Subject: Response to: immigrants are a problem

From: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 22 Jun 1994 01:35:34 -0400 (EDT)

WARNING: political content
-------------------------------------------------------------------
I found the general tone of the long YSN cross-posting offensive and at odds
with some basic reasons behind the strength and success of this country. 
Briefly: 

1.  Brain drain is great for the receiving country (USA).

2.  Protectionism is great for the special group being protected, but
    at the expense of everybody else.

The job market stinks, I agree (I was frantic and discouraged on two occasions
and got lucky).  But "solving" the problem by expelling or excluding people who
have valuable skills (they're very similar to all of ours) is selfish at best
and fascist and xenophobic at worst.  Nothing to be proud of, in my opinion. 
Especially for scientists, who have long bragged that science is international,
transcends politics, etc. 

(Imagine how thin your favorite journal would be if only American-born citizens
were allowed to publish.)

Note that the international economy is not picking on scientists; jobs are hard
to find in most occupations.  And it's fortifying to keep in mind (as written
frequently in Physics Today) that a Ph.D. is an ASSET, not an anchor. 

Please direct flames to me personally; I'll post a summary if there's enough
interest.

Karl Irikura
[email-masked]