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Ironic that some of the greatest national security threats have been living here for decades and no one has been the wiser. More than ever it feels like conservatism is a disease of the mind rather than just a difference of opinion in matters of governance and fiscal policy. I'm afraid it will simply never return to normalcy so long as money rules our politics and far right wing media is allowed on cable and radio. Regular people seem to get hooked on the stuff more than sugar or cocaine.

 

[exYle]

Lmao that was savage, and definitely true

 

[Mudcrab]

lol

The population growth is one of the strengths America has over basically every other first world country.
sure makes sense to give that up...

Why exactly is Texas and Cali booming so hard?
Because poor people are willing to work hard shit jobs to increase the overall wealth.
What people exactly does he want to deport?

Dudes who don't read the OP are the first to be deported

 

[captive]

There wasn't anything new or nuanced though. It's not like the OP Ed was blazing new ground here.

yea totally shouldnt have written it..... except read this:

I think articles like this do a great job of deconstructing the bullshit narrative we get fed about immigrants vs non-immigrants, and helps us really get to the root of why some people want immigrants out of the U.S.

perfect.

 

[iammeiam]

In the matter of immigration, mark this conservative columnist down as strongly pro-deportation. The United States has too many people who don’t work hard, don’t believe in God, don’t contribute much to society and don’t appreciate the greatness of the American system.

They need to return whence they came.

Wow this sounds a lot like me--

I speak of Americans whose families have been in this country for a few generations. Complacent, entitled and often shockingly ignorant on basic points of American law and history, they are the stagnant pool in which our national prospects risk drowning.

ohohohoho.

This is pretty clever and I agree; aside from an accident of birth I've done 0 things to 'earn' a spot here, so if we're deporting useless people it'd make sense to chuck me on the list.

 

[acheron_xl]

I'm sure he's only talking about the multi-generational families that chose to be here and aren't living up to the ideal, right? Because otherwise, that would be a little weird.

 

[TS-08]

Knew it would be a satirical take on the issue of immigration. Title is clickbait as all hell though.

It's clickbait that helps serve the theme of the article though, so I consider it acceptable clickbait.

 

[NeOak]

Woops never mind, totally didn't read before posting. Carry on.

Hahahahahahaha

 

[Randolph Freelander]

WTF

And yes, I read it.

What good is there to come out of joking about this shit? This is exactly the kind of thing the right can point at and say "told ya those dirty libs hate America"

Not to mention that it actually is anti-American horseshit

Dude is severely conservative, in the parlance of Mitt Romney, but carry on.

 

[AndersK]

Yo, please dont send them back to Europe.

But i do know a place with lax guns laws, strict patriarchal discourse, plenty of vacancies, and a lotta oil!

Spoiler

its called Iraq

 

[SilentSoldier]

It's clickbait that helps serve the theme of the article though, so I consider it acceptable clickbait.

Acceptable clickbait, now that is something I haven't heard in a while. I think the article is great, and the title definitely will have people clicking. But will it get them reading is the question?

 

[KHarvey16]

WTF

And yes, I read it.

What good is there to come out of joking about this shit? This is exactly the kind of thing the right can point at and say "told ya those dirty libs hate America"

Not to mention that it actually is anti-American horseshit

You read it, but did you understand it?

It's not actually arguing for deportation.

 

[MogCakes]

I know what the journalist is going for, but belief in God (or Gods, or whatever) shouldn't be part of this discussion either way.

You have to consider the target - not the choir, but the peanut
gallery. The article is aiming square at other conservatives.

 

[TS-08]

Acceptable clickbait, now that is something I haven't heard in a while. I think the article is great, and the title definitely will have people clicking. But will it get them reading is the question?

I mean isn't that the question for every headline?

 

[HStallion]

I say we make them into Soylent Green. Two birds with one stone and all that.

 

[Flo_Evans]

I don't think he is talking about white people here. Article is basically "go back to africa".

 

[shnurgleton]

You read it, but did you understand it?

It's not actually arguing for deportation.

The joke isn't really effective because it's pretty much constructed to be intentionally misunderstood and weaponized by the right. Just more ammunition.

 

[MogCakes]

I don't think he is talking about white people here. Article is basically "go back to africa".

Where does it imply people of color?

 

[plagiarize]

He is speaking from the Conservative point of view, that says Christianity is an important facet of 'acceptance'

Right, but I've never felt that Conservatives dislike immigrants because they don't believe in God. It's for a whole host of other stuff.

