BIRMINGHAM NEWS (Opinion)
By Joey Kennedy
October 29, 2012
There are some people -- too many people -- who don't want to hear anything that challenges their perspectives, values or beliefs. They can't handle the uncertainty or the fear that what they may have been taught or what they have thought their whole lives is, well, wrong.
We've seen that attitude reflected plenty of times in the comments on immigration stories on al.com and, most recently, on stories leading up to Tuesday night's Immigration Town Hall meeting at UAB Hill Center's Alumni Auditorium. The meeting, featuring undocumented journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, will be from 7 to 9 p.m. and is expected to be well-attended. Vargas, a former Washington Post reporter, is the founder of Define American. He wrote two essays for us on this issue, which can be found here and here.
We're hoping to have a diverse audience, including supporters of Alabama's harsh immigration law, but who knows? One of HB 56's sponsors, state Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale, declined an invitation to attend and speak at the event.
And I don't think we'll see al.com readers like Eggfoot there. On a recent blog discussing Vargas' visit, Eggfoot weighed in: "Joey, what do you not understand about this issue? Your friend (Vargas) has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING that he can add to the discussion of immigration policy in this country. HE IS ILLEGAL. HE DOES NOT BELONG HERE. PERIOD. He has no input to policy making. The only thing he should do is find the next bus or plane back to where ever he came from, regardless of when that happened. Now if he wants to go back to where ever he belongs and then legally immigrate to this country, we might listen to what he has to say. Until then, he is just an illegal alien criminal with no voice."
A little while later, after encouraging a more open-minded exchange, Eggfoot again: "Joey, THERE IS NO OTHER VIEW. The law is what it is and he (Vargas) is in VIOLATION of it and can ONLY make it right by following the law. He cannot invade this country and expect to change its laws to suit himself. This is an absolute. There is no grey area. You are WRONG, he is WRONG, and those on this forum and in this state that support removing illegals are RIGHT."
There's no moving Eggfoot. But he's not everybody, and I've heard from many people over the past couple weeks who appreciate that Alabama Media Group, al.com and The Birmingham News are co-sponsoring such an important event in the community. Some of those people support a tough state immigration law.
The Immigration Town Hall is the first of a series of community engagement projects to be led by The News and al.com. We plan to remain involved and active in the community in significant ways. And if you have ideas of your own, let us know.
Meanwhile, if you are attending Tuesday's Immigration Town Hall, you may want to get to Alumni Auditorium a little early. It very well could be a packed house.
If you can't attend the meeting, it will be live-streamed on al.com. Also, my colleague Edward Bowser will be holding a live chat during the event. Look for details on al.com about the live stream and chat Tuesday around noon.
We'll also discuss the Immigration Town Hall, HB 56 and Vargas during our weekly live chat at 1 p.m. Tuesday.
What do you think?
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