Trump and His Wall

[BigRedBuster]

Assimilation?

 

Henderson, NE didn't allow prom and dancing because of the German Mennonite culture until 1999. The gas station at the edge of town finally started selling beer a few years ago, still none in town as far as I know, not even the golf course.

 

The school band has a "smorgasbord" fundraiser of German cuisine and the town loves it.

 

I'm assuming people are okay with Henderson because I've never heard anyone complain about it. A lot of the times when I talk about it with others around Omaha, they actually say it is kinda cool that the culture is still present. Why is it okay for Germans to hold onto their cultures, but not Mexicans?

Go spend some time around Pella iowa. When I first was in sales, that was part of my territory. I was told once by an old guy that he wouldn't buy from me because my last name wasn't Dutch.

 

Their entire community is built around the Dutch culture from their homeland.

[Husker Red Til Dead]

I agree with my man Ron on this one.

http://www.ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2017/january/30/a-better-solution-than-trump-s-border-wall/

[AZRaiderH8r]

AZRaider, I'd argument that kids and families shouldn't be forced to assimilate if they choose not to. BRB kind of hit on it a little bit. Sure, they should probably learn English because it's going to be very hard to be functional in society here without doing so, but beyond that, I'm all for them being as culturally Mexican as they want (or any other immigrant, for that matter). The town I lived in back in Iowa had a large Hispanic population. A lot of my friends still had families that were largely not assimilated. A lot of their parents worked at the Farmland plant in our town. Heck, I remember going out to a friend's house to hang out and seeing a giigantic side of beef on their counter. First time I'd ever seen one of those. But me, I loved their culture and being exposed to lots of different stuff. It shaped me into who I am today. That's just me and I get we're all different.

 

What are those other serious issues/challenges you refer to in regards to immigration? I'm curious to hear more about your perspective.

 

IMO, the wall is a stupid waste of money that serves very little functional purpose beyond placating a portion of Trump's base that believes it's going to magically stop every illegal and stifle the cartel. We've got plenty of other infrastructure that would actually provide value we could build/repair with that amount of cash.

 

Building a wall to address illegal immigration is idiotic if we're not going to try to fix the immigration system first.

Fair points dude. In terms of challenges with illegal immigration, I'd refer to the criminal element that is an aspect of our immigration issues. Here in the SW, we have big issues with people crossing our borders with the primary goal to commit crimes. However, I'm not sure that a giant wall is going to solve that problem. In fact, it will likely keep those individuals out that are trying to come to this country to work and provide for their families, while the "bad guys" will simply continue to circumvent the wall and build bigger and longer tunnels.

[BigRedBuster]

 

AZRaider, I'd argument that kids and families shouldn't be forced to assimilate if they choose not to. BRB kind of hit on it a little bit. Sure, they should probably learn English because it's going to be very hard to be functional in society here without doing so, but beyond that, I'm all for them being as culturally Mexican as they want (or any other immigrant, for that matter). The town I lived in back in Iowa had a large Hispanic population. A lot of my friends still had families that were largely not assimilated. A lot of their parents worked at the Farmland plant in our town. Heck, I remember going out to a friend's house to hang out and seeing a giigantic side of beef on their counter. First time I'd ever seen one of those. But me, I loved their culture and being exposed to lots of different stuff. It shaped me into who I am today. That's just me and I get we're all different.

 

What are those other serious issues/challenges you refer to in regards to immigration? I'm curious to hear more about your perspective.

 

IMO, the wall is a stupid waste of money that serves very little functional purpose beyond placating a portion of Trump's base that believes it's going to magically stop every illegal and stifle the cartel. We've got plenty of other infrastructure that would actually provide value we could build/repair with that amount of cash.

 

Building a wall to address illegal immigration is idiotic if we're not going to try to fix the immigration system first.

Fair points dude. In terms of challenges with illegal immigration, I'd refer to the criminal element that is an aspect of our immigration issues. Here in the SW, we have big issues with people crossing our borders with the primary goal to commit crimes. However, I'm not sure that a giant wall is going to solve that problem. In fact, it will likely keep those individuals out that are trying to come to this country to work and provide for their families, while the "bad guys" will simply continue to circumvent the wall and build bigger and longer tunnels.

 

I actually look at the wall similar to if people want to ban guns.

