Attrition Through Enforcement

Anti immigrations forces have agreed upon a strategy that works. Make life bad enough for a class of people so that they will leave. The immediate benefit of such a strategy is that you can blame your problems on largely defenseless populations and deflect criticism of those who created and benefited in the first place.

The first principle of the global economy (and all large scale economy) is the exploitation of cheap labor. In Galax, textile and furniture production in China is an obvious example. Migrants are mere commodities in the corporate toolbox.

The second principle is power. If corporations can get nations to go to war, how much easier is it to keep the workforce compliant either by the threat of arrest and deportation or competition from a segment who cannot complain about workplace conditions and will shut up, work hard and never - never complain.

The third principle is technically called "enclosure" or control of the means of production. It is an enormous toolbox containing banking and finance, consolidation of capital, trade and tariff agreements, government regulation, taxation, patents, and a host of other mechanisms which benefit the corporation at the expense of the community. It is hard to believe the administration of immigration over the past two decades was not an unwritten collusion of government and corporate interests.

So why do we wage war on immigrants? We do so for the same reason we wage war on Iraqis or Afghanis. The same reason we maintain an embargo on Cuba, castigate Chavez and Putin, support the collective punishment of Palestinians. It benefits the rich and powerful and diverts attention from them.

It is, in fact, a class war. One started not by workers or migrants, but one waged by the likes of Exxon, Monsanto, Tyson, Walmart, Halliburton. Boeing, Northrup, Microsoft, Dell, Sony, Warner and AT&T.

Self defense is subtle. There no way we can match corporate force. We have to rely on ourselves and our community. I propose the following principles.

1) production - find something you can do in your own space and get good at it.

2) consumption - find local sources for the things that really contribute to your life.

3) cooperation - seek out others in your community that you can work with. Share knowledge, tools, space, materials, markets.

4) share - give or lend your surplus

5) talk - develop your own stories, share them with family, friends, neighbors. Take them to church.

6) listen - catch someone saying something profound

If you share my belief that we should hold corporate interests responsible for the mess we are in and stop beating up migrants you can vent by:

1) calling Rick Boucher (202) 225-3861 and oppose the Secure America through Verification and Enforcement Act (SAVE Act), H.R. 4088

2) emailing Bill Carrico - DelCCarrico@house.state.va.us - and ask him to pay attention to production and economic issues instead of meddling in expressions of conscience which would be restricted by HB367. (That bill failed in committee.)

3) Look over http://www.richmondsunlight.com/search/?q=immigration, pick out a few and let people know you would appreciate your representatives paying attention to State business.