Quote:
Originally Posted by DerailAmnesty.com
I'm out of fashion. I think people should use the term. A pejorative is appropriate for someone who engages in improper or unlawful behavior. I realize this is 180 degrees in the opposite direction of the perspective of folks who get upset when you call someone an illegal immigrant because a person can't be illegal.
I think wetback has utility and connotes a particular type of disdain for people in the country unlawfully. Further, it does not fall into the same objectional category as nigger, spic or ginny because one has no control over his skin color or nationality, however, being an illegal alien is something that requires affirmative steps to accomplish. You're not born into illegal alien status with no control over it.
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I agree 100%. In no way does the term "wetback" denote any kind of racial stereotyping. It refers precisely to an illegal activity and all of its implications. The children of wetbacks are not wetbacks, they are "anchor babies", another entirely appropriate pejorative.
The victims here are not the people who fit the terms, but the people who use the words to show their entirely justified contempt.