Are "illegals" the modern version of slaves working on the plantation?

Question

Should we blame the slaves, the plantation owners, or the goverment of plantation owners?

or perhaps the plantation owners in Mexico that caused the exodus in the first place, or maybe their government of plantation owners, who are of course in league with our government?

Answer 1

Our plantation owners and our government.

Our plantation owners get subsidies from our government so they can ship corn and wheat to Mexico at cheaper prices than the Mexican plantation owners can sell it for. Mexican plantation workers then must illegally cross our porous border and find work at US plantations.

Answer 2

Yes and no.

The people who come here aren't forced (in the sense of being captured and chained).

Their lives are rather slave-like, though. Blaming the people at the bottom of the ladder is a time-honored tradition of getting everyone who gets the short end of the stick attacking each other, while the rich and powerful run off with everyone else's money.

Every time the feds try to clamp down on illegal immigration, it's the business-owners who profit from illegals' work that get them to stop.

What would make sense would be to make it legal for people to come here to work. Then the work would be done, and we could focus resources on those who are here to do bad stuff.

But then no one's ever accused us of having any sense....

Answer 3

LOL
Today is ridiculous comparison day... I just answered a question of comparing the USA to Hitler... I'm really starting to get worried about our and other countries educational system-
Slaves were forced here, they were prisoners, they were property, they had no rights, they were forced to work grueling hours, they were beaten, forced to live in horrible conditions, the women were also forced to work grueling hours, they were raped, beaten, etc....
Illegals come here willingly, they come here knowing they are breaking the law, they come here knowingly that they will have no rights and have to work under the table, they come here with full knowledge that if they are caught they will be sent home.. this is their choice and their choice alone.. thanks to that choice.. we Americans end up paying for their health care, their kids or possibly their education, they don't pay taxes unless they steal someone else's identity

So yeah.. hmmmm.. I can see how you are comparing the two.. please don't downplay what the horrible things that happened to the slaves... it was horrible and luckily we learned from it to make this country the great country it is, that people unfortunately want to come here illegally

Answer 4

There are many similarities, but also enough key differences that I wouldn't liken the two.

Many "illegals" come here because they have little choice. Conditions in their home country are so bad, that the only chance they have is to sneak in and find work in the U.S. It's a question of survival, and they're willing to leave behind families, friends, and all they've known in order to make some money they can send home to buy food and clothing for their loved ones.

NAFTA is a contributing factor, as many family farmers are put out of business by American agri-giants. Corruption in Central American nations, Church opposition to birth control, exploitation by industrialized nations, and other factors contribute to creating a situation where illegal entry to this country is their only viable option.

Answer 5

You don't know much about pre-civil war history do ya.

No, they are not modern slaves....

slaves did not get welfare....foodstamps...free health care....tuition free education...or work under the table and get to keep all of their earnings, plus be free from taxation.

You are making a mockery of what former slaves truly went through and committing a grave injustice by even attempting to make this feeble comparison.

Answer 6

The Mexican Government actually encourages it's poor to come to America. They send back billions of US dollars every year.

That said, I would have to say no to your question. The slaves were brought here against their will and forced to work or die.

The Mexican Labor is literally dying to sneak into this country!

Answer 7

No analogy is exact. But i would say we are importing a slave class of workers.
They are not forced by us to come here. So the analogy breaks down on who to blame. The government primary job is security. Something all mainstream Presidential refuse to address. The blame then becomes the voters. We elect those who represent us.

Answer 8

Slaves had no choice. Those who come illegally to steal education from our children for their children and health care from our sick for their sick and services from our needy know they are getting something they don't have a right to. WE are the victims, and both the business owners who profit and the illegals who take the services we both fund and need for our own people are to blame.

Answer 9

Interesting observation, here's a star.

Allow me to add another culpable party.

The American people have been watching the migration of illegals for decades and just shook their heads and allowed it.

It took 9-11 to make them aware of the dangers of apathy.

The price for that lack of action then is being paid today.

Answer 10

No They are more like any immigrant group that preceded them. We have had many different nationalities that at one time or another in our history have flooded this country. All of these people were treated badly by those who preceded them, all of them did jobs that no one else wanted, and all of them had children who went on to be very successful. It is the American way.
Now we have made them illegal, but we haven't stopped them from coming, and we won't because we need them to keep our nation what it is.