A synchroblog is when a group of bloggers decide to post articles on the same topic at about the same time, with links to each other's posts, so that you can surf through the posts and get a variety of views on the topic. Thanks to Sonja Andrews for coordinating this month's synchroblog, and for reviving it.
- Jonathan Brink – Immigration Synchroblog
- Mike Victorino at Still A Night Owl – Being the Flag
- Liz Dyer at Grace Rules – Together We Can Make Dreams Come True
- Sonnie Swentson-Forbes at Hey Sonnie – Immigration Stories
- Matt Stone at Glocal Christianity – Is Xenophobia Ever Christlike?
- Kathy Escobar at the carnival in my head – it’s a lot easier to be against immigration when you have papers
- Steve Hayes at Khanya – Christians and the Immigration Issue
- Ellen Haroutunian - Give Me Your Tired
- Bethany Stedman – Choosing Love Instead of Fear
- Pete Houston at Peter’s Progress – Of Rape and Refuge and Eyes Wide Shut
- Joshua Seek – Loving Our Immigrant Brother
- Amanda MacInnis at Cheese Wearing Theology – Christians and Immigration
- Sonja Andrews at Calacirian – You’re Absolutely Right
- Peter Walker – Synchroblog – Immigration Reform
- Steven Calascione at Eirenikos – The Jealousy of Migration
- George Elerick at The Love Revolution – We’re Not Kings or Gods
- Beth Patterson at Virtual Tea House – What we resist not only persists but will eventually become our landlord
- K. W. Leslie at The Evening of Kent - On American Immigration
This synchroblog was specifically on Christians and the immigration issue. Why just Christians? Aren't others concerned about it?
Well part of the answer is to be found in a blog post that isn't part of the synchroblog, but perhaps ought to be:The New Litmus Test | Solomon Hezekiah:
All of my friends (and yes, I have a few) who used to go on and on about abortion now go on and on about immigration. The level of perjorative that used to be reserved for those favouring abortion rights or, at worst, abortion providers, are now reserved for those favouring leniency toward undocumented immigrants. In fact, if anything, it is worse. In reading around the conservative blogosphere and even in talking to individuals face-to-face (because people tend to be much less restrained in the pseudonyminous detachment of the internet), opposing views are treated with anger, aggression, and a remarkable lack of civility.
That was written by an American living in the UK, which shows that the problem is international. In South Africa immigration has been linked to xenophobia, and some South African newspapers, notably The Sun, have published articles calculated sto stir up hostility to "illegal aliens". I've been told that in Australia "asylum seekers" is a dirty word.
But the dirtiest thing of all is that in America it appears that the "new litmus test" is being applied by people who like to call themselves Christians.
10 comments:
Steve, if you want an insiders view on such an argument about (illegal) immigration, I'll refer you to a post on a blog some time ago, where the argument in the comments got quite heated (it went on to 236 comments). It is wothwhile to read/scan through the comments, as mostly Americans of various persuasions took part. I also took part, under my real first name.
I forgot the link! It is http://www.geneveith.com/horror-in-mexico/_6261/
Skylding,
by "insiders" do you mean that the participants were themselves illegal immigrants?
Skylding, having looked at the post you mention, at Horror in Mexico | Cranach: The Blog of Veith, I'd say it's not so much about immigration per se, but more about human trafficking.
Though the two are sometimes related, I think they are separate issues.
Steve - initially yes, but in the comments section, when the argument got heated, the real McCoy came forward - it turns out that many of those are more upset that it is "brown people" (ie Hispanics, the strange term they invented for everybody south of the Border) that are coming in than anything else: "They steal our jobs, they are by nature more violent, they do badly at school, they don't integrate" blah blah.
By insider, I mean how the average American thinks. Happily enough, there were just as many people, if not more, expressing their disgust at such racist drivel.
Especially intruiging is the fact that 100+ years ago, in the US, they said exactly the same things about....
the Irish.
so as I said, the spark to the debate was human trafficking, but it went much further, quite quickly.
Skylding,
Check Sonnie Sventson-Forbes's contribution.
For the real insider story, see About me | OrthoCuban.
Thanks Steve, I'll look into that. I'm quite familiar with Orthocuban, and have been following him for a long time. Good fellow.
Steve,
If this is the same synchroblog I think it is, they've historically kept it a Christian-only synchroblog. A couple years ago, a non-Christian (not me) inquired about participating, there was a discussion about it, and it was decided to keep the synchroblogs limited to Christians. In fact, I believe that was the same discussion that eventually resulted in you starting the religionrap group and even trying a couple of interfaith synchroblogs. (I miss those, by the way.)
Jarred,
Yes, it is the original synchroblog group, which was started as a specifically Christian one.
The interfaith one doed because a lack of interest. The Religionrap discussion forum continues, but the only people active on it are a Jew and a liberal Protestant whose copnversations seem to turn quickly to the minutiae of American or Israeli politics. As one of them doesn't blog it wouldn't be much of a vehicle for the promotion of interfauth synchroblogging.
yeah, I still follow the religionrap group. Most of the stuff on there doesn't interest me, and I haven't had the time or energy to write up something that would interest me and try to introduce to the group.
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