Tortilla Curtain Webquest

Immigration has to be one of the most widely talked about issues in this country today. Every single person has an opinion on it whether it be good, bad or indifferent. However, one other issue on the rise is violence against immigrants. There have been countless reports in the media about immigrants from different hispanic countries being severely harmed and even killed by white Americans. What I want you to think about is: "Do the people who commit these vicious crimes have any justification whatsoever? Do they have the right to harm these immigrants just because they are illegal? Do illegal immigrants have the same rights as us citizens in the United States?"

Here is what I want you to do:

1- I want you to read through some of the sources I have provided for you about the rising violence against illegal immigrants and think about the questions I have asked in the introduction.

2- I want you to find some of your own articles about the violence against illegal immigrants and add them to my delicious page (*** Just save a new bookmark to www.delicious.com/bernalca/camilawebquest)

3- Lastly, I want you to make a poster denouncing the violence against these illegal immigrants (or you can support it if you really want just as long as you are not too offensive) on PowerPoint (just upload it to your Google Docs and then add it as a link to your blog)

Here are helpful links:

- My Delicious

- School Database: Border Violence Against Illegal Immigrants and the Need to Change the Border Patrol's Current Complaint Review Process

- Check out Steph's Stuff if you're not sure about your opinion on immigration

Liberty and Justice for All... Citizens

Whenever you think of Latino related issues what is the first thought that pops into your head: illegal immigration, right? Illegal immigration is definitely one of those hot button topics; no matter who you talk to someone always has a strong opinion about it. Many people have a problem with those who come into the United States illegally. However, does it mean that these people have the right to take the law into their own hands and deny these immigrants their civil rights? I recently read this article about sixteen Mexican immigrants that accused Roger Barnett,a rancher from Arizona, of "conspiring to violate their civil rights when he stopped them at gunpoint on his ranch on the U.S.-Mexico border" (Seper 1). The group, represented by MALDEF (The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educaiton Fund), seeks "$32 million in actual and punitive damages for civil rights violations, the infliction of emotional distress and other crimes" (Seper 4). Barnett, whose land has been frequently used by illegal immigrants to cross the border into the United States, claims that he started gathering immigrants due to the fact that his land was being littered upon and vandalized. He insists that these people have "[torn] up water pumps, killed calves, destroyed fences and gates, stole trucks and broke into his home." (Seper 11). He also claims that much of his cattle died because they ingested all of the pollution and waste the immigrants had left behind. Barnett's attorney states that the immigrants do not have the same legal rights due to the fact they are illegal. This case carries on and is, as of yet, unresolved.

Illegal immigration is one of the many issues that affects every single person. On one hand, you have Mexican immigrants crossing the borders desperate to find money and opportunity. On the other hand, you have the American people who have to deal with the growing issues of over-population and higher taxes. The Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle does a very good job in showing the trials and tribulations of illegal immigration. We get to see through the eyes of not only the American person dealing with the issue but also of the Mexican person trying to make it in America and trying to achieve the American dream (isn't that what everyone wants?). The fact that Boyle does not try to make us choose sides is another aspect that makes this novel that much more interesting. The problem with illegal immigration is that there is no foreseeable solution that would satisfy both sides. Personally, I feel that the only way to truly stop the overflow of illegal immigrants is by simplifying the citizenship process. No, I do not mean that we should make the process so easy that anyone could get into the country because the line still needs to be drawn somewhere but this process should not take ten to fifteen years to complete. At the same, just because a person is illegal does not mean that one can just refuse to give him or her any rights. The last time I checked, holding up a group of people, threatening them with a gun and your dog, and screaming obscenities at them was illegal.

In the end, we are still going to have this ongoing struggle trying to solve the problem of illegal immigration. There are always going to be people like Roger Barnett who are completely against immigration and those who are not. However one thing we can all agree on is the fact that no one deserves to be treated like an animal. People need to learn to see both sides of the argument and they need to realize that this topic is not black and white (this really only applies to those that are really close-minded).


Seper, Jerry. "16 Illegals Sue Arizona Rancher." The Washington Times 9 Feb.
2009. 17 Mar. 2009 .

Heterosexism

Heterosexism is defined as discrimination or prejudice against homosexuals on the assumption that heterosexuality is the normal sexual orientation. "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" chronicles the lives and cases of the detectives of this Manhattan based crime squad. Throughout this long running series, detectives Stabler, Benson, Munch, and Tutuola have had to deal with difficult and often tragic cases ranging from rape to domestic violence to the horrible crimes committed against children. Although this show has pretty much always portrayed the lifestyles of heterosexual people, it has also discussed the lives of homosexual and many of the hardships they have.
One episode that comes into mind comes from the fifth season; it is titled "Abomination". In this episode, a homosexual who just happens to be the face of a sexual re-education group is found murdered in an alley way. At first detectives suspect Reverend Mitchell Shaw, an outspoken minister who flooded the victim with hate mail and death threats, with his murder. After the minister's alibi clears him, suspicion falls on Dr. Roger Tate a professor who was completely against homosexuality and believed that it is a mental disease that could be cured with therapy. He opposed the victim's claim that sexual re-education groups did not actually and made people more miserable. It turns out that the professor's own son is gay and was in relationship with the victim.
Throughout this episode, it did not seem that the show was promoting heterosexual privilege but it did seem that some of the characters did not completely agree with the idea of homosexuality. On the one hand you had Detective Elliot Stabler, a former marine and a veteran of the Special Victims Unit with a family. He believed that homosexuality was something a person chose. While he did not outright condemn it, he still insinuated that he believed that having a wife and children was the correct way to live. However, Detective Olivia Benson did not believe so. A single woman bent on helping all victims however she could, she believed that there is no correct way to live and that like heterosexuality, no one chooses to be gay. Even though it seems that this episode tried to send the message that whatever lifestyle a person chose was his or her own prerogative, the show still demonstrated some unfair stereotypes of gay people. For example, the gay characters of this episode were completely promiscuous and they had no sense of morality. For example, the son of the professor takes the blame for killing the victim and does not show any remorse. He is more focused on hiding the fact that he is gay (you kind of have to watch the episode to be able to truly understand). It looks like that show's writers are not completely unbiased just yet.
The idea that heterosexuality is the correct sexual orientation is preposterous. It nice to see that media is starting to address the issues that homosexual people go through. The fact that "Law and Order: SVU" provides different perspectives (though not perfectly) is nice because no one is being severely antagonized. Hopefully there will come a time where the subject of homosexuality is not such a taboo topic.