 

[Aaron]

I say we make them into Soylent Green. Two birds with one stone and all that.

Too fatty, and definitely not Atkins.

 

[KHarvey16]

The joke isn't really effective because it's pretty much constructed to be intentionally misunderstood and weaponized by the right. Just more ammunition.

It's not a joke either.

I hate the idea that people shouldn't make good arguments because they might be misused out of context to manipulate idiots.

 

[Future]

Fucking non immigrants man. Back to the country that you could have immigrated from

 

[Stinkles]

I think articles like this do a great job of deconstructing the bullshit narrative we get fed about immigrants vs non-immigrants, and helps us really get to the root of why some people want immigrants out of the U.S.

Ask Americans three questions:

"Do you like having some of the best, cheapest food in the world?"

"Do you want the value of your house to rise steadily and safely?"

"Do you want to endure back breaking labor at less than minimum wage in horrifying conditions?"

 

[Armaros]

Right, but I've never felt that Conservatives dislike immigrants because they don't believe in God. It's for a whole host of other stuff.

He is probably speaking to the idea of how much the GOP bows down to evangelicals and yet the immigrants that are coming in are generally more devoutly christian then the ones already here.

IE He is saying in effect "if you weren't so anti-immigrant and racist, many of these immigrants might have voted for you'

 

[karmaforgotme]

Thanks for op-ed. Now I get to piss off all my Republican Facebook friends by posting this link.

 

[MogCakes]

Right, but I've never felt that Conservatives dislike immigrants because they don't believe in God. It's for a whole host of other stuff.

I believe the intention was to dethrone the belief that conservatives are more pious than their 'enemies'.

 

[KarmaCow]

The joke isn't really effective because it's pretty much constructed to be intentionally misunderstood and weaponized by the right. Just more ammunition.

This style of rhetoric is older than the US itself. Not to mention the author breaks kayfabe half way through.

I get what you mean by people trying to weaponize this, I've thought about that angle in the past but trying avoid having your arguments being misconstrued by people who will purposefully misconstrue your argument is a pointless endeavour.

 

[Wowfunhappy]

My reaction when I saw this in the New York Times this morning:

This is going to get posted on Neogaf, and lots of people aren't going to read the first post.

Welp.

 

[GregLombardi]

The article is 100% right and I did not read it in a joking manner.

 

[Kinitari]

Acceptable clickbait, now that is something I haven't heard in a while. I think the article is great, and the title definitely will have people clicking. But will it get them reading is the question?

So I like to imagine the ideal scenario for this author. His target are those conservatives who are working backwards from their conclusion that immigrants should be deported. They don't have good reasons - but they want to find things that validate their feelings which are most likely based on racism. So they'll see an article like this and think 'perfect! My confirmation bias screams out'.

They'll dive in and hungrily read the article, not quite realizing the thrust of it right away. Then slowly it dawns on them, they start getting to the facts and the figures and stop reading in disgust.

... But that feeling in the pit of their stomach, like they just made a fool of themselves, that their slug-like writhing to validate their racism just got a shake of salt and is leaving an undesirable taste in their mouth. Maybe that'll do something to them - who knows what that something is, but hopefully something powerful.

 

[Trojita]

Acceptable clickbait, now that is something I haven't heard in a while. I think the article is great, and the title definitely will have people clicking. But will it get them reading is the question?

The whole point of an article like this and title that goes with it is to get people that would agree with the title, thinking it is an op ed about deporting Mexicans, to read it because they presume it agrees with their world view. They then start reading the article to find out that it doesn't. It turns their thinking on their head.

 

[Armaros]

So I like to imagine the ideal scenario for this author. His target are those conservatives who are working backwards from their conclusion that immigrants should be deported. They don't have good reasons - but they want to find things that validate their feelings which are most likely based on racism. So they'll see an article like this and think 'perfect! My confirmation bias screams out'.

They'll dive in and hungrily read the article, not quite realizing the thrust of it right away. Then slowly it dawns on them, they start getting to the facts and the figures and stop reading in disgust.

... But that feeling in the pit of their stomach, like they just made a fool of themselves, that their slug-like writhing to validate their racism just got a shake of salt and is leaving an undesirable taste in their mouth. Maybe that'll do something to them - who knows what that something is, but hopefully something powerful.

