From me ?
Maybe a picture of Russian heroes killed by evil Chechen terrorists ?
:-((((((
Posted on 03/27/2005 10:41:36 PM PST by jb6
Maybe, but that's a separate issues. We're not talking about immigrants when we're discussing Russians in Latvia.
It is not a conservative position that American-born citizens of Middle-Eastern descent have to prove their citizenship any more than any other American.
Furthermore, where would one expel a native-born American to?
Whatever you say, tovarisch.
It is with fear and trepidation that I enter this discussion, I don't really have a dog in this fight, the only Russians I've known I liked, and I don't know any Latvians.
But this is a problem that is unique to a country that has been under occupation and has regained its independence. If and when Tibet regains its independence, they are going to face the same problem. While they have a rather large land mass, they are a very small population, and China has aggressively populated Tibet with Chinese settlers. If Tibet (in this rather unlikely scenario) grants them citizenship, they risk being swamped by people who do not see themselves as Tibetan, came uninvited, and are not likely to become Tibetan.
It would make sense in this case to offer citizenship only to those Chinese who wanted to be Tibetan.
This is not quite the same as in Latvia, where the Russians are still a minority, and have already voted with their feet (in a sense) not to return to Russia.
In the Tibetan case, Chinese settlers will eventually be a majority, and to grant them citizenship would finish Tibet as a nation. So how do you handle it? (Not that Tibet is likely ever to be independent again).
Israel had the problem of what to do with Arabs living among them, who were potentially an enemy nation. They opted to grant them citizenship, and (aside from a few problems over the years) it has worked out. They do learn Hebrew and they do take part in the political process.
But Israeli arabs are a distinct minority. Israel adamently refuses to accept any other arab "returnees" as part of the peace process, as (in a democracy) to permit anything approaching an arab majority would finish them as a nation. So there is a natural tension between the republican requirement of individual citizenship and the requirements of nationhood for a people. I don't think its an easy answer.
But if Latvia belongs to the EU, they have already chosen to subsume themselves into something beyond Latvia. By their own logic, they have given up their reason to exclude Russians. And Russians among them who might have preferred to remain Russian have a powerful reason to want Latvian citizenship which will give them EU citizenship at the same time.
Why ? Because some of those Russians were borne in Latvia ? I wasn't talking only about Muslim immigrants - the second generation born in France or Germany is often less assimilated than their parents.
I see you are back to attacking the poster rather then debating points you are loosing, as usual.
In your opinion, how many generations does someone's family have to live in a country before they can no longer be expelled from the nation of their birth?
His arguments can't be taken be taken seriously because of his well-known bigotry against people of the Baltic races.
What are you talking about, boy ?
How many generations ? It's not about generations or race, It's about mentality - If some people don't want to learn native language it means that they don't respect the host nation and that's why should leave.
Yup, what one should expect.
If they're born there it's not a host land but a birth land. Should the Germans demand then that the Poles leave Selasia which was German as far back as 1600 years ago?
I guess you didn't bother to read the article, which flatly states they do speak the language.
When they break a law they will be treated as criminals. You really don't get the point of America, that's obvious.
If they're so confident in the Latvian language, why don't they simply take the test and have done with it. Keep in mind, under Soviet rule, Russian was the lingua franca in the Baltics and it was the native languages that were de-emphasised.
Second, are you suggesting that it is acceptable that there are enclaves in America of people who refuse to learn the langauge and customs of the country? THat would come as news to me considering the reaction I've seen here after September 11th. But please, do elaborate on your defence of having an Islamic anti-American enclave in America, when your hero won't tolerate the same in Russia.
Ivan
And you accuse me of libel? Please point out where I have made any bigoted statements against people from the Baltic countries. You can't, because you are a liar.
That is not an attitude compatible with a free society, "boy."
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