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Originally Posted by Froide
[*]He is not just American, but an American politician (i.e., a government representative), and as such - in my opinion - should be expected to fully understand the two definitions that follow, though his statement ("Native Americans [in the USA] should be sent back where they came from") reflects otherwise, hence my characterization of it as ignorant
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Even if he is isn't ignorant of the meanings, it begs the question of where he is planning to "send them": if they are "native" (either definition would imply that they "came from" the US, no?). One has to go back a few thousand years to find another continent of origin. Although I guess he could send some of the midwestern tribes back to North Carolina (although there may be fights over tribal casinos, with any relocation, as well as all that shale oil in the Dakotas).
Now, what he probably meant to say was even less PC, picking on one of two (or both) other minority groups that might be said to not be "native" to the Americas or the US. And one group not native for even a generation, in some fairly large numbers.
Of course, any of the above should be a good enough reason not to vote for him, for most people.
Had he said "illegal immigrants" (or the current PC term for such), then at least he would have been race neutral and addressing a problem that many nations are now dealing with, even if they have little solution (there often being no place to "send back to"), assuming that large-scale, often uneducated immigrants are the problem (as many ancestors of those who consider themselves native were, originally). The bigger issue, of course, is the high correlation of criminal activity involved in the smuggling trade and the bleed-off of funds by those in the country illegally (both to family elsewhere and to pay of smugglers), both of which drain the economy and lower the standard of living of those affected. And most countries (including the US) have long waiting lists for those who want to legally immigrate and work, with longer and longer wait periods often due to estimate of illegal immigration numbers.
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A stranger in a deserted parking lot offers to help carry a woman's groceries. Is he a good Samaritan or is he after something else?
I had stopped at a Pathmark grocery store in a sketchy neighborhood, and a suspicious-looking man began walking alongside me, insistent upon helping me with my bags. He ignored my polite, increasingly firm "thanks, but no thanks" statements, and the closer we got to my vehicle, the more nervous I became.
Ultimately, I did what Gavin suggested. I yelled at the man, loudly and angrily: "I said, no! Get the hell away from me". That caught the attention of other people in the parking lot, and the guy cursed at and threatened me before walking quickly away. Whew!
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You were quite lucky - here, they just grab your purse while driving by in a car (often dragging their victims) and sometimes just shoot the person in their car first (including one off-duty cop, waiting on his wife to come out of the store).
At one of the last bookstores in the area (thanks publishers for destroying Borders!), there is often a little ring of gas beggars running around, with their can, trying to get money for gas (with various excuses of where they need to go, are from, etc). Same guys, every time -- and when the cops come, their car seems to have enough gas to leave in each time, as well. There are always a few suckers that give them money, which is why they keep up the same con every day (and in different store lots, you get different cons ... but surely most know it is a con, when they have the same story each day?). Most of them won't try to steal outright, due to the large number of people around, but others will and you never know which is which (unless you recognize the "regulars").