Beck's world: Puerto Rican-born politician an "immigrant" to the U.S.
While discussing immigration on the January 11 edition of his CNN Headline News program, Glenn Beck referred to his guest, former Rep. Herman Badillo (D-NY), as "an immigrant from Puerto Rico." Badillo was born in Puerto Rico in 1929 and moved to New York City when he was 11 years old. As Media Matters for America has noted, the Jones-Shafroth Act of 1917 granted U.S. citizenship to all residents of Puerto Rico.
Addressing "the difference" between certain immigrant groups, Beck asked: "Why are Hispanics not making it, where Asians come in and knock it out of the park?"
From the January 11 edition of CNN Headline News' Glenn Beck:
BECK: Joining me now with his insights into this problem is Herman Badillo. He is a former U.S. congressman, author of the new book, One Nation, One Standard, and he's honestly a man who has been called a racist, lately. Herman, I mean, the name-calling. Qué pasa, baby?
BADILLO: Well, I don't know. But what happens is I've even been called blanquito -- which means acting white -- because I believe that the parents should pay more attention to the education of their children --
BECK: OK.
BADILLO: -- make sure they learn English and they stay in school. And I think it's stupid to say that that's acting white. That's what everybody should be doing.
BECK: Yeah, you know, it's amazing how education in some communities is being -- is being downplayed or even denigrated. That is the key to the American dream. To better yourself, it's got to come through education.
BADILLO: Well, education is the answer to poverty. Many people expect government to provide jobs, to provide housing, to provide health care, but if you get a good education, you can get your own job, provide for your own housing, and your own health care. So, that is the answer to solving the problem.
BECK: You are an immigrant from Puerto Rico.
BADILLO: Puerto Rico. Yes.
BECK: Yes. What is the difference -- well, why are Hispanics not making it, where Asians come in and knock it out of the park?
BADILLO: Well, one of the problems Hispanics have is the problem of immigration. Many of them get here illegally, you see, and they don't really have to make that commitment that people did when they came to Ellis Island, and now we have 12 and maybe more millions of illegal immigrants. But the fact remains that, however you get here, you cannot make any progress unless you learn to speak the language first.
knows no limits. Wow. It takes no brains whatsoever to be a "commentator" these days.
and HE has yet to learn anything close to truth or reality...he should be deported back...
and, by the way, Badillo answer to Beck's question doesn't neccessarily follow- yes, learning English will greatly improve your chances, but, I know many non-English speaking people first hand, specifically Asians, who know almost no Englih but they are doing very well in America- mostly because of strong family ties and contributions from every member of the extended family...
must be a highly populated nation and Beck’s got a lot of his compatriots living in America as well. Yes Duncelandish-Americans that's a good title for them.
He is apparently being groomed as the Right's Chief Propagandist, at least on television. His job, apparently, is to keep the drooling 28% who still support Bush from jumping ship. An idiot lying to idiots, so to speak.
BECK: You are an immigrant from Puerto Rico.
BADILLO: Puerto Rico. Yes.
Seems Mr. Badillo considers himself an immigrant too?
He's too polite to contradict Beck?
What's really funny about this MM topic is that Beck just finishes talking about how name-calling is bad, and then turns around and labels the guy an "immigrant."
That is trash talk how?
that takes the place of any real discussion on this issue. the fact is that our present immigration policies are in the same leaque as ignoring deficit spending. those who see immigration as a free lunch refuse to acknowledge the long term consequences of a population of 400 million by 2050. and most of that growth will be because of immigration, both legal and illegal. there are huge infrastructure costs that come with such a population increase. the costs of highways, schools, and building in general have soared in the last few years because we are now competing with countries like china and india for material like concrete and steel. it will become increasingly expensive to provide basics like water, especially in the dry western states. and there is the fact that an increasing population increases urban sprawl. a fact that groups like the sierra club refuse to address in respect to immigration. or to be more accurate, they were on record for many years in calling for low levels of immigration, but now try to portray those who support that as misguided.
well said!
....i guess. joking aside, i don't base my convictions on some ideology i feel the need to fit into.
With his "Can't get a job in their own dirtbag country" statement.