 

If you build a wall, the bad guys will still get in.

If you ban guns, the bad guys will still get guns.

 

Neither of these issues are as simple as people want to make them.

[AZRaiderH8r]

Excellent analogy BRB, I feel the exact same way!

[ZRod]

 

 

AZRaider, I'd argument that kids and families shouldn't be forced to assimilate if they choose not to. BRB kind of hit on it a little bit. Sure, they should probably learn English because it's going to be very hard to be functional in society here without doing so, but beyond that, I'm all for them being as culturally Mexican as they want (or any other immigrant, for that matter). The town I lived in back in Iowa had a large Hispanic population. A lot of my friends still had families that were largely not assimilated. A lot of their parents worked at the Farmland plant in our town. Heck, I remember going out to a friend's house to hang out and seeing a giigantic side of beef on their counter. First time I'd ever seen one of those. But me, I loved their culture and being exposed to lots of different stuff. It shaped me into who I am today. That's just me and I get we're all different.

 

What are those other serious issues/challenges you refer to in regards to immigration? I'm curious to hear more about your perspective.

 

IMO, the wall is a stupid waste of money that serves very little functional purpose beyond placating a portion of Trump's base that believes it's going to magically stop every illegal and stifle the cartel. We've got plenty of other infrastructure that would actually provide value we could build/repair with that amount of cash.

Building a wall to address illegal immigration is idiotic if we're not going to try to fix the immigration system first.

 

Fair points dude. In terms of challenges with illegal immigration, I'd refer to the criminal element that is an aspect of our immigration issues. Here in the SW, we have big issues with people crossing our borders with the primary goal to commit crimes. However, I'm not sure that a giant wall is going to solve that problem. In fact, it will likely keep those individuals out that are trying to come to this country to work and provide for their families, while the "bad guys" will simply continue to circumvent the wall and build bigger and longer tunnels.

I actually look at the wall similar to if people want to ban guns.

 

If you build a wall, the bad guys will still get in.

 

If you ban guns, the bad guys will still get guns.

 

Neither of these issues are as simple as people want to make them.

In either case there are some systems that can be fixed without throwing the baby out.

[Lil' Red]

 

 

AZRaider, I'd argument that kids and families shouldn't be forced to assimilate if they choose not to. BRB kind of hit on it a little bit. Sure, they should probably learn English because it's going to be very hard to be functional in society here without doing so, but beyond that, I'm all for them being as culturally Mexican as they want (or any other immigrant, for that matter). The town I lived in back in Iowa had a large Hispanic population. A lot of my friends still had families that were largely not assimilated. A lot of their parents worked at the Farmland plant in our town. Heck, I remember going out to a friend's house to hang out and seeing a giigantic side of beef on their counter. First time I'd ever seen one of those. But me, I loved their culture and being exposed to lots of different stuff. It shaped me into who I am today. That's just me and I get we're all different.

 

What are those other serious issues/challenges you refer to in regards to immigration? I'm curious to hear more about your perspective.

 

IMO, the wall is a stupid waste of money that serves very little functional purpose beyond placating a portion of Trump's base that believes it's going to magically stop every illegal and stifle the cartel. We've got plenty of other infrastructure that would actually provide value we could build/repair with that amount of cash.

 

Building a wall to address illegal immigration is idiotic if we're not going to try to fix the immigration system first.

Fair points dude. In terms of challenges with illegal immigration, I'd refer to the criminal element that is an aspect of our immigration issues. Here in the SW, we have big issues with people crossing our borders with the primary goal to commit crimes. However, I'm not sure that a giant wall is going to solve that problem. In fact, it will likely keep those individuals out that are trying to come to this country to work and provide for their families, while the "bad guys" will simply continue to circumvent the wall and build bigger and longer tunnels.

 

I actually look at the wall similar to if people want to ban guns.

 

If you build a wall, the bad guys will still get in.

If you ban guns, the bad guys will still get guns.

 

Neither of these issues are as simple as people want to make them.

 

Similar story with drugs. In fact, legalizing some drugs would do more to prevent bad guys getting in than a wall.

