Thursday, July 07, 2005



Xenophobia As A Virtue: The Barbara Coe Story

From: http://phoenixwoman.blogspot.com/2005/07/xenophobia-as-virtue-barbara-coe-story.html



We received the following tidbit from a person who, for reasons which will soon be obvious, wishes to remain nameless. Aside from that, and from editing the Yahoo link so it doesn't blow out our page margins, we have not edited the text:



I entered into a surreal discourse with Ms. Barbara Coe, the Chairman of the California Coalition for Immigration Reform (CCIR), subsequent to her quote about expatriate Mexicans / dual nationals having the right to vote by mail-in ballot.

"You cannot have loyalty to two different countries," she said.



My first mail:

Dear Ms. Coe,

I'm contacting you regarding your quote "You cannot have loyalty to two different countries," she said.

Yahoo: Mexican voting may extend into US

I found that quote particularly interesting.

I'm an American citizen and a Senior Officer serving in the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, and living in neighbouring France. My US home is in *********, where I shall be spending my Summer vacation.

My twin 17-year-old children attend a state-funded French public school which happens to be one of the top 5 in the entire country. France provides education at no cost to all residents in the country, irrespective of their immigration status. At no point has this been considered a burden to the French state: rather, France recognizes that education is a fundamental human right that must not be abridged based on the immigration status of a student's parents.

My children have classmates from more than 100 different nationalities. They are lucky, and I am grateful, because my children have grown up in an environment free of racism and discrimination of any sort - be it on the basis of nationality, religion, race, or cultural origins. Their life has been greatly enriched through this ongoing exposure to many different cultures and origins. They speak fluent French, passable German, and have notions of Spanish. At 17, they already recognize that they will be far more valuable to a global economy than would be the case if they spoke English only.

One could only wish that American children could also benefit from such a constant, positive exposure to a wide variety of different cultures and perspectives. How many California students can converse at a native-speaker level with Spanish speakers?

My children are citizens and passport holders of two different countries - including the United States. To suggest, as you did in your quote, that this is somehow a disadvantage, or that it encourages split loyalties, is simply contrary to fact. Furthermore, to imply that multiculturalism or multilingualism is somehow a "bad thing" flies in the face of fact, especially in California. It is abundantly clear that in the California of today and tomorrow, the number of residents (legal or otherwise) that have origins other than Caucasian / Western European / English-speaking will soon be in the majority.

Rather than disenfranchise the majority of California's population, do you not think it wise to broaden cultural and linguistic horizons of *all* Californians? California has, for many years, been a bastion of tolerance and in the vanguard of social change. To suggest that California should revert to a state of WonderBread-munching, English-speaking Americans of European Origin flies in the face of the historical and cultural heritage of this state.

I'm an American, a Californian, and a citizen proud of the rich multiculturalism of our state. I urge you to embrace a platform of tolerance, acceptance, and cultural diversity.

Yours sincerely,

***** *******

Geneva, Switzerland



Her first reply:

From: barb@ccir.net

To: "**********"
Subject: Re: For Ms. Barbara Coe

Date: Wed, 29 Jun 2005 13:13:25 -0700

If you choose to be a "citizen of the world", that is surely your choice. However, although you state you are an American citizen, obviously your loyalties are not to our beloved nation and you would probably support abolishment of our sovereignty and open borders so that even more foreign invaders could massacre even more of our law-abiding citizens - and that also is your choice.

You might want to read the OATH of CITIZENSHIP to OUR country before you spend your time berating me for my position. I frankly do not care how many passports you and your kids have, since you obviously support the U.S. becoming just another Third World country, why bother to come back for your "summer

vacation"?

Since you are yet another hate-America globalist, PLEASE, spend your valuable "summer vacation" time spewing your ill-versed rhetoric in Russia, Africa or better still, Iran or Iraq.

I personally will continue to fight for MY beloved country and preserve the rights and freedoms for which MY forefathers and loved ones fought and died to protect.



