May 15, 2007--Chopping Lettuce
What I am about to report is (1) methodologically dubious; (2) is of admittedly limited scope and duration; is further compromised by my (3) reluctance to and fear of interrogating the subjects of my “study”; and (4) is based on my extraordinarily circumscribed quotidian experiences wandering in one of the most idiosyncratic pieces of world geography—lower Manhattan.
But from my past 24 hours of (1) shopping; (2) eating out; (3) dealing with the staff of the building in which I live; and (4) again just wandering about, I do not for the life of me know how I would have been able to get anything done in my apartment; been able to buy anything at Bed, Bath, and Beyond; figured out what to do with, yes, my garbage; secured my morning coffee; had my egg salad sandwich at the corner luncheonette; dined last night on Rigatoni Melanzana; or after that bought my Häagan Dazs at the local convenience store--none of this would have been possible, I feel certain without checking for Green Cards, except for the good fortune we have to have illegal (and legal) immigrants wanting to be here in our country.
I’m not just talking about cheap labor—though that certainly assured that the egg salad and Rigatoni were affordable for me—I’m talking about our being able to find enough native-born people or naturalized citizens willing to do most of these low-status things for what barely approaches living wages.
Let’s be frank—how many of my or your children, nieces, or nephews just staring out are being displaced in the dish-washing-gardening-lettuce-chopping-gas-staton-attendent-short-order-cook-cleaning-person-hotel-worker-car-repair-day-care-taxi-driver-news-dealer sectors of our economy? No one that I know. But then perhaps you may be aware of others who are in a rage about immigration because they can’t get a job picking strawberries.
The Congress, as I post this, is struggling to come up with a compromise immigration reform bill (see linked NY Times article). As they do, I hope they too will take an honest look at what they were up to during the past 24 hours (including perhaps employing the services of the DC Madam’s immigrant sex-workers). If they do that a good bill should zip its way along and we can maybe begin to get over this paranoia about how immigrants are making us less secure and taking jobs away from us Real Americans.
But from my past 24 hours of (1) shopping; (2) eating out; (3) dealing with the staff of the building in which I live; and (4) again just wandering about, I do not for the life of me know how I would have been able to get anything done in my apartment; been able to buy anything at Bed, Bath, and Beyond; figured out what to do with, yes, my garbage; secured my morning coffee; had my egg salad sandwich at the corner luncheonette; dined last night on Rigatoni Melanzana; or after that bought my Häagan Dazs at the local convenience store--none of this would have been possible, I feel certain without checking for Green Cards, except for the good fortune we have to have illegal (and legal) immigrants wanting to be here in our country.
I’m not just talking about cheap labor—though that certainly assured that the egg salad and Rigatoni were affordable for me—I’m talking about our being able to find enough native-born people or naturalized citizens willing to do most of these low-status things for what barely approaches living wages.
Let’s be frank—how many of my or your children, nieces, or nephews just staring out are being displaced in the dish-washing-gardening-lettuce-chopping-gas-staton-attendent-short-order-cook-cleaning-person-hotel-worker-car-repair-day-care-taxi-driver-news-dealer sectors of our economy? No one that I know. But then perhaps you may be aware of others who are in a rage about immigration because they can’t get a job picking strawberries.
The Congress, as I post this, is struggling to come up with a compromise immigration reform bill (see linked NY Times article). As they do, I hope they too will take an honest look at what they were up to during the past 24 hours (including perhaps employing the services of the DC Madam’s immigrant sex-workers). If they do that a good bill should zip its way along and we can maybe begin to get over this paranoia about how immigrants are making us less secure and taking jobs away from us Real Americans.
posted by Steven Zwerling at
4:04 PM
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