November 29, 2006

James Poniewozik: Ugly Americans want to deport Ugly Betty!

James Poniewozik is Time's TV critic, and he offers a ludicrous slab of pro-illegal immigration propaganda in "Ugly, the American". It's about the 'Ugly Betty' TV show:

...Smart and sweet-hearted, she embodies the Puritan-Shaker-Quaker principle of valuing inner good over outer appearance. She's as Norman Rockwell as a chestnut-stuffed turkey. The actress who plays her is even named America Ferrera.

Well, that cinches it. Anyone who's named "America" must be an "American", even if the name is meant to represent the hemisphere and not the U.S.

And yet--if you listen to some politicians and pundits--she should have been booted out of the country years ago. Betty's father is an illegal immigrant from Mexico. To hear Lou Dobbs and Pat Buchanan tell it, our fellow citizens are boiling with resentment against people like Betty. Taking our kids' spots in college! Helping themselves to our orthodontia! Stealing low-paid magazine jobs that rightfully belong to American trust-fund babies!

Does such elitist condescension play among those who read TV reviews? I don't know her character's immigration status, but there's the possibility that she's a citizen, and thus his complaints about Dobbs and Buchanan are simply smears. And, of course, he appears to be unaware of the issues of anchor babies, as well as the problems with the anti-American DREAM Act, as well as problems with illegal aliens driving down wages for low-wage U.S. citizens. These are all issues that a lightweight propagandist such as Poniewozik is unable to understand and analyze.

And, he doesn't discuss the meta of the show, such as the involvement of Selma Hayek, someone who's previously expressed pro-illegal immigration views. While the show is almost certainly for the most part an attempt to make money, it's also certainly at least partly a propaganda vehicle, much like Poniewozik's column.

Posted to Immigration_piipps at November 29, 2006 12:38 PM

Comments

what most of the rats want above all other things, "is a place", "in the new order", without laws, without rights, "and above all", to be part of the death of the USA.

BUT CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHY?

Posted by: Fred Dawes at November 29, 2006 01:54 PM

Is Poniewozik arguing that because there's this TV character who is "All-American" and is Hispanic we should give amnesty to 15 million illegals?? Or am I misunderstanding him?

Posted by: Tom at November 29, 2006 06:45 PM

I want to know who still takes TIME magazine seriously? I know some people who remain devoted to the NYT, the New Yorker or the WSJ--but TIME???

Posted by: perroazul del norte at November 29, 2006 08:20 PM

its all about control.

Posted by: Fred Dawes at November 30, 2006 09:27 AM

This is really entertaining. For years, most of the illegal immigrant "sob stories" have been exaggerated and distorted to further the agenda of the illegal immigrant lobby. Now, we have someone upset about immigration laws potentially hurting a person who is *literally fictitious*. What a sap. I am just optimistic enough to believe that many people will read that story and recognize the utter weakness of the illegal immigrant lobby's position.

Posted by: El Chupacabra at November 30, 2006 10:22 AM