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Are we witnessing the death of american democracy?

6thElement

Schrodinger's Immigrant
Jul 29, 2008
15,827
13,063
lol at some of the names in the comments, Cadet Bone Spurs and thesnatchsnatcher
 

eric strt6

Resident Curmudgeon
Sep 8, 2001
23,187
13,447
directly above the center of the earth
Birthright citizenship: A Trump-inspired history lesson on the 14th Amendment

This story was originally published by The Washington Post on Aug. 31, 2015.

It was the fall of 1895, and Wong Kim Ark was puzzled and alarmed as he bided his time on the steamship Coptic, which floated in the San Francisco Bay after returning him from a visit to China. His papers were in order. He had seen to that. The required statement, certification from white men that he was born in the United States and therefore a citizen, were in order. He had traveled to China for a visit and had little trouble being readmitted.

On this occasion, however, authorities denied him entry, returning him to the ship on which he had arrived, and from there to another ship, the Gaelic, and then to the Peking. For four months, the only certainty to Wong’s life was the tides in San Francisco Bay, where he awaited word of his fate.


What he could not have known was that he was about to become a “test case” brought by the United States government, egged on by a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment, in an effort to undermine the 14th Amendment “birthright” provision, which made Wong a citizen in the first place as the plain and simple language of the amendment said that, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.”

For the Chinese in America, this was the “exclusion era,” a radical shift for the United States., which for the most part, since its creation as a republic, had encouraged people to come to its shores. In the beginning, as the country built its railroads, mined its gold and farmed the valleys of Northern California, the Chinese were also welcomed. They streamed in by the thousands.

But as the Depression of 1873 took its toll on white working men, they began to look for scapegoats. Mob violence, arson and overt racist derision swept through California, powered by slogan “the Chinese must go.” Congress enacted the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, designed to put an end to the flow of Chinese. But that was not enough for the building anti-Chinese wave.

Thousands of children had been born to Chinese parents in the United States and birthright citizenship was the next target, just as it is now today under President Trump. He has long denounced what he and other immigration foes call “anchor babies,” whose parents enter the country illegally just to make sure their children enjoy the benefits of citizenship.

use incognito mode to read the article on the pay for view link. its an excellent read



https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2018/10/30/birthright-citizenship-trump-inspired-history-lesson-th-amendment/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.1d8a062e32ac
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,232
20,015
Sleazattle
The Oligarchy is much more entrenched. We now have corporate executives sitting as cabinet heads and the rich got a giant tax cut while we bankrupt the country.
 

stevew

resident influencer
Sep 21, 2001
40,494
9,525
The Oligarchy is much more entrenched. We now have corporate executives sitting as cabinet heads and the rich got a giant tax cut while we bankrupt the country.
we are not 22 trillion in the hole because of that....
 

boostindoubles

Nacho Libre
Mar 16, 2004
7,839
6,145
Yakistan
As per the title of the thread, pretty sure any semblance of American democracy died with JFK in Dallas... We have been watching the decay. Once the baby boomers are senile, the shit will hit the fan!
 

ALEXIS_DH

Tirelessly Awesome
Jan 30, 2003
6,147
796
Lima, Peru, Peru
What has changed is increased awareness, however little or much that counts, my friend and cynic.
Two of the most amazing things in my mind, are:

1) the little protection afforded to workers in the us (for a wealthy country). No health care, short vacations, at will employment, no health insurance, virtually no maternity/paternity leave, insane hours/shifts, less than minimum wage and tips-instead..

2) the fact most american workers seem to be proud about this lack of protections.

It seems the poor are actually convinced the "poor" are somebody else.
 

6thElement

Schrodinger's Immigrant
Jul 29, 2008
15,827
13,063
Two of the most amazing things in my mind, are:

1) the little protection afforded to workers in the us (for a wealthy country). No health care, short vacations, at will employment, no health insurance, virtually no maternity/paternity leave, insane hours/shifts, less than minimum wage and tips-instead..

2) the fact most american workers seem to be proud about this lack of protections.

It seems the poor are actually convinced the "poor" are somebody else.
freedum
 

mykel

closer to Periwinkle
Apr 19, 2013
5,070
3,779
sw ontario canada
It is pretty sad looking in from the outside.


I remember a time when with regard to the US, the word "Patriot" was not synonymous with "Traitor"