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  1. One book that really muddled the immigrant situation for me was by TC Boyle. It’s called The Tortilla Curtain, and it’s set in southern California. A liberal couple live near the border between California and Mexico, and they are totally for letting in Mexican immigrants, and not making it difficult for them to become citizens. However, when one Mexican couple set up camp in the woods behind the couple’s house, things become increasingly more difficult. At one point, the immigrants almost accidentally burn down the woods. They leave trash on the ground. And so, you slowly see this liberal man and woman turn into raging conservatives, because they didn’t realize how they would feel if immigrants affected their personal lives. I think that’s the hard thing in this debate. Some people don’t want to share anything, and some people are really willing to share but can’t actually imagine what that would look like if it affected them personally.

    1. Sounds like a good book! I can see why that couple would get annoyed. It’s easy for me to say ‘sure let everybody in’ when it doesn’t directly affect my quality of life. With climate change I’m sure this topic will be coming up more and more as more places on earth become inhabitable.

    2. I’m wondering if the tipping point on climate change will be when all the expensive houses along the lakeside or oceanfront fall in and the rich people are inconvenienced. It’s already happening with the Great Lakes in Michigan.

    3. I’m guessing that will be the point, yes. Not until it starts becoming more obvious in ‘rich nations’ i.e. Canada and the U.S. will people start caring more. Sadly, it’s just too easy for people to ignore when its’ not in their backyard

    4. I’m wondering what’s up with the people in Florida, who are getting pounded by hurricanes, and the people in Texas, who are in a massive heat wave. I mean, old people are in Florida, and they vote a lot. DO SOMETHING!

  2. Sounds powerful! Such a difficult topic which divides Britain more than just about anything else, since we have people arriving in boats (if they’re lucky) every day – some genuine refugees, many economic migrants paying gangs to smuggle them in illegally. When we vote this govt out in a year or two, the main reason will be that they haven’t found a solution to the boats. Which would be fine, if there was any sign that the people we’re about to vote in would do any better…

    1. You have had a wild ride of political stuff lately in your part of the woods! I’m quite landlocked here in Alberta, but we occasionally have people coming across the American border (not typically Americans, but immigrants who moved to America and about to be sent back home or people travelling up through America b/c they heard Canada is better)

    2. Haha, tell me about it! I can’t keep up! However happily I’m on the side that is thrilled that Sturgeon is finally being held to account – long overdue, in my opinion. Half the country totally disagrees with me though. Isn’t politics fun?? ;) Immigration is such a difficult subject here. Our biggest cities are so overcrowded already and yet every year more and more people are arriving in hundreds of thousands looking for housing and services. And yet anyone who says we can’t keep bringing people in in these numbers is immediately accused of racism. It seems to be impossible to have rational debate about anything these days. *sighs*

    3. Yes I know things are already crowded in your neck of the woods. I’m hoping places here in Canada keep bringing people in, because it definitely isn’t crowded here – we have the room! haha

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