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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 6, 1995)
EDITORIAL Legislative stalling childish, defeating Some House Republicans should bo sent to bod with out dinner. bike only a child would do. our state leaders voted against something they actually believe in just to prove they have power. These Republican rebels helped vote down a workers' compensation reform bill Monday, although the hill is highly supported by the GOP. Their reasoning for dissenting was so that they could show the House that they could cause chaos if they wanted to Their actions also proved to l>e a cheap shot at Speaker of the House Bov Clarno. who is caught in a power struggle with Hep. John Minnis. R-Troutdalo. Any Oregon resident. Republican or Democrat, should be disturbed by the immaturity displayed by our state representatives American citizens are taught to trust their elected officials, but when government rep resentatives act so foolishly, the entire <Astem of democracy Is threatened. When state representatives disrupt legislation by playing with their votes, they create unnecessary con fusion The six dissenting Republicans, who Democrats nave cauou mo nan Boys,” will probably vole in favor of tho bill, which was exported to come up again Wednesday. How can we trust people who say something one day There's no excuse far delaying slate gov ernment with childish power plays tunnii an uupuit.uu issue hiiu inun quit My mango ineir minds the next? Although workers' compensation isn't as controver siiil as abortion or gay rights issues, it is a serious issue for our state and deserves the Legislature's undivided attention. The bill being discussed would increase ben efits for certain on-the-job injuries and add restrictions to those who t an apply for benefits. It would also place more restrictions preventing workers from suing employees. Any worker or employee who has been c aught in the tangled web of workers* comp would bo disappointed to see that this issue is taking treated so lightly. The dor ision of the six Republicans also is a waste of already scarce government funds. If the group did not rebel, the bill would have been passed Tuesday, saving the Legislature from spending another day on this issue. Long legislative sessions am costly and every effort should be made to limit this year's session There's no excuse for delaying state government with childish power plays. Some critics say the Republican rebellion is in response to Clarno's refusal to take a strong stand on state financial matters, including school budgot and income taxes. But playing games only creates more bit ter feelings on both sides and is an indicator of an unproductive Legislature. The Republicans were successful in embarrassing the entire Legislature in front of the people they should care about most — Oregon residents Should wo make them stand in the comer? Oregon Daily *0 S0« M* f uGCNt OftfOO* INTO Tfw (>eytw» f (» pufc**h«cJ dHft#y Monday IhfOMflP' f I'M®}- cMw%Q ft*® acfoooi and Tmwduhr and TW*d*y du»vw P*4* by ft* O*0on Oafty §m*r*tf Pubfcrfwtg Co. i<x &t if» U»v^e«< vt> of (>*gtw fug***®, Omun Tn» tncMptocMK'ity of th« lirniv* *ty wOft art Sk>»t* K30 of ft® £#t> M*nxw%a| Oraon aw*5 <» a m*mb*r o? ft® A**oot«*®cJ ^?w*a t h® f fn*r#J ** prv*a*« C0Q(Ht*t Th® urtftwAji r«mo** « t/ft* of pap«» t» pfOMCuMfte f dito* m Cm®f K#y Solo ■UKraytna c omw FctuocWM iditof N#w» An I cfltof Fnmianc* Editor uavwj mom IWtv*IWm Lor fortht **!* rMnw» t nmmxM Sports editor Ovn MW/ Supp**rvH*r>t» Editor T-ata Now N*0M Editor M:v .■.****» t Chr«rdt MMMMt!* tOUOf* *»'y ■ cvjflsBS. 4U»i! Ac! ..;.-t*i U» *-<-.* [ Communay Coiaan Pomug. Hj/w I dU5atwn*'A**nrke»aeon N«wi Staff Aatkry *t*vj '..! Bream MteoJy Conroy Amy t Oecanport Pnmo * ontana (iayte f ormar* Motuiartor- Jo* Mjmeood, Kre Henry Truvor Kaamay Sna-rwn KrtdUR, /Warn K.rvhar Samantha Martin Mar* W !V *>* Mart Mr. Tyre. I * a; r » MrrriortJ, tier MmAm. Ka'.rm Monrtgamery A-me Mmt KfirnteM Sherry Kar r-, Natanha Shephard. Par* Van Sc Me Sav Srrrt* Marram Stoker Mara Son*. Jeremy Sbrreon. Km. rtett fir-an irtonkJ. lee decree General Manager Jody Hex* Athrertlatng Director Man* A v™ Production Manager Mthew fk.ru Advertlemg: Aon# Amato* Ant a Bnyyaaa Marco Oang Tony for t*cs»e Harjmart. Ko»y Lyon Jeremy Maeon Sarah M*he*. Tom Mnortlaa* Kateey Mekert Claealfted: Becky Merchant. Menage Kyte Dene Jo* S*a*n Dtetrtbutlon: John long, f erenc Hakocn, Graham Srmpaon Bukinee* Kathy Carton*. SuporvKer _krj> Corvwtty Production Dahka McCobc, Phxtocrton Coortfnjfcy Shaena Abate Tara GauAney Brad Joe*. kto», McCanta. Jarwiar trtotend. 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MMill Otaplay AdvOTIMng MMril CI«M»*.a AtfmrtMng-MMM] orerr r ..will TWI CABINET AMD TMf INDEPENDENT COUNSELS PLEASE CONVf TO ORDER? ■ OPINION Cruelty new aspect of immigration laws Gayle Formas During my spring vault ion, while so many of my poor* w ere lounging around beaches or •wishing down the slopes. 