Wetbacks Swarm In

[EndtheMadnessNow]

I was skimming through old issues of LIFE magazine and came upon this article with now vintage photos that I'm sure Ninurta will appreciate or at least a mild grin.

As documented, after 72 years nothing much has changed, except a massive increase in crime.










LIFE magazine, May 21, 1951 (link should take you right to the page that you can zoom-in)


3 years later...

Operation Wetback, U.S. immigration law enforcement campaign during the summer of 1954 that resulted in the mass deportation of Mexican nationals—1,100,000 persons according to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), though most estimates put the figure closer to 300,000. Drafted by U.S. Attorney General Herbert Brownell, Jr., and vetted by Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Operation Wetback arose at least partly in response to a portion of the American public that had become angry at the widespread corruption among employers of sharecroppers and growers along the Mexican border and at the Border Patrol’s inability to stem the influx of illegal workers.

In 1942 the U.S. government, with the cooperation of the Mexican government, enacted the Bracero Program, which allowed short-term contract labourers from Mexico, known as braceros, to work legally in the United States. The program was originally conceived in the early 1940s, during World War II, to combat a wartime dearth of agricultural labourers due to military service and a shift by agricultural workers to better-paying manufacturing jobs. Financed through taxpayer labour subsidies, the plan lasted until 1964.
....

Conclusion

The INS reported that some 1.1 million undocumented workers had left the country either voluntarily or through prosecution as a result of the operation; however, the number of illegal immigrants who left has long been debated, largely because measurements of “voluntary” departures from the country were difficult to determine. Although Operation Wetback temporarily mollified an angry citizenry, the Bracero Program remained in place for another decade, allowing for the continued influx of legal Mexican immigrants. Moreover, Operation Wetback may have deterred illegal immigration for a time, but it did not relieve the demand for labour (especially cheap labour) in the United States. Therefore, many employers in the agricultural industries still needed the work of immigrants in order to adequately meet demands and compete in the marketplace. The influx of illegal immigrants from Mexico would remain a touchstone of U.S. political debate throughout the remainder of the 20th century and into the 21st.

Trends of wetback

[Ninurta]

The more things change, the more they remain the same, eh?

It appears that the government has NEVER had an interest in securing the border until the electorate gets loud enough about securing it. There's a lot of deep thought in that sentiment, that goes in all directions.

I do, however, take exception to defining "wetbacks" as "illegal immigrants" They are illegal "aliens", not "immigrants" of any sort. Immigrants go through immigration. It's kinda built right into the phrase, y'know? That "immigration" nonsense in combination with "illegal" is just another attempt by "progressives" to direct the conversation by redefining words to mean nonsensical things that they cannot logically mean.

I'm good with securing the border with a 500 meter wide mine field, a wall on the far side of that, and machinegun nests on the near side of it. If honest folk want to come here in an honest manner, there are already mechanisms in place for that. if they want to illegally invade a border, well, there are effective solutions for that, too - they are just not being implemented.

It's not just Mexican nationals any more. Folks from all over the world are crashing the souuthern border via Mexico... and most of them are just here to wrecck the US. If they were here to help, they'd go through legal channels. So I have no qualms whatsoever about blowing them up or mowing them down. They're not coming here to further YOUR interests. They are coming to wreak havok.


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[SomeJackleg]

[Chiefsmom]

Can you even imagine if a news organization used the term "wetbacks" today?

LMAO

The whole US would lose its mind.

Not going to lie, would be fun to watch.

[BIAD]

Can you even imagine if a news organization used the term "wetbacks" today?

LMAO

The whole US would lose its mind.

Not going to lie, would be fun to watch.

I agree, it shows how far we've come in the whole system that attempts to control what we say!

[Ninurta]

Can you even imagine if a news organization used the term "wetbacks" today?

LMAO

The whole US would lose its mind.

Not going to lie, would be fun to watch.

Mu ma's name is "Juanita", so I've heard the term "wetback" nearly all my life. It just rolls off me ;like... erm... water off a duck's back. In the last couple of decades, while progressives have been trying to legitimize invasions, lines and definitions have been blurred such that "wetback" has been applied to ANY Hispanic, not just the illegal aliens. The Progressives have intentionally blurred that line, and the lower-brow Conservatives have dutifully followed the lead of their natural enemies - never a good idea to let your opponent lead you around by the nose like that!

Back in the day, "wetback" applied ONLY to illegal aliens, due to the connotation s of their backs getting soaked crossing the Rio Grande. It was definitely a pejorative, but only against illegal border-crashers. Crossing legally carries no danger of getting the damp-ass. With the Progressive attempt to legitimize human-wave border invasions, they've redefined the term to include ALL Hispanics, rather than just illegal aliens, and that is how the term "wetback" has come to be frowned upon in polite company. It's an attempt to create bigots where no bigots exist to give fodder to Progressives in their never ending quest to brand everyone that is not them as a "racist", and lump all Hispanics together under a single pejorative umbrella.

So I continue to use the term "wetnack" as it was originally intended and defined, to mean illegal invaders, rather than legitimate border-crossing Hispanics. I give no shits at all who looks at me sideways for it.

I do not allow my opposition to define MY language.

No, my ma is not Hispanic. She's a short little five-foot-nothing red-headed mostly Welsh woman. Somewhere in the dim mists of time, the name "Juanita" became a popular one here in the Appalachians inexplicably and for reasons unknown, and it just stuck. Even Grace can't quite wrap her head around the concept of a bitty little old Welsh woman having a blatantly Hispanic name. Ma has a helluva temper, for all her diminutiveness. Even I, at 6' 2" tall, quake in fear when her tiny red-headed ass gets irritated. Ske's hell on wheels, and doesn't mind windmilling her way through a problem... and that's scary! Doesn't matter how big you are, she'll cut you off right at the knees until you're down to a manageable size!

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