Immigrants!

Today, the first text message I sent was to a Turkish man. Then I emailed a German. And at 1.30, I’m going to play tennis with an Israeli. I don’t know that this gives me complete authority to talk about immigration. But I can say in no uncertain terms that immigrants–immigrants from countries associated with Islam, Christianity, and Judaism–have affected my life. In all cases, positively.

It’s been hard not to take the national conversation about immigration—spurred by the refugee crisis in Syria—personally. Because when people make comments like, “Muslims can never be integrated into Western society,” or “immigrants are draining our resources,” they are talking about my friends. My friends who are integrated not only to Western society but into my Sunday morning (and early afternoon). My friends who I write songs with and who give me relationship advice and who contribute so much more to my life and the lives of the people they touch than they take.

And I understand that a lot of this talk comes from fear. We tend to be afraid of cultures and religions that we’re unfamiliar with. But our fears are not founded in facts. I would encourage anyone afraid of Islam to actually talk to a Muslim* before making assumptions about the religion as a whole. Because until you have a real face as part of the discussion, it seems like humanity gets lost. I’ve been hearing words that talk about Muslims as though they are these other types of creatures who cannot use language or form independent thoughts or have nuances in their beliefs in the same way that Christians can. And it’s just not true.

Of course, there is also the fear of terrorism. What happened in Paris is very scary. I think about it now when I walk through Times Square. I probably will for a while. But let’s not confuse the shootings and the refugee crisis, which are, in fact, separate. And let’s also keep in mind that the vast majority of our country’s shootings have been committed by people born here. It’s always tempting to try to blame the outsider. It gives us a false sense of control over the situation. We can label it and feel like it can be stopped. But violent acts are committed by people from all backgrounds.

It feels actually feels super weird to talk about immigration and terrorism in the same post. Immigrants who do negative things are such a tiny fraction of immigrants in general. It’s a little baffling to me. Saying we should not let immigrants in because of the threat of terror is like saying women should never go on dates because of the threat of rape. Of course, take some basic precautions. But come on.

I don’t want to end this on a negative note, though. Because that’s the thing. Immigration is not negative. Instead, let me leave you with a picture of me with Mehmet and Mike, the aforementioned Turk and German. And I’m gonna get ready to hit the courts.

Footnote:

*I would also encourage everyone to read this series by the Baltimore Sun. This first article features students from Patterson High School, the high school that I taught at in Baltimore, and my good friend/mentor/fellow teacher/coach, Tom Smith.

After writing the blog, a friend, Joshua Christian, who has certainly spoken with a Muslim before, brought up some counter-arguments and nuances to the situation with Syria that I had glossed over/avoided. But I do think that they are well-expressed and worth mentioning. And I’ll include a response from myself after his comments. I think the discussion is worth continuing.

He writes:

I respect your views on this, but I am a little off put by the insinuation you’re making that my opinion is formed by ignorance and buying into propaganda. I’ve been to Syria and several other countries across the middle east. I’ve been out among the population and spoken with many people living there. Based on that experience (which is pretty extensive at 7 out of the past 14 years being spent in Arabic foreign countries) I can with all confidence say that those who are here and have been here for a while that are of foreign decent are by and large not representative of the majority population over there. They are the exceptions to the rule. That’s why they’re already here. The people we’re protesting coming here have a completely different mindset, a completely different set of morals and values and by and large a complete disregard for any laws, rules or ordinances that fall in conflict with their fanatical beliefs. I think the best description of the fallacy they have us believing came from the mouths of several foreign nationals I worked with overseas who told me quite plainly the only reason they didn’t kill us in our sleep and rape our female soldiers was that it would reduce their ability to make money from American soldiers they sold merchandise to and that they knew they’d be caught and killed. They also told me that if we weren’t so overwhelmingly powerful, they would attack us more often. I’ve seem this truth come to fruition over my successive deployments. So while I can admire your passion and personal relationships with the immigrants you know, I have to take exception at the insinuation that I’m simply too uninformed or gullible to have a real view of this issue.

My response:

Very well said, Joshua Christian. Though I was not trying to insinuate gullibility, particularly for people who have had experience with Islamic extremists, I can definitely see why it came across that way.

I was mainly writing, initially, in response to comments I’d seen that had made very broad, sweeping statements about immigration in general. And I do hold very firmly to the principles that where you are born should not dictate where you get to live and that we should value our immigrants and the amazing contributions they make and find a way to incorporate more–not keep them out.

However, I have not had the direct experience with extremists that you have had. And I know that it is easier to hold the types of ideals that I hold at a distance from the fighting. And I completely recognize that my ideals have not been seriously challenged in the ways that yours have. And I am certainly not one to defend the actions of anyone who believes they are enacting the will of God and that that gives them license to behave in hurtful or violent ways. But I do think that writing off an entire group of people–for instance the refugees from Syria–and forcing them to pay for the crimes of the few is not ethical. And perhaps you will argue with me about the term “few.” I would be interested to hear if you have talked to others who do not hold the viewpoints you described. Do you not think that most of the people trying to escape the situation in Syria are actually trying to escape–rather than join up? How many good people have to suffer because they were born into a bad situation? How many good people have to suffer because we are too afraid to do the difficult work of treating each life as an individual and giving people chances despite our fears?

Please don’t think I’m condescending, though. Those are not rhetorical questions, but things that we have to actually ask. I think it must be incredibly difficult to trust people from a culture that you’ve seen first hand to terrible things. And it’s something I can’t say with certainty that I could do in your situation–much as I’d like to. But it does seem to me that it is the only way to make a real change. If we can’t find ways to communicate and integrate, what hope do we have? I think it has to start with the rather extraordinary act of giving every person a chance.