1 wen! to Now York City 1 was there ostensibly to partake in that journalistic tradition of try ing to find an internship While I was there I found a few hour* to play tourist and took the ferry along with thousands of cam era-toting folks to the Statue of Liberty and to Kllis Island The island served as a pro cessing center for some 12-17 million immigrants between tH92 and 1954, mostly people from Eastern and Southern Europe My father's family memlMirs were among the first to come across the island when they immigrated from the Ukraine, while my mother's family traversed the island in the 1930s fletdng Hitler So I am among the 100 million or so Americans 42 percent of the U.S. population — who descended from those original millions. Most people, even if their ancestors didn't pass through Ellis Island, have some immi grant blood coursing through their veins The millions of folks who flooded this country during the early part of the cen tury were but one wave of immigrants. Before them, mil lions of Irish and Western Europeans crossed the Atlantic to try to carve their piece of the American dream as did millions of East Asians via the Pacific. So. unless you're a Native American, the only one* who have the right to complain about foreigners invading their land, one of the Mayflower descendants, who were really nothing more than the first known U.S. immigrants, or a descendant of the African slaves taken here against their will, you are, or your am estors were. aiming llm ranks of American immigrants Included in those ranks are many of the hundreds of thou sands of Californians who passed the anti-immigrant Proposition 187 last November. And dig back a few generations and you might find that your congressman or senator, who is debating whether or not to take away aid from all immigrants, both legal and illegal, is the spawn of an immigrant line This country was built by immigrants, be it Europeans (arming the Nebraska Plains or Asians building the railroads. Earlier in the century we need ed those people to populate our vast country, and. consequent ly, their presence was welcome. It's not very often that I get a tinge of national pride, but see ing how well we once treated immigrants both shocked me and made me proud of my country's heritage I'm a little too cynical to believe that the kindness 1 saw displayed in pictures and arii cles in the Ellis Island Museum was the rule Americans were har k-watching ra< ists even back then and anti-immigrant senti ments ehlxui and flowed as the national economy rose and fell. But back then, harsh immigrant policy translated into federally imposed quotas and angry, albeit short sighted "real Americans." discriminating against their new compatriots Once these innocent foreign souls were let loose, employers exploited them for every ounce of cheap labor that could be wrung from them. But in light of the anti-immi grant legislations being bandied about in both the federal and state governments, such infrac tions seem slight Of course we have always had a tradition of treating those who seem differ ent like dirt, but the overt and pure malice that drives today's anti-immigrant sentiments seems like a new step down for us. And while I know that eco nomics is behind immigrant legislation, there is a degree of cruelty entering our mind frame. Instead of seeking to con trol the flood of immigrants, which I begrudgingly admit we need to do to some extent, gov ernment is wanting to balance the budget by denying children an education and everyone health cant simply because they come from a foreign land. Perhaps even more insulting is Newt Gingrich's proposal to take away aid from legal aliens, many of whom have been tax paving contributors for as long as he has been alive. 1 understand that then* are complicated economic forces at play here This country is des perately trying to tighten the purse strings. But it is indica tive of our underlying prejudice that instead of attempting to save money by trimming down or scrapping obsolete govern ment programs, we are denying immigrants — those who are already here and doubtfully going anywhere on their own volition — the basic necessities needed to exist By continuing with such racist legislation, wo are turning our Ihu ks on our own hsritago. What if our ancestor*, upon arriving poor and hopeful, had been turned away? How could mi have ever prospered without an education, without proper care? But now we seek to deny what has been bestowed upon us. Hut l must say that the glee with which Americans slam the door In the fa< e of immigrants — after all. who cares if those foreigners are let in as long as we made it in — dims not syr prtse me, for we are a very for getful people. This too. I learned at Kllis Island. As 1 was waiting for the ferry to take me hack to Manhattan, l overheard two women talking "Those immigrants back then." said one of the women who was proba bly the ancestor of of an immi grant. “they knew what America was all about They cared about this country. Not like today's no-good immi grants. they don't give a toss about this country." Gayle Forman is a columnist for the Emerald
