Talk to the animals

Funny thing about animals... they know how to manage in their own territory and in others' territory... Well, at least those that're not totally whacked out, like most pit bulls I've met. A Guard the Borders post I've deleted (cos it was execrably bad writing) and am reworking disparages the position taken by multiculturalists (and their often unwitting fellow travelers in overtly non-MC/CD* folk) that assimilation of immigrants is not only somehow immoral, it is impossible. *feh* Ask generations of American immigrants up until the MC/CD* crowd came to dominate the discussion of immigration. But perhaps a better example can be taken from my own family's dogs and cats. The Boys (my son's dogs) are outside dogs. The back yard is theirs. Heck, they think that whatever they can see from the back yard is their domain, under their protection. Pests that enter the back yard do so at their own peril (five dead raccoons and a couple of dead groundhogs this past summer can bear witness). The cats are all inside cats. One (the old lady of the bunch) even has no front claws. They "rule" the entire house, excepting only our bedroom, my office and the garage. The three cats live in an easy/uneasy truce situation: neither of the girls likes the other cats. The poor (once, but no longer) boy likes both the girls, who both despise him. All three expect prompt service in petting, food, etc., from their humans. The interesting interaction comes when I bring The Boys in to eat, as I do pretty often when it's very hot, very cold or very wet--or just when I feel they need a little more attention. The Boys, who are death, in a very literal sense, on animals who trespass on THEIR domain, know that in the house they are guests. Even clawless Grande Dame, who wants to sniff and play with them when they come near, doesn't elicit the ferocious attacks I've seen them level against far larger, more dangerous animals. Instead, The Boys sniff back, allow her to bat at them, even play bite, etc. And the other two cats? Ditto. Neither do they fear The Boys, because The Boys act with full knowedge that the house is not their place. The Boys amend their normally rambunctious and even violent behavior when they are in a foreign land as guests because they have learned that do act otherwise is to bring down the wrath of god (little "G" cos those of us acting in that role aren't the real thing... except to The Boys). We need a tad of that in our immigration policies if we are to avoid 10 or 20 years down the road having on our soil (more—think, Detroit, LA, etc., riots—of) what the French are experiencing today. "Sure, you can visit as guests. But as guests, you must live here by the rules of OUR society. If you want to live here long-term, or even become citizens, you MUST learn to speak OUR language, obey OUR laws, follow OUR customs. WE will decide what part of your culture and customes WE want to adopt, NOT YOU. Don't like it? Leave." This has not quite been another Guard the Borders Blogburst post, but it's been close... GTB hits Euphoric Reality every Monday, and seeks to promote awareness about the illegal immigration epidemic that our country is facing and the urgent need to curb the problem before it’s too late. If you’d like to join the blogburst, send an email to kit.jarrell@gmail.com with your blog’s name and URL. *MC/CD="multi-cultural/cultural diversity" Edited for typos, mainly to try out a new blog publishing interface. heh