[Moiraine]

 

 

 

 

AZRaider, I'd argument that kids and families shouldn't be forced to assimilate if they choose not to. BRB kind of hit on it a little bit. Sure, they should probably learn English because it's going to be very hard to be functional in society here without doing so, but beyond that, I'm all for them being as culturally Mexican as they want (or any other immigrant, for that matter). The town I lived in back in Iowa had a large Hispanic population. A lot of my friends still had families that were largely not assimilated. A lot of their parents worked at the Farmland plant in our town. Heck, I remember going out to a friend's house to hang out and seeing a giigantic side of beef on their counter. First time I'd ever seen one of those. But me, I loved their culture and being exposed to lots of different stuff. It shaped me into who I am today. That's just me and I get we're all different.

 

What are those other serious issues/challenges you refer to in regards to immigration? I'm curious to hear more about your perspective.

 

IMO, the wall is a stupid waste of money that serves very little functional purpose beyond placating a portion of Trump's base that believes it's going to magically stop every illegal and stifle the cartel. We've got plenty of other infrastructure that would actually provide value we could build/repair with that amount of cash.

 

Building a wall to address illegal immigration is idiotic if we're not going to try to fix the immigration system first.

Fair points dude. In terms of challenges with illegal immigration, I'd refer to the criminal element that is an aspect of our immigration issues. Here in the SW, we have big issues with people crossing our borders with the primary goal to commit crimes. However, I'm not sure that a giant wall is going to solve that problem. In fact, it will likely keep those individuals out that are trying to come to this country to work and provide for their families, while the "bad guys" will simply continue to circumvent the wall and build bigger and longer tunnels.

I actually look at the wall similar to if people want to ban guns.

 

If you build a wall, the bad guys will still get in.

If you ban guns, the bad guys will still get guns.

 

Neither of these issues are as simple as people want to make them.

 

True.

 

The big differences are that almost no one wants to ban guns and they kill a lot more innocent people than illegal immigrants.

[Making Chimichangas]

If this was discussed earlier within the thread...sorry...didn't read all this thread.

 

I saw a segment on "Last Week Tonight" with John Oliver where he showed different clips of Trump talking about how much the wall will cost along the timeline of his Presidential campaign.

 

First, there was a clip of Trump saying the wall would cost 4 billion. Then, a second clip saying it would be built for 6-8 billion. A third clip Trump quotes 10-12 billion.

 

John Oliver quoted an economist who said the cost would be closer to 20 billion or possibly even more once roads and maintenance were factored in.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU8dCYocuyI

 

I have no idea how accurate this assessment Oliver gives is, but it seems plausible that, to paraphrase his words: "The wall will cost more to maintain than it will be to build."

 

Does anyone have any idea on just how much this is going to cost us? (Since it appears to be happening.)

[Moiraine]

A part of me feels like yeara from now kids will be taught about the fall of America and the stupid wall they built near the end of things.

[NUance]

What's the advantage of The Wall versus the fence we currently have? Maybe we should just patch a few holes in that fence and call it a day?

[BigRedBuster]

I actually could see an advantage and need for a wall in certain spots. For instance, the area around Laredo TX is a disaster and extremely dangerous area. I could see putting up a wall in that area that helps the American law enforcement keep the drug lord problems across the boarder from spilling over into the US.

 

But, that would be a very very small patch on the border compared to what has been talked about.

[Oade]

What's the advantage of The Wall versus the fence we currently have? Maybe we should just patch a few holes in that fence and call it a day?

 

 

The current wall is only 700 miles long, only about 1/3 of the length of the border. The proposed wall would run the entire length on the US/Mexico border.

[RedDenver]

 

What's the advantage of The Wall versus the fence we currently have? Maybe we should just patch a few holes in that fence and call it a day?

 

 

The current wall is only 700 miles long, only about 1/3 of the length of the border. The proposed wall would run the entire length on the US/Mexico border.

 

In terms of cost, for comparison, last week France approved the construction of a $22 million "barrier" (IDK what that means, but that's the same term Hillary used when discussing her plans for the US/Mexico border) to run around the perimeter of the Eiffel Tower..... France is building a 2 mile long barrier for the same estimated price that the US is going to build a 1300 mile long wall/fence. Either there is a huge difference in the quality of wall and technologies used for both countries, or there is huge lie in terms of the cost from one or both countries.

 

I think you're getting millions and billions mixed up.

[Oade]

Lol you're right. Thank you. Don't mind me, I'll just be over here eating popcorn....