My follow-up:

Dear Ms. Coe,

Thank you for your timely reply to my e-mail.

I fear you've drawn some erroneous conclusions. I don't hate America. I'm a citizen, and I exercise my civic responsibilities regularly (paying taxes, voting, etc). I hope that my children will also be conscientious citizens in their own right. And, like you, I would want to ensure that no Americans be massacred, either by terrorists or their own compatriots...

My family - comprised of "native-born" Americans, naturalized Americans, and foreign-born Americans, are all looking forward to our vacation in the USA. I have worked extensively for major humanitarian efforts in Russia and Africa - but choose to return to the USA for my vacations. How could that be ill-versed rhetoric?

I'm sure you'd be interested to know that my forefathers arrived in what became the United States in about 1640; the "second wave" of immigrants arrived in the late 1800's. A blood relative is buried next to Thomas Jefferson. Another blood relative was a humble baker in Chicago. I think my American roots will withstand any scrutiny.

If I remember correctly from your website, you're located in Huntington Beach. That's just up PCH [ed.: Pacific Coast Highway] from where I'll be vacationing. Why don't we get together at a nearby Starbucks (a solid American institution if ever there was one!) and have a Frappucino together? My treat. You'll see that I am every bit as American as you are.

Finally, I do apologize if my e-mail appeared to be berating you for your Constitutionally-protected) opinions. Nothing could be further from the truth.



With kind regards,

****** ******



Her final reply:

Dear Mr. *******:

Thank you for your courteous response. As part "native American

Indian" (Sioux - born and raised on the S.D. Pine Ridge reservation), I have no intention of "scrutinizing" your heritage. My mom's parents came legally from Ireland (Murfee) and my dad was an "Injun". So, who cares? We are dealing with the "here and now" and the very survival of our beloved nation!

Although I have a very busy schedule (24/7), I will make every

effort to meet with you and gladly accept your offer of a latte.

Conversely, (if you have the courage), I extend an invitation to

you to drive you through either downtown L.A. or Santa Ana so you can see for yourself, the illegal alien gang crime areas (where the goal is to rob, rape, murder "stupid gringos") which has been supported by people such as you, who support

so-called "multiculturism" and welcome "culturally diverse" illegal alien KILLERS into our communmities.

Your "call". I will await your phone call to me (714) ***-****

at least 2 weeks in advance of this meeting.

She wishes she had been raised on Pine Ridge.

"France provides education at no cost to all residents in the country..."

Not true. Nothing is "free". People pay for universal education through taxes. Taxes are much higher in France and the rest of Europe than the U.S. People in these countries have made a socio-political decision that they would prefer to pay higher taxes (have some social benefits like education and healthcare) and have less money in their pocket to spend. Most citizens of the US, by contrast, prefer having the extra money in their pockets to paying higer taxes. You may think that is a silly choice, but it a choice that most Americans make time and time again.

"My children have classmates from more than 100 different nationalities. They are lucky, and I am grateful, because my children have grown up in an environment free of racism and discrimination of any sort - be it on the basis of nationality, religion, race, or cultural origins."

This is absolute nonsense. France (and Europe in general) has done a much *worse* job of integrating ethnic and national minorities than the U.S. has. They also have less opportunity than they do in the US. But who cares as long as education is "free", right?

Who is Barbara Coe. Please excuse my ignorance. Can someone tell me?

I read that income taxes are around the same. The VAT/sales tax is 19% though, which is way higher than here. People often mention that taxes are way higher in France or Sweden, but they're not really that different. It's more a question of how the money is spent. We spend a lot on building war weapon systems.

Most people want universal health insurance, but the insurance industry keeps fighting hard against it. (It's not expensive either. I heard Japan has socialized medicine, and spend half what Americans spend.)

They're neutral on the school issue, but I think public education will get a second wind once the verdict is in on all these privitization efforts (that they aren't an improvement).

PS - Barbara Coe is the leader of CCIR, an anti-immigrant group.

http://www.ocweekly.com/ink/02/52/news-arellano2.php