Immigrant is Not an F-word

Discovered this blog Immigrant is Not an F-word via a postcard at Think.

One notes that when conservative pundit use the term "illegal" - a shorthand for "illegal alien" - they use it with the same dismissive disdain that someone might use the term "wetback." reducing a human being to an adjective is an only slightly more sophisticated form of bigotry than reducing them to a noun.

Says the anonymous writer of this blog:

Some cringe at the word "immigrant"; some take and use it as an insult. Many believe that it's an F-word; a word that's a curse, a taboo, something dirty, a word people aren't suppose to use, it's thrown around like a weapon of hate.

The history of the word, from my understanding, is that it was used to place an identifier on a group that was seen as an "other." It has been posed to me that perhaps the word "immigrant" should not be used in the first place. But I disagree; eradicating the word isn't a protest of disregard of the power of the ruling class. but rather it's an admittance of their power.

I'm an immigrant, too. I just happened to follow the rules to the letter, earned a greencard, and eventually citizenship. But nobody calls me a "legal."