Wednesday, June 2, 2010

I Am Illegal

I Am Illegal Graffiti

The daughter of one of my Arizona friends made "I could be illegal stickers" and several people I know have joined similarly themed groups on Facebook. I concur with the sentiments and believe there should be easier paths to legal residency and citizenship, and that most of the policing should be done at the level of businesses.

That said, the Native American in me says to everyone: You are *all* illegal! I mourn what was lost - the peaceful and harmonious relationship humans had with nature and the knowledge of the interdependent web of existence.
The old Lakota was wise. He knew that man's heart away from nature becomes hard; he knew that lack of respect for growing, living things soon led to lack of respect for humans too. ~Chief Luther Standing Bear

3 comments:

  1. I like the idea of the stickers, and I agree with "You are all illegal" (I have no Native American heritage - my ancestors all came here just before the turn of the last century).

    My sister just came back from Vermont and said there is a tacit understanding between illegal aliens and the community in the town she visited, because they are willing to do work that otherwise would not get done - work that the community requires to survive. She said that the workers can get health care, etc. with no questions asked because of this. We also have a lot of Mexican immigrants here in town (not sure about legality) who do cement, drywall, roofing, etc. This has been a real help because in the past it was very difficult to find people who would show up to do these jobs.

    And thanks for the link to the Mary Oliver poem! It's a wonderful poem.

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  2. I have great respect for all the ancestors and the tribal groups because they represent the natural way of being, and speak truth in all corners of the earth. They know everything, because they learn from nature, and nature is our teacher. These teachings are always remembered because they speak for the people. That is an interesting way in which to put something on a building. Do you think people are really connecting with the idea? (AnaGoncalves from swapbot)

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  3. This is a good post. I'd like to have a sticker that says "We are all illegal."

    handmadebycandice (swap-bot)

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