Normally, I wouldn’t respond to an individual letter that my editors printed. Wait a second, that’s not true! If I feel I am right and someone disagrees with me, then good for them.

But if in their disagreement, they make what I consider inaccurate accusations, then darn it, I’m going to say something back.

I don’t know what neighborhood Maria lives in who had a letter published in this paper last week, but “haterz” is a very overrated term. As originally used by the hip-hop generations, it was used by those who didn’t like others achieving/succeeding. But to use that term in regards to illegal immigration is to make it sound as if those who successfully snuck into this country have done something the rest of us should admire. Sorry, Maria, that makes no sense!

Every country in this world has a border. Every country has the right to determine who gets to come across that border into their country. And if you’re not a citizen of that country, then you can be deported. Or, as in the case of Snoop Dogg, have a country like Australia refuse you an entry visa because of your criminal past. Or a very liberal country like Canada, which refused entry to Winnie Mandela.

Lately, in regard to illegal aliens, the term “hardworking” has been used in their portrayal. However, before I give any illegal aliens kudos for being “hardworking,” they need to understand that my ancestors slaved in this country since even before its inception! If there are any people to whom the term “hardworking” should be applied, it is to those black slaves who worked 364 days a year, eating the scraps from the table, wearing nothing more than old potato sacks for dresses. It was those slaves who toiled in the field to make this country what it is. It was black slaves who built the White House and Congress. It was black slaves who were the economic engine that built this country into the powerhouse it became.

There also was a reason that America went all the way to Africa to get slaves. Those who colonized this country did try to enslave the original native inhabitants. But two things made it difficult. One was that the original natives knew the landscape and could easily escape and hide out. The other is that they died in large numbers!

No people have fought, built and survived to make this country what it is other than black people. So if I’m unwilling to move over at the table that we built, grew the food for, harvested the food and cooked the food, and fought for the right to get to the table only to have last-minute-johnnies try to bogard their way in-well so be it! Blacks in America have paid a price like no others. Just as the Jews have taken a “never forget” stance in regards to the Holocaust, black people have the same sentiment in regards to our Black Holocaust/Middle Passage.

Yes, Maria, I am a God-fearing woman. And when Adam and Eve violated the laws of the Garden of Eden, God deported them. I need not say more.

There is not a single occupation or job in this country where illegals are 100 percent of the workforce. At the most, even in the farming industry, they only constitute 11 percent of the workforce. The remainder are still Americans toiling away.

Next, there seems to be a want/desire or unwritten rule that black folks should automatically stand in support of an illegal alien community. Why? Immigration to this country has historically been to the disadvantage of black people here. When a Hispanic activist appeared on WVON speaking about the first rally on May 1, 2006, the host asked him if they had reached out to the black community. The activist said no. It wasn’t in their initial agenda.

I understand that to mean that if Illegal Aliens could march and attain their goals without America, then their response to us would be that “we did it without your help.” However, as soon as the tide turned against the illegal immigrant movement, now everyone wants to reach out to black people with a “we’re all in this struggle together” disclaimer.

The truth is that disadvantaged Americans of all ethnic groups are in a struggle together. But those who call their foreign embassies as soon as they get their butts in trouble-well, that says a lot as well.

We in this country need to realize that we are Americans first. So I’ll love all my American brothers and sisters first. Otherwise we will fail as a country and nation.

CONTACT: www.westside2day@yahoo.com