Badillo makes several great points during the discussion, especially about the role of family and self in making the most of the opportunities of this country and MMFA focuses on Beck calling him an Immigrant (which Badillo agreed to being). As Mefirst points out, look at the "flip flop" by groups like the Sierra Club on the immigration issues (for whatever reason). This is part of the problem in this country, R says "if'n yer fer it, I'm agin it." & D retorts "If you are against it, then I have to be for it." Mefirst, you make a lot of good points above, but if I said "Let's build a fence (or propose some other program) to control illegal immigration." , would you be for or against it?
it's hard to label him as an immigrant, even if he says he is one, because puerto ricans are citizens. so mmfa is correct there. in answer to your question, i am always one who believes in the the logical implications of making a statement. so yes, and i have said this before, i am in favor of controlling illegal immigration, and whatever works, troops on the border, fences [we already have some that are quite effective along the california border]. not that it's the complete answer because overstaying visas is a big problem. we need to get serious on the issue of social security numbers. if there are numbers being used simultaneously at 20 different businesses, then an explanation is in order.
but for MMFA to pick this one little item out of a great (my personal opinion, because of what Badillo said) spot is a stretch for misinformation. To me, Beck labeling him an Immigrant and Badillo agreeing is as minor as the Kerry faux pas (blown joke) regarding Bush and Iraq a couple of months ago. Misinformation, certainly. Worthy of a lot of bandwidth, hardly.
it is misinformation.
The guest agreed with Beck though. SHows he's ignorant.
The answer to Beck's idiotic question is that Asians who come here legally are the "cream of the crop," usually doctors, scientists, or other professionals. Hispanics that come here are mostly lower class workers trying to escape poverty.
If the lower class workers from asia came here, they'd have a tough time as well.
people that came from SE Asia in the late 70's, many of whom are doing quite well in this country. What Badillo says about family involvement in education is very much on point and agrees with what Bill Cosby said several months ago about the same topic. He is also correct in what he said about personal responsibility in getting education, jobs, etc. If the South of Border immigrants are really interested in the "nanny" state, why are they coming north rather than immigrating to Cuba, Venezula, etc? They come here for the opportunity and some quickly learn how to use the system to their advantage and others work hard, contribute and advance economically beyond those who rely on the government for their maintainence.
I'm somewhere between you two. Living in Southern Cakifornia, I know that most immigrants from Mexico/South/Central America here are from extremely poor backgrounds and have come out of desperation.
A lot of Asian immigrants have come here from better circumstances,looking for more opportunity, and many have come from pretty tough backgrounds as well.
Point is, everything's a stereotype, true and untrue at the same time, like most stereotypes. I work for a construction company in Orange County, and was out in the field until fairly recently. I worked alongside Mexicans, Salvadoreans, Vietnamese,Chinese, not to mention the odd French-Canadian, Aussie,Czech and Englishman.Swinging a hammer seems to be a first step for many immigrants.
Our company is based in one of the most heavily Latino cities in the state, and I live just south of Little Saigon (part of the cities of Westminster and Garden Grove) which I think is the biggest Vietnamese population outside of Vietnam.
I hear the opinions of "real Americans" (being a white guy, I get the candid stuff)on different immigrant groups, pretty interesting coming from those who were in the same position a few generations ago.
I ramble, but my point is , I see the same thing in all groups; some who assimilate enough to seem happy to be here while not denying who they are (usually the smartest, hardest working ones) and those who isolate themselves within their own ethnic group and seem the most bitter about the streets not really being paved with gold(usually the ones who are as lazy as the laziest American-born white guy).
The biggest similarity between th Latino and Asian guys I work with? Family. Very traditional, very inter-dependent (not in a bad way, I mean they make it work).From what I see,they are buying homes, having children, becoming Americans and changing the demographics here.
I know, that's scaring some people, but most of them will be dead some day.
Just caught that. Can you blame people for immigrating to someplace as yummy as Cakifornia? They're even leaving Eclairizona and Pie-daho.
of immigration is unjustified? it's just scaring people?
we have some very real problems with immigration as well as with overpopulation in general.
I only meant that the scare tactics used, especially by the right/media are not any more productive in dealing with this problem than with terrorism or any other.
I also think it's used by racist or otherwise -biased forces to distract from other issues that are more important.
it's a hugely important issue. i would put it up at the top with any other issue. what could be more important than the quality of life in our country in the decades to come?
I agree. It is for me as well.
he agreed to being from Puerto Rico...He knows he's a citizen of the USA....
