SUPER BOWL COKE AD MAKES IT CLEAR, “NO IMMIGRATION REFORM THIS YEAR”

 

 

…The main building on Ellis Island, where millions of immigrants came through to the United States.

 

The USA: an "Immigrant Nation" where some now sincerely hate immigrants?

I can truly say that I was surprised when I heard all the negative responses, mainly from conservatives, to the latest Super Bowl - Coca Cola ad.

This is even though House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has affirmed the eventual need for Republicans to embrace immigration reform. 

After the Super Bowl ad featured a series of multicultural images set to “America the Beautiful,” sung in seven languages, the right-wingers went ballistic on their radio talk shows and Twitter feeds blasting the ad.  It was not a pretty sight and it demonstrates just how difficult it is going to be for the Republicans to approve of anything comprehensive in the way of immigration reform.

As some examples, Fox News radio host Todd Sarnes called Coca-Cola “the official soft drink of illegals crossing the border.”  The one-term, highly controversial, former congressman, Allen West (R-Fla.) declared America “on the road to perdition,” for Coke not having the song sung in English.  One idiot Tea Party Republican was criticizing Coke saying that it was terrible that the national anthem was being sung in, “foreign languages”.  I guess none of his Tea Party friends were aware that, “America the Beautiful” is not the national anthem of the United States.

I have been scratching my head and I continue finding it amazing that there is such an uproar about immigration and immigrants, in a nation that is made up mostly of immigrants….? 

All I have to do is look around at myself and at my own family to see an example of this nation’s diversity.  I am of German and English dissent, my wife is Polish and English.  Here in California, and living on a court in Silicon Valley, my court consists of Filipino’s, Asians, Irish, Sicilians and Portuguese.  Within a 20 mile radius, there are neighborhoods that are totally represented by Hispanics, Asians, Koreans, Vietnamese, East Indians and various Middle Easterners.  That’s not to mention, the decades-long, neighborhoods of Italians, Portuguese, Filipinos, Chinese and Irish Catholics. 

So, where in the hell do these yahoos get off in going after immigrant Americans and to not honoring them as “real Americans”.  It would be very interesting to look at each of those that have been criticizing the Coke ad to see where their families originated.  As for the negative comments from the former congressman, Allen West, being that he is African American, now there’s a real example of being an “American immigrant”.

What is so disturbing is that these right wingers seem to keep repeating for all of these immigrants to, “just go home”.  But these mainly older, white American conservatives, don’t seem to understand that without these ethnicities in their own party, the Republican party will be doomed to become the minority party that today they appear determined to become.  So I now ask, where is that “Big Tent” party that the Republican leaders keep saying they are offering to America’s immigrants?

And what about how this negative attitude makes these new immigrants feel?  These people are not deaf, dumb and blind!  They understand when they are not wanted and are not being greeted as someone that is being welcomed to the party, and I don’t just mean the, “political party”.  I mean, welcome to the state, county, city or neighborhood.  You know, welcome to a neighborhood block party, or a neighbor’s BBQ party.

The Republicans and conservatives apparently don’t recognize the need to start treating the nation’s immigrants and minorities as if they were valued national possessions, and not a “scourge on the land”.

Now, being that I support the opposition party over the conservatives, this internal dissention within the GOP is of course good for me and mine…well kinda.  But in the long run, it’s very bad for the country.  If this attitude continues within the GOP, it will continue to be impossible to get anything done in Washington.  And we already know how that hasn’t worked since the Democrats took the White House and kept the Senate.  The Republicans have made it clear that in today’s political environment, unless the Democrats have a hold on all three houses of government, nothing’s going to get done for the people….ever!

But, the real issue I see here is not the current issues of gridlock between the two parties.

It’s the attitude of the far right against the nation’s new immigrants. 

Decisions on political issues can change very quickly, but attitudes toward other nationalities sometimes take decades to evolve, and the conservative base of the GOP continues to prove this fact day after day after day.

 

And I don't see any changes on the horizon.

Copyright G.Ater  2014