And the idea is to get people to pass the article around the conservative blogosphere as a way to say "SOMEONE WRITING ON THE NYT AGREES WITH US" And then they get smacked in the face when they read it.

 

[Kinitari]

And the idea is to get people to pass the article around the conservative blogosphere as a way to say "SOMEONE WRITING ON THE NYT AGREES WITH US" And then they get smacked in the face when they read it.

Haha, that was going to be my second point, that would just be delicious

 

[Future]

Right, but I've never felt that Conservatives dislike immigrants because they don't believe in God. It's for a whole host of other stuff.

They hate immigrants because if they fail to succeed at anything: finding a job, finding a spouse, finding success with their business, getting accepted into college...

They blame it on the one immigrant they know (or suspect) that has a job that they could have had, married the white person they could have wooed, has a booming business with an idea they could have used, or got into a college they wanted to. It's the ultimate blame game of all of my failures are due to someone else's existence. So get rid of them!

And people rally together on that frustration. I truly believe trumps success was his ability to rally this type of thinking to unite rural America

 

[RMI]

great title. Gotta say when i saw it I was prepared to fly into a rage, and went into reading it out of a morbid curiosity for what kind of heinous bullshit they could be publishing as Op-Ed in the NYT. Happy to see it was a curve ball intended to sucker anti-immigration hardliners into reading about how maybe "real americans" are the worst group of people in the country.

 

[Raylan Targaryen]

Read the fucking OP.

That's not too much to ask?

Don't even need to read the full OP either. By the 4th paragraph you should know what it's about

 

[GrooveCommand]

Maybe read the OP before you drive-by shitpost?

+1

 

[Ghost Rider]

As the son of an immigrant, I'm always amazed by how much more my father understands about American history and law. The only thing more amazing is the assumption that he doesn't by people who see him and hear his accent.

 

[Crocodile]

A)This was written almost 3 months ago, why bring it (back) up now?

B) Huh, I was surprised Bret Stephens was the author

C) Man is this clickbaity with an inflammatory headline. People should really read stuff before posting though. Not saying I've been 100% perfect about it but in general people need to do better

D) I totally get and appreciate his broader point (which he is correct about) but even I'm cringing at the "joke" that starts the article. I guess if you want headlines that will catch eyes this is the way to do it Maybe its best described as clever/quality troll piece that still has a good point at its core.

 

[RoadHazard]

Some good points, except the one about higher rate of religious beliefs being something desirable.

 

[greatgeek]

Haha, that was going to be my second point, that would just be delicious

Except most of them probably won't read it.

 

[Baraka Obama]

I don't think he is talking about white people here. Article is basically "go back to africa".

Are you being serious?

 

[KHarvey16]

Some good points, except the one about higher rate of religious beliefs being something desirable.

It is to the intended audience. That's the point.

 

[Joni]

We don't want them, but we have quite some aspiring Americans that we can share. Marine LePen, Farage, their voters. I have a feeling they'd make excellent additions to your great country.

 

[LegendofJoe]

This is why 'Make America Compete Again' would be my rebuttal to Trump if I was running against him.

 

[MogCakes]

A)This was written almost 3 months ago, why bring it (back) up now?

B) Huh, I was surprised Bret Stephens was the author

C) Man is this clickbaity with an inflammatory headline. People should really read stuff before posting though. Not saying I've been 100% perfect about it but in general people need to do better

D) I totally get and appreciate his broader point (which he is correct about) but even I'm cringing at the "joke" that starts the article. I guess if you want headlines that will catch eyes this is the way to do it Maybe its best described as clever/quality troll piece that still has a good point at its core.

It's supposed to be clickbait, to lure in bigots who think they're going to read an OP ED that agrees with them.

 

[Plinko]

What I don't get about the whole "Our students can't compete" thing is that republicans are directly responsible for what has happened to the school systems in our country.

These immigrant students would be just as bad growing up in our educational system.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

This is a ridiculous solution. If you want to fix things, you don't deport all us lazy, ignorant Americans; just don't let us vote. Let's see a Donald Trump figure get elected when the voting body is exclusively immigrants.

 

[shnurgleton]

It is to the intended audience. That's the point.

The intended audience will never read this (it's the failing NYT), and will likely take offense if they do

 

[KHarvey16]

The intended audience will never read this (it's the failing NYT), and will likely take offense if they do

Well I guess we should never make arguments then.