Solutions, not complaining, are needed

Mike LaRocque
Published: February 8, 2008

I hear a lot of complaining about the presence of illegals in this area but very few solutions are offered. We have a group of local citizens whose very name, Help Save Culpeper, is insulting.

We are not talking about a swarm of locusts here. Perhaps a little more understanding, that these folks are people just like us trying to earn a decent living, and a bit less stereotyping would be helpful.

What was that Golden Rule- Oh yeah, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. These folks are our sisters and brothers.

If I had a magic wand and could make all illegals disappear overnight, would there be any difference with regard to the financial mess our various government agencies find themselves in-

Would the school system, health care industry or all the various government welfare programs suddenly be fixed- I don't think so. It's the system and not the people, illegal or otherwise, that cause the budget problems. Perhaps when our elected representatives are held accountable to their constituents and not just the lobbyists and bureaucrats who have so much influence, then something can be done to fix it.

The current wave of immigrants are, for the most part, the descendants of indigenous people who had great civilizations in Mexico, Central and South America, and were decimated by the Spanish. They no longer speak their ancestral languages. Instead, they speak the language of their conquerors, just as the indigenous people of North America speak English, also the language of their conquerors.

Don't expect first-generation immigrants to adapt a foreign culture and language instantly, no matter what their country of origin. It simply does not happen that way. One or two generations from now they will more than likely be just another group of Americans, just like a lot of our own families.

When my paternal grandparents immigrated here from Quebec at the beginning of the 20th century to fill the need for cheap labor in the textile mills of New England, they spoke only French. My parents were bilingual and I do not speak a word of French. And so it goes.

People are here because this community has encouraged growth. Development is why we have an influx of cheap labor. As the population increases, the need for county services increases also. This costs a lot of money and that money comes from us. Property taxes have more than tripled in Culpeper since we moved here 19 years ago.

The reasons we moved to Culpeper - low taxes, small rural county, lack of congestion - have disappeared.

If the anti-immigration folks want to do something about the influx of cheap labor then how about going after the people in charge who continue to encourage growth.

It's too easy to go after the immigrants. They are easy targets that stand out in the crowd.

I believe the vast majority are honest hard-working individuals who have come here to make a better life for themselves and their families.