The Questioning Librarian

A Syrian refugee, photo from the U.N. Refugee Agency I was finishing reading a new book on the Armenian genocide just as the anti-refugee sentiment began its upswing. The actions were different, but the basic instinct behind it--a fear and hatred of those different from ourselves--was the same. Often, our default instinct is to be suspicious, and hostile, towards those who are outside of our group. It's a habit that seems common, but it remains disturbing to see it in action just the same.  Send them back, lock them out, take care of our own first. And those were just the mildest sentiments anyone could hear. There was certainly anti-refugee sentiment before (right-wing groups warned of the President admitting "10,000 Muslims" into the country), but the tenor ratcheted up after the attacks in Paris. The very same people who make a habit of never helping anyone suddenly were overcome with concern for the homeless in our country, for veterans, when before they de...

It has been interesting, lately, to see the venomous rage directed by conservatives at the most recent influx of immigrants coming across the border. Fleeing increasingly violent drug wars in Central America, some 57,000 children have recently made the treacherous journey from their home countries, across Mexico and into the United States, overwhelming the Border Patrol and existing facilities. The response of the right has been fairly predictable. Xenophobia and hatred of undocumented immigrants has, after all, been a staple of right-wing politics for quite some time, most recently in the backlash against George W. Bush's attempt at immigration reform. But with this new group of immigrants, the ugly side of conservativism's immigration stance has again come to the fore, with sign-waving protesters and right-wing militias descending on the border, determined to "secure" it, while accusing the President of being soft on immigration at best, of perpetuating some kin...