A letter from a Lehighton resident named Ruthann Schlecht in support of Donald Trump in today’s Times News illustrates why Trump may win this election.
Ms. Schlecht wants the “immigration rules back.” Which ones? The ones that said no Chinese? The ones in effect when the Irish arrived? How about the ones in effect when West African slaves were imported?
She notes that her heritage was Pennsylvania Dutch, and then she mentions Ellis Island. When the Pennsylvania Dutch arrived in America (before there was a U.S.), there were no limits, no requirement to learn English, and no Ellis Island procedure. When immigrants did come through Ellis Island, there was no requirement to learn English as Ms. Schlecht seems to think.
Ms. Schlecht also says “...let’s build that wall!” Yeah, like that’s gonna happen.
The sad thing is that people like Ms. Schlecht may elect Donald Trump as our next president. And when things go downhill, as they will, Trump won’t be blamed. You can probably name who will be blamed, but in case you can’t I’ll give you a hint: blacks, Latinos, Democrats, liberals, Muslims, immigrants, environmentalists, intellectuals, and perhaps even rogue bloggers who actually know some U.S. history.
I don't think that woman knows very much about past immigration in the U.S. From my understanding, the vast majority of German immigrants arrived in the U.S. from 1860's to the 1880's. They arrived at Castle Garden (1855 open)in New York city. Ellis island opened in 1892. All they needed was for someone here sponsor them. Of course most black people were brought here as slaves long before the vast majority of German Immigrants came to the U.S. Of course we all know that the slaves were an expendable group of non immigrants. I really don't think they wanted to come here as slaves. So I ask, what are the exact rules she is talking about? Maybe the unwritten rules that said the Irish need not apply for jobs even they immigrated legally. Or maybe the rules about the Chinese brought to the west coast and did the slave labor. I wonder where she keeps her hood.
ReplyDeleteThere were actually a number of waves of German immigrants. The first wave, from the southern part of Germany, came to Pennsylvania in the 1700s, almost all through Philadelphia. Those were the PA Dutch. They were not Dutch really, but Deutsch, which became corrupted into "Dutch." Most German immigrants, like the ones in Wisconsin or the Midwest, came in the second half of the 19th century. Immigration patterns in the U.S. are both complicated and fascinating, and the woman who wrote the letter has no idea just how complicated American history is. I have a feeling she wouldn't want to know, since it might overturn her preconceptions.
ReplyDeleteRoy, I've met her before. She is truly living in another world. It's not just some act that she puts on for the newspaper. Very sad.
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