment on its own editorials. you're losing support, fast.
Anonymous (April 15, 2008 @ 6:58am):
Wrigley Field is just another sign of evil corporate greed. How can a member of the International Socialist Organization promote capitalism in her name?
Anonymous (April 15, 2008 @ 8:50am):
yeah...it's kinda like all the Christers with the last name Christianson? Oh the hypocracy!
Anonymous (April 15, 2008 @ 9:04am):
"the Awe family’s right to stay in their homes"
Without a hint of irony, the ISO bases their argument on an appeal to... "property rights"?
In what country do they have this "right to stay in their homes"? Because it clearly isn't here.
I suppose we all should support their property rights-- in Nigeria. But don't they have an obligation to return there first.
Anonymous (April 15, 2008 @ 9:27am):
"Should the man who steals $100 worth of groceries to feed his starving family go to jail?"
Does the family get to eat the food?
THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!!!!!
What about un-documented un-depositors at the bank? Do the bank robber's kids get to keep the money? Should the purpose of crime determine punishment?
Anonymous (April 15, 2008 @ 9:28am):
Can the illegal aliens all stay at your house?
Anonymous (April 15, 2008 @ 10:31am):
Kill the rich, throw the illegals out and a ten-year moratorium on immigration. Sorry, we're closed!
Anonymous (April 15, 2008 @ 10:36am):
Does true liberty mean that I can ignore any laws that stink of political correctness?
What about local zoning laws that keep me from being free with my own property?
In fact, why can't I just take what I want wherever I find it?
Yeah, I thought so.
Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose.
Anonymous (April 15, 2008 @ 11:51am):
Ummmm....WHAT the ISO just co-opted a religious figure (Rev. MLK, who was maybe a Christian Socialist like you might find in Germany) as their own. I think I'm going to throw up! Next I'll hear how Moses and Jesus were really the Marx of their time! Also, the BS assumption that all areas of law are equal is such a false assumption it hurts. Personal law, as in laws involving people to people interactions, have always in American history been more important then laws such as environmental laws, comparing the two is dumb.
I'm the last person who would want to see another SS. St. Louis, yet it happens on a smaller scale all the time. I realize that immigration law needs to be modified and fixed. But the article was right, the ISO is a joke that detracts from issues, you lost !
North Korea is a joke, China has grown since it started going capitalistic, the USSR killed billions and is gone. Maybe one day you can leave the gulag in your mind and come to realize the ISO's socialism is built on unicorn farts and rainbows.
Anonymous (April 15, 2008 @ 12:16pm):
You know your argument is good when the only thing someone can do to fight is make fun of your name.
Anonymous (April 15, 2008 @ 1:07pm):
Dear 5:04,
I agree. We should put all of the poor people in jail who cannot afford food, because then, we will STILL be paying to take care of them, but in jail, they will be out of our way!
Even better, we could just make poverty a crime punishable by death. That will definitely deter them from being poor! Then we wouldn't have to pay for their care, which perfectly fits in line with your principles. That would be just and morally sound, because the law says so.
Anonymous (April 15, 2008 @ 2:07pm):
Nope - the lights STILL aren't on at Wrigley-Field!!!!!!
Anonymous (April 16, 2008 @ 1:14pm):
The ISO is a joke. This is not a case of human rights, if it were a violation of human rights, she would've never attended school, her parents would've never owned a home, had a decent job or even been able to obtain their PhD. And she would've never been given the opportunity to apply for a proper visa and legalize her and her family's status. The ISO is trying to make this a case of discrimination and gain publicity, well you're gaining publicity, as the most ignorant organization on campus. Not once was Tope Awe or her family mistreated or discriminated against by immigration, she was just not granted special privileges, to quote Martin Luther King Jr in your letter to the editor angers me, he fought for equality, not special treatment of people. This is not an unjust law, to deport illegals is not a violation of human rights. The violation is not giving immigrants of all economic backgrounds the same opportunity to apply for a visa. If she could afford to attend UW for grad school, she could've afforded the $300 to legalize herself. The mexicans jumping the border can't afford that, those are the people who you, the ISO should be fighting for, they are the ones who aren't being offered the same opportunities as Tope, they are the ones without any human rights. Working the jobs no one else wants to do for less than the minimum wage, being mistreated at their workplace bc they are illegals and putting more hours in a week than any of you have in a month. You want to preach about human rights violations? you want to quote MLK Jr in your fight for justice? then fight for those who are truly being wronged, not the ones with all the opportunities in the world who are ignorant.
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