ANTHROPOLOGY 281--The Phrase "Illegal Immigrant"--ETYMOLOGY OF AN ETHNIC SLUR

ANTH 281-1001
Dr. J Ferguson
University of Nevada, Reno
Spring 2018  02Mar18
JC Langelle

Human Cargo, Deportations and the Jews in Palestine

     In class following the lecture on Thursday, Dr. Ferguson made a strong argument against the label of "illegal immigrant" for those who have entered the United States undocumented. Taking for granted and usually referring to Hispanics who have crossed the border from the south, I was quite surprised to listen to the ensuing dialogue between the classmates and Dr. Ferguson, some considering the phrase appropriate, others not.
     Research in the newspaper archive files revealed a fascinating fact, the phrase has been around for a long time.

 

The above article dated May 20, 1891 published in the Wilkes-Barre Record ,
"it is better that illegal immigrants be not sent to the United States."
As Dr. Ferguson pointed out, the human beings were reduced to the level of objects, in the article above, mere human cargo, to be shipped or returned depending on whether there was a bill of lading attached to it.

In the next article, " The Pesky Chinee" is to be returned not to his homeland, but to the nation from where he entered improperly, in this case Canada,

In yet another archived article, Japanese are deported from Hawaii for being "illegal immigrants"

But the single most overused case of the phrase came during the exodus of Jews to Palestine during and following World War Two. Note in the above case the Arabs made of game of matching each Jewish refugee with 10 "illegal immigrants" of their own.

Great Britain made no bones about calling the Jews illegal and did everything it could to halt the flow to the Holy Land.

Obviously we have become so accustomed to using the phrase through many generations, it may take several generations to rid ourselves of this disgusting and derogatory affront to the less-fortunate among us.

ANTHROPOLOGY 281--The Rabble With PhDs--FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE

ANTH 281.1001
Dr J Ferguson
University of Nevada, Reno
Spring 2018
27 F 18


  When incapable of straight communication in the real world, academicians will invent a language with pseudo-scientific terminology in an effort to rationalize the complex nature of understanding one another. They will search high and low, in Native American cultures, sit in igloos and attempt to decipher what the Eskimos are saying, or perhaps take a trip to Siberia and be entertained by the myriad of tongues and dialects spoken there. One comes away from all of this with one question, what purpose does all of this serve?

     As a former literary agent for the Writers Guild of America, West, I read several hundred screenplays, graded them and sent them back to the writers offering either rejection or representation. The rejects were due primarily to, as Strother Martin, playing the role of Captain in Cool Hand Luke (1967), so adroitly put it,

   "What we've got here..is, failure to communicate."

   Most of that failure came from bad grammar, lazy and sloppy screenwriting, and using cheap pidgin and Spanglish type languages. All of the above are what's being touted as something special in linguistic anthropology. It may be fine for the aerospace and health industries, but is unacceptable in a field where communication IS the art form. To what degree are there an unlimited number of jobs in aerospace that some degree of multilingualism is necessary. On the contrary, succinct and precise understanding in a superior language would be far more desirable than the rabble with PhDs all talking in their native tongues.

(The 250-400 word limit of this submission has been reached).

ANTHROPOLOGY 281--Immersion Film Analysis--CHATEAUROUX ET SAVOIR FAIRE

ANTH 281.1001
Dr J Ferguson
University of Nevada, Reno
Spring 2018
JCL

"Speaking in Tongues"--A Documentary--

    Criticism for any program (or film) of this type may or may not be based just on societal fears and prejudices. Considering the number of states with official language as English, it is not surprising that there would be some sort of backlash to programs, such as immersion, that would draw a negative reaction.

    In class following the film, I suggested there may not be a real economic value in a bilingual program. In no way did I insinuate a prejudiced attitude; nor did I , or am I, afraid of any such program. As a child growing up in the US Air Force, my family was stationed in Chateauroux, France where I was immersed in an early education bilingual class in 1956, long before these "pilot" programs existed in the United States. I am very familiar with the benefits of the program.

    My concern in class, which drew a great deal of negative reaction from fellow classmates, was the overall usefulness of a second language where the economy just does not have the jobs to accommodate those who succeed in the immersion program. My fellow classmates are all young, have not had the opportunity to explore many of the experiences in life I was fortunate enough to have, like living in a foreign country and immersed in a bilingual class.

    Currently, at the University of Nevada, I am fortunate enough to be enrolled in a second language class, again, French. I wouldn't trade it for the world. No prejudice or economic factor could influence how excited I am to be given another chance at learning a second language.

   If any criticism is to be directed, it would be at those who draw incorrect inferences from genuine concerns.

On the Little League team, Chateauroux, France 1956

ANTHROPOLOGY 281--"Speaking in Tongues"--A Documentary--IMMERSION SAVOIR FAIRE

ANTH 281.1001
Dr J Ferguson
University of Nevada, Reno
Spring 2018
JCL

    Criticism for any film of this type may or may not be based just on societal fears and prejudices. Considering the number of states with official language as English, it is not surprising that there would be some sort of backlash to programs, such as immersion, that would draw a negative reaction.

    In class following the film, I suggested there may not be a real economic value in a bilingual program. In no way did I insinuate a prejudiced attitude; nor did I , or am I, afraid of any such program. As a child growing up in the US Air Force, my family was stationed in Chateauroux, France where I was immersed in an early education bilingual class in 1956, long before these "pilot" programs existed in the United States. I am very familiar with the benefits of the program.

    My concern in class, which drew a great deal of negative reaction from fellow classmates, was the overall usefulness of a second language where the economy just does not have the jobs to accommodate those who succeed in the immersion program. My fellow classmates are all young, have not had the opportunity to explore many of the experiences in life I was fortunate enough to have, like living in a foreign country and immersed in a bi-lingual class.

    Currently, at the University of Nevada, I am fortunate enough to be enrolled in a second language class, again, French. I wouldn't trade it for the world. No prejudice or economic factor could influence how excited I am to be given another chance at learning a second language.

   If any criticism is to be directed, it would be at those who draw incorrect inferences from genuine concerns.

 

On the Little League team in France, 1956

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