Today's WTF Moment is Brought to You By Kansas State Rep. Connie O'Brien (R).....

[disneydream06]

Lawmaker Knows Illegal Immigrants By The Color of Their Skin
posted by: Jessica Pieklo

Proponents of anti-immigrant measures insist that their motives are not grounded in racism or xenophobia, nor will the laws they seek to pass result in racial profiling.

To counter these assertions I offer Kansas State Rep. Connie O'Brien (R) as exhibit A. One week ago the Kansas House Federal and State Committee held a hearing about in-state tuition being granted to children of undocumented immigrants. Granting in-state tuition for these students has been the policy in the state of Kansas since 2004.

But Rep. O'Brien favors repealing the law. And to show support for repeal the Representative told a story about how her own son had difficulty in getting financial assistance to attend college. According to O'Brien, she took her son to a financial aid office, and as she was waiting in line, she believed there was a girl waiting in line with them who was "not originally from this country." When asked how O'Brien knew this student was illegal O'Brien's answer was simple. The student "wasn't black, she wasn't Asian, and she had the olive complexion."

That's right. Rep. O'Brien "knew" this student was illegal based on her complexion.

Kansas Democrats have called on O'Brien to apologize and so far the Representative has declined to do so. But if Republicans want the public to believe that their motivation for passing anti-immigrant laws is based on anything other than racism and racial stereotypes these kinds of honest and unguarded statements are not the way to do it.

Comments

[dan4behr.livejournal.com]

She's right up there with Sally Kern of Oklahoma and our very own Virginia Foxx here in NC....

[thespian15.livejournal.com]

I haven't heard about those others, but I can only assume they are just as bad. :o

[peccavo.livejournal.com]

Okay, some of these just miff me, but coming as someone who has olive skin by certain definitions, I have to say to her, "FUCK YOU LADY. I'm sorry your kid wasn't smart enough to get a full ride, and I'm sorry you weren't prudent enough to put money away for your kid's education. But you don't you god-damn dare take it out on honest folk working hard to get ahead in life. If you're in that line, you're in the same boat as the rest of us-- and contrary to your back-ass train of thought, if that boat is sinking, throwing us overboard is not going to slow YOUR downward trajectory."

[thespian15.livejournal.com]

One thing that really pissed me off about this situation is how Repubs scream and holler how we have to stop the "hand outs" and yet here she is standing in line with her hand out. ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[peccavo.livejournal.com]

It's different when hand-outs go to white people, because they "earned" them.

[thespian15.livejournal.com]

I keep forgetting that. :p