The term "alien" is derogatory. Immigrants aren't subhuman, not even illegal ones.

I was thinking about language today and that fact that so many people have earned the benefit of politically correct talk . . . The term "handicapped" was replaced with "person with a disability" and other clunky items, bitches are now commonly referred to as women and Native Americans are rarely called "savages" in public anymore - mostly because they're extinct.

Anyway, it's time for a new progression in this "movement" that gives every white guy doing stand-up comedy at least 5 minutes of material.

Previously, I didn't think that the term "illegal alien" was a big problem but reading about a recent (drop in the bucket) bust of 100 poultry workers in Missouri and noting how the derogatory term is now used by government officials . . . It's clear that something has to change.

Federal immigration agents raided a poultry plant Tuesday morning and arrested more than 100 workers who are believed to be illegal immigrants.

Most of those arrested at the George's processing plant in rural Butterfield were from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, said Pete Baird, an agent in charge of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigations office in Kansas City . . . "These work site enforcement actions help reduce the job magnet that encourages aliens to enter the country illegally," Baird said.

Yeah, the fact that authorities are now using language that takes away a person's humanity is clearly a signal that at least in terms of language there is something horribly wrong with this debate . . . And of course, the terms "alien" is a legal term but just like everything else, legal terms change . . . When was the last time you referred to anyone as a "Negro?" this term was also part of legal & pseudo-scientific terminology and is now considered unsavory by just about everyone.

It's time for the Latino leadership to get on the ball about this issue because it's at the heart of the immigration struggle given that it's easier to deport, arrest, detain and harass something that you don't consider human - If you look it up the word, "alien" has its roots in the terminology used in biology in reference to animal characteristics so it's hard to argue that it applies to HUMANS at all.

And I'm not even arguing the case for so-called illegal immigrants in this instance . . . If anti-immigration activists/homeland security advocates are so confident and steadfast in their aims then they can still operate without stripping an entire group of people (mostly Mexican) of their humanity. BUT, if loaded terminology is needed to accomplish the goals of so-called border security (a concept that has failed since the days of Mongol hordes) then that inherently says something about it's goals. Still, I'm pretty sure most reasonable people can agree that "border security" is a worthy goal without derogatory name calling.

More importantly, the term just isn't accurate . . . In popular culture, the word "alien" refers to mostly dangerous but sometimes charming characters from outer space . . . Again, using this term is just a clever way to define someone as "less than" but it really should only apply to the following folks and their ilk:







It's pretty clear to me, the folks pictured above are obviously aliens while the PEOPLE who cross the border without permission or proper paperwork are IMMIGRANTS illegal and otherwise who are HUMAN and deserve to be treated and defined as such.