I have been immersed in the issue of Immigration as part of my work for KETC. I am using a wonderful tool called Darwin - more on this later - to observe the full debate. I spend hours every day looking at a very wide range of formal and informal posts and at thousands of comments.
I am overwhelmed by much of the anger I have found. It hurts me to read it. Not just because I have another point of view but feeling this rage every day is emotionally wearing.
At first my reaction was anger too! "How can they be so stupid as to see things in this way?" was my first reaction.
But I had an aha the other day as I was listening to a program about reconciliation in Rwanda. The big point is that I picked up is that this anger is NOT stupid. It is rooted in something that is very real for those that feel it. The piece made the point that I was being stupid by thinking others as stupid and that I would do better to have some compassion and think more about WHY they were so angry.
So why the anger? I don't claim to have THE answer and I look forward to hearing from you about why you think this is so. But here are my thoughts as they are for now.
The stated reasons are that illegal immigrants are "Illegal" they are law breakers. That they are taking jobs - lowering wages - that they are driving crime - that they are consuming tax resources etc.
But I wonder is that really the source of the anger? After all I don't see this fuss about crime generally. I don't see a big fuss against all the employers who have shuttered workplaces and exported jobs abroad. I don't see the fuss about how technology has driven jobs away and lowered wages.
Is this all about the economy? In good times are we all "UP"? Certainly we have seen a shift in Arizona that used to be pro immigrant in the good times.
I think that these may just be surface issues that are easy to talk about. But do they drive this level of anger?
What do people kill each other over? What issue really drives us crazy with anger and fear?
Is it not when we feel our identity is threatened?
Take religion - the worst wars and the worst acts have been committed when people are divided by different beliefs.
Look at mariages and families what drives violence there? Issues of power, control which are of course all about identity - who is in charge - can lead to abuse and even to murder.
Take civil wars which are always the most brutal of all conflicts - they are always about an idea of identity - States Rights versus the Nation - royalists versus parliament - The Citizen versus the Tsar - the Balkans! Ireland!
This is the level of anger that I am finding every day all over the web. This is the emotion that politicians are feeding off. This is why I am so fearful for this anger carries enormous power with it that cannot be reasned with. You can't argue a case with someone who is overwhelmed by their feelings. Nor can you tell people that cannot or should not feel how they do.
In most cases once the anger has been ignited, the fire has to burn as it did in Rwanda. 800,000 died in 100 days in Rwanda. Remember that 600,000 Americans died in the Civil War - the first Total war of all time. In most cases Reconciliation can only take place after oceans of blood have been spilled.
So finding the source of the anger - giving it a place - exploring it BEFORE it drives a conflagration is surely a matter of urgency?
What then is the identity in America that is under siege? Whose identity is most threatened? What are the forces in play? Who is fanning the flames? Why?
In Rwanda the answers to who and why are now clear - it was the media - one station in particular.
What can realistically be done to reduce the anger and the tension
I have my own ideas but I am interested in yours first.