Beck apparently doesn't
"yes. Puerto Rico"
Herman Badillo was a Democratic congressman from NYC who sold his soul and turned Republican to run a losing bid for mayor. He went on to work in the Giuliani administration. His "expertise" is as a water carrier for Rudy and as a hardened Bronx borough politico (no shade there, right?). He doesn't speak for Puerto Ricans, immigrants (Hispanic or otherwise) and was simply playing idiotic Republican dupe to Beck's racist interlocutor. Heh.
Actually Puerto Rico is a strange case. Pueto Ricans are citizens, but do not have representatives in the US congress, not being a state. Also their minumum wage is less than that of the fifty states. The US government has had a fundamental role in the Puerto Rican economy. This role has involved economic incentives to invest. Even with these incentives, according to recent information, about half of the populace is on food stamps. So, it might be argued that while Puerto Ricans are citizens there are also differences that should be considered. Remember, the devil is in the details.
we also have a different minimum wage here in Arkansas...it is higher than the Federal Minimum Wage we passed recently.
We also have a lot of ppl on food stamps and the Federal Govt provides alot of money to the farming industry, to be sure.
So can Beck call me an immigrant? From Riverdale, Arkansas?
Sometimes there are just uninformed idiots who are members of your political party, and this one is one of them...with a tilt against ppl who don't look like him.
You cant defend this remark.
do you need a passport to enter Puerto Rico?
you dont need a passport to go to PR .
and citizens there vote in US Presidential primaries.
They send representatives to the US HOUSE, which don't actually get a vote.
Puerto Ricans were drafted into the US Army during Vietnam and WWII, .
But they arent immigrants, and they know this...Beck doesnt.
Cleard that up for me.
I am not defending his comment. I am just trying to bring the idea that we are not dealing with a dualist perspective of citizen-immigrant. Within the context of the US territories there is a third alternative. Secondly, in response to your comment on minumum wages, states can set a minumun wage above federal standards, but not below. this works for any federal policy. However, in the context of US territories the min. wage can, and often is, below federal standards. This issue has recently come to the forefront in regards to the Marshal Islands, a US territory, and the legislated increase in the federal min. wage. If i wished to deal with ethnic issues i would have pointed towards the article written recently by Samuel Huntington, dealing with immigration issues. I degress, and disagreed with the piece.
So we have the 9/11 propaganda movie, KSFO and Glenn Beck. At least ABC is consistent with employing and producing stupidity. Next up, I look for Disneyland to alter "It's a Small World" by deporting all the non-American characters and replacing them with Global Warming deniers.
Or let's ignore all that and consider the situtation that Beck is another big-faced white conservative who equates illegal immigration to your hispanic race, and not your nationality.
Beck's mind says:
Mexicans bad. All hispanics=Mexicans. All brown=Mexicans and are bad. He really can't fathom an American island with nothing but brown people on it. I'm sure Mr. Beck would also call Hawaiians "immigrants"
...his brain emigrated long ago.
As one who has lived with SE Asians now as family members for almost two decades and spent a great deal of time with a Chinese/Taiwanese family (who, BTW introduced me to the phrase "the Chinese are the Jews of the Orient"!) I have come to draw some conclusions about the phenomenon of Asian immigrant success in America: Family involvement is very real for many asians. That means that most will help each other with communal financing,living and medical support but they will also readily lie cheat and steal in ways we native born Americans would need schooling to master. I personally know of, but cannot prove, asian "test-takers" who, for a fee from their asian friends and families, have managed to take entrance exams for fields as diverse as beautician and salon training to nursing school. Tax evasion is a given for those who run their own businesses, which is prevalent in the Asian immigrant community. Medicare and Medicaid fraud is rife! At college, a family member of one study group, who has been through a a particular course will provide the next generation with crib sheets and in some cases the actual answer keys to tests, lifted from the professors, very communal and family oriented. The Taiwanese I have heard of were adept at international imort-export banking fraud. But there is also great poverty, and brutal violence in the Asian immigrant community, such as in Little Saigon in California. Positive stereotypes, such as the "Model Minority" are just as false and dangerous as negative stereotypes. That said, the asians immigrants I have known did not waste time talking politics; they worked literally like dogs, got their degrees one way or another, and their cost of living was dirt cheap, going so far as to use no heating in their homes, and eating foods at which most Americans would cringe, but which were nonetheless VERY cheap (try LOTS of rice and vegetables, fishheads and homemade "potstickers").