Less salsa, revisited

Watching an episode of The Colbert Report (one of my favorite shows) last night, I caught the segment where he spoke with Pat Buchanan's sister, Bay. She is very adamant that a barrier be built along the US-Mexico border, with two sets of walls and an open, monitored area in the middle, where any trespassers would be easily seen and shot.

Well, okay, the shot part is my addition to this scenario, she didn't come out and actually say that. But given the similarity in design to the Berlin Wall, where trespassers were indeed shot, it doesn't seem too far-fetched of an exaggeration.

Stephen had a big stack of papers on his desk, saying that it was a copy of the currently-proposed legislation that would help illegal immigrants attain legal status. He quipped that it was so big, that he'd hire a Mexican to read it for him.

Bay's response: Good luck finding a Mexican who speaks English.

Fortunately, the crowd booed her.

I have to hand it to Stephen - he exposes some choice xenophobia on his show. For example, The Colbert Report is where I first heard of Fox News's John Gibson's plea to all white Americans to start having more babies, because Hispanics were poised to become the majority demographic in the not too distant future.

Immigration control and reform is a serious issue that all countries have to deal with. But in the US, the faces of immigration control all look like good ol' Bay's. (And John Gibson's - shudder) Ones that are xenophobic, and not afraid to show it on national television.