I Pity the Poor Immigrant, by Martha Thomases
According to my reading of the nightly news (between 4 PM and 7 PM, we watch CNN, BBC, and NBC), illegal immigration is a huge issue as we go into the primary season for the various presidential nominations. According to various estimates, there are as many as 12 million people living in the United States who are in the country illegally. Some entered legally, as students or tourists, and didn’t leave when they were supposed to. Others snuck in without going through the proper channels.
Neither party has a consensus on what its position is, but, to greatly oversimplify, the Democrats want to find a way to more quickly legalize the illegals while the Republicans want to deport them.
My opinions on the subject are greatly influenced by the comics I read now and read growing up as a child. As a DC fan, I know:
* Superman is an illegal immigrant (since granted citizenship), whose adopted parents committed perjury when they claimed he was their biological child.
* Wonder Woman assumed the identity of a United States citizen, Diana Prince, in clear violation of every immigration law on the books.
* J’onn J’onzz, the Martian Manhunter, used his shape-shifting ability to pass not only as a human, but a Caucasian police officer.
* Hal Jordan got his Green Lantern ring from Abin Sur, an alien who flew in under our radar.
Growing up in Ohio, I thought alien immigrants were a great idea. Who wouldn’t want to live in a neighborhood with Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and J’onn J’onzz? Even if they didn’t have super-powers, they still had cool stuff from their native lands, stuff that was way better than lawn mowers, squirt guns or Barbie dolls.
Or maybe I could have read the DC stories differently. Maybe I could see Brainiac as some kind of metaphor for the foreign hordes who were going to absorb American culture until white, English-speaking people were living in gated communities, like bottle cities. Maybe Mr. Mxyzptlk would seem like an immigrant who just came to America and didn’t contribute anything to the economy, just used our resources for his own ends. Maybe R’as al-Ghul represents the creeping evil of scary foreigners.
When I moved to New York City, there were millions of people from other countries. I would routinely see Sikhs, Hasidim (who might not have been foreign, but were certainly alien to me), Muslims with head scarves, East Indians and more. They wore strange clothes, talked in strange languages, and smelled like they ate strange food. Sometimes, their foreignness scared me. Sometimes, I averted my eyes, or crossed the street. However, in the long run, I wanted to know what they could do that I couldn’t do. I wondered if any of them could be heroes.
Perhaps, if I were a Marvel fan, I would have a different perspective on this issue. Perhaps I would wonder if every strange person was secretly a Skrull. Maybe a person who looked a a lot different was really the harbinger of Galactus.
I don’t know.
I do know, when I consider which candidate to vote for, I’ll ask myself, “What would Superman do?”
Martha Thomases is ComicMix‘s esteemed media goddess, about to make her return to comics writing over at Munden’s Bar with Joanna (Road Song) Estep.
What would Superman do?He certainly would not make this into a political issue.He would solve the problem fairly and make sure everyone was treated fairly.There doesn't seem to be much chance for that in the real world with all the finger pointing going on.
Superman would vote for Dennis Kucinich. So would I, but I've known the congressman since he was the councilman in the Cleveland ward where I grew up.
What do guys who read Marvel Comics do?Because with great power comes great responsibility we go out and become leftwing political activists. I've actually said that in assorted political meetings, I think deserve some kind of geek award for that. <a href="http://www.markbadger.org” target=”_blank”>www.markbadger.org
At least some folk get the reference, Mark. Back in my day, the only person I knew who admitted reading commercial comics (as opposed to undergrounds) was my boss, Abbie Hoffman. He liked Daredevil and Iron Man. Oh, and Eliot Wald, who left the revolution to write for Saturday Night Life. Eliot and I once walked through a Chicago blizzard to buy the first issue of The New Gods.
Naw, Superman would be okay because he's doing all he can to fit in and not impose his native culture on ours while Martian Manhunter would become a lightning rod for the immigration subject. After all, he's taking SEVERAL jobs from "decent Americans." :)Wonder Woman would be a subject of debates, given her origin, over pottery rights. :)Meanwhile, in the Marvel Universe, Rudy Guliani would be shot on the steps of City Hall by Donna Hanover. :)
One of the great terrors I learned growing up watching war movies every weekend on WNEW and WOR was the power of the Nazi cop to demand "your papers." You must have papers. They say who you are and where you belong. Papers say the wrong thing? Off to the station. No papers? That's worse, in some cases prima facie evidence of a capital offense, in some cases warranting summary execution. Dad's not coming home tonight. Sure glad we fought so hard to stop anything like that happening here.
The fact that Lex Luthor seems the most xenophobic of DC villains is a pretty good indicator that being anti-immigrant (particularly in a "nation of immigrants") should be seen as villainous.
Only slightly off topic…The most important book of the year is THE END OF AMERICA by Naomi Wolf. It's essential reading that can and should scare the crap out of you.Tony "the Liberal Tiger" Isabella
The Cheney Administration has that claim, Tony. They've already scared all the crap out of me. Wolf's book is an inspiring call to action.
The true horror to the working man is not that immigrants are coming here to take their jobs away, it's that the jobs are being moved out of the country to Mexico, China, and Korea, among others. The illegal immigrant "problem" is merely contrived smoke to make people THINK there is a fire.
So right Alan. And also to appeal to people's racist fears of the "other" so they can be more easily manipulated. Ever noticed how all of this seems directed towards the brown skinned folks from south of the border? I don't see any fences being built up North. You know where the 9/11 hijackers got in.
I agree. Let's just demonize the folks actually doing the jobs here that no actual citizen would do while all of our other work get 'jobbed out' to other countries. People should be held accountable for not supporting the economy, not given ridiculous rewards for cutting costs (and services) by sending jobs abroad.
Actually, I believe that citizens would do that job if the wage were high enough. Isn't that the whole idea of capitalism? However, if no one is willing to pay a living wage to the people who pick our produce, work in our kitchens, etc. etc., then the only way to get the jobs done is illegally.