Flutterby™! : Driver's Licenses 2013-10-04 14:52:02.369255+00

Driver's Licenses

2013-10-04 14:52:02.369255+00 by Dan Lyke 3 comments

A Sonoma County bail bonds guy muses on California giving driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants: An Accidental Alchemist: Drivers Licenses for Undocumented Aliens

"It delights me that these men and women of honor will now be able to drive to work and their childrenâ€™s schools, safely, fully insured, and without fear of being arrested on the road because of their status."

Must be a California thing. This attitude completely baffles me. His 'status' is that he's a criminal - not for driving without a license, but for being in this country to begin with.

I also want honest, hard-working men and women of honor here. I just want them to follow the applicable laws pertaining to entry. Never been sure why that makes me some sort of hater.

When I moved to California, I drove the Ryder truck down the off-ramp in Richmond, and there was a white guy standing there with a "will work for food" sign. As we unpacked and shuffled around the new household, the trend continued: Off-ramps had white guys standing there with cardboard signs.

Then I drove the Ryder truck to the drop-off point, I took the right turn from Bellam on to East Francisco Ave, and there were a whole bunch of Hispanic looking men trying to flag me down, actually willing, actively trying, to work for food.

I think one of the things that becomes plain after not too long in California is that whatever their immigration status, the Central Americans who are here were willing to cross the Sonoran and Mojave deserts on foot, and live with the constant threat of arrest and upheaval, in order to create a better life for themselves and their families. They come here looking for work.

And as I'm figuring out how to build my community, I'll take people who come here looking for work over people with the expectation that just because they're white and were born to the right parents or in the right geographic region that they'll have a cushy life.