Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Immigration Review

Who are the advocates?

It seems that I do at least one immigration post per week (or two). Of course, these days we're talking about elections in both the US and Canada where the "I" word is carefully tossed around (or not.) Or like Harper's sneaky ways, he tries to address it in seemingly innocuous ways like visiting "newcomer" families. Policy-wise, I still think that Harper will settle this issue through backdoor dealings, or just spring it on us like he did the for the Chinese Head Tax apology and monetary compensation. There is also the 1.4-billion which Harper hasn't discussed yet (although it looks like a spill-over from his government's policy - "achievements", he calls it - rather than an election promise.)

The ever-informative Immigration Watch Canada analyzes the different parties' positions on immigration - not much to differentiate them, it looks like.

So, it is with great interest that I read Vdare, the more robust, American version of Immigration Watch Canada, whose writers unabashedly discuss all that others dare not to on a daily basis.

But here is where it gets a little risque.

Nicholas Stix has blogged on Vdare about two British bloggers, who are clearly anti-Semites (and racists too), who had to flee Britain for fear of imprisonment. Once they arrived in the US, they were promptly sent to jail.

I understand Stix's point, that the reaction to anti-white, anti-Christian writings is much less vitriolic than negative writing on other groups (Jews, blacks, homosexuals, Muslims, etc.).

But, I think he and Vdare are skating on thin ice when they use two racist anti-Semites as their prime example. Stix could have stuck with the poignant story of the young white man who is now in jail for, as Stix puts it, "using symbolic language."

Vdare also recently had an article by Kathy Shaidle on Canadian "Hate Speech Totalitariansm", where she used another anti-Semite Holocaust denier as her example of white grievance. There are many example to choose from, and Shaidle's rather poorly composed article is testament that she chose the wrong one.

Honest reporting about immigration is tough. But, I think Vdare would do better to avoid the path that Stix and Shaidle are initiating.