Geraldo Rivera vs. Bill O'Reilly on immigration

VERY worth viewing .... wow. EXCELLENT. Good for Geraldo ... he is so
right that racism is at the heart of this debate.

In the middle of this first clip, listen to what O'Reilly says when Geraldo compares the Irish, English, etc. getting 76% of the visas
allowed in 1924, while the Italians got 3% and the Mexicans got 0%. Go
to minute 2:38 to see the O'Reilly response ..... !!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I literally jumped out of my chair when I heard what O'Reilly said -- ask my friend Liz, who was with me -- and wanted to reach through the screen and grab him. I am still speechless.)


Geraldo vs. O'Reilly, Clip 1


In the second clip, they really go at each other.



Geraldo vs. O'Reilly, Clip 2


For the record .... My grandparents all came here in the early 1900s.
It happened to be "legal" at the time. But had it been "illegal" ....
I'm sure they would have found a way to come anyway. In one case they
were literally starving (no work, no food, no future, no hope, etc. in
Sicily) and in the other they were victims of religious persecution
(Jews from Russia and Poland). People don't come here to take advantage
and be criminals ... they come here to make a future for themselves and
for their families. And in the process, they make enormous contributions to this nation.

As Rivera very clearly points out, racism and xenophobia have always been part of the immigration debate. So perhaps it is the triumph of hope over experience when I say that I sincerely hope that this negative propaganda will stop, and that these racist attitudes and policies will start to change, once the administration does.

In the meantime, I will continue to promote positive messages about the mix of languages and cultures that enrich our lives, our nation, and our world.

And I will be heading out to my local bookstore for the book "His Panic", by Geraldo Rivera ...