[fla-left] [immigrant rights] _Undocumented_ immigrantsdemonstrate for amnesty in Homestead (fwd)

Carrol Cox cbcox at ilstu.edu
Tue Oct 24 10:12:08 PDT 2000


Doug Henwood wrote:


> The word "illegitimate" is pretty repulsive, but "illegal" is a
> statement of fact. Why is it so insulting? Lots of things are illegal
> that shouldn't be, but I don't see how it changes things to call
> someone "undocumented" rather than "illegal."

It's probably nothing to go to war about, but "She is an illegal immigrant" is not quite the same as "She is an illegal." Doubtless the possibility in English of using adjectives as substantives enriches the language -- but it can be obscurantist also, and is I think in this instance.

Carrol


> Just seems to me like
> the left variant of the American tendency towards euphemism, which
> gave us "passed away" for "died."
>
> Doug



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