Mmm...xenophobia and the swine flu

The Centers for Disease Control report than an average of 36,000 people die from influenza and influenza-related complications each year. That's 100 people per day, dying from the flu.

So why all the attention now? I think it's a convenient way to bring up the topic of illegal immigration again (as many regressive conservatives have started doing). The Dallas Morning News reports that there has been increased pressure to limit border crossings and conceivably close the border between the US and Mexico as a result of the outbreak.

Perhaps we stir the illegal immigration bogeyman up every so often because it allows us to vent our xenophobic and racist fears in a manner that's more publicly acceptable. If the situation were reversed - if Canadians were crossing the border illegally at an alarming rate - would we care? I have to think not because Canadians aren't as easy to profile racially. They look a lot like the majority of Americans. This is a problem that isn't as large as it's made out to be and that nobody is really trying to stop. It's a good scare tactic to drum up votes and support for the base - nothing more. Go read your history, we've been here before.

Don't let the mainstream media scare you. This flu won't kill you. And illegal immigrants aren't destroying the nation. If anything, they improve and enrich our culture and shape our country. My great great grandparents were illegal immigrants, and as a result, my family and I live freely and happily in a country that my ancestors were willing to risk their lives to enter.