Aversion Therapy

Thirty years ago I was finishing up my BA and the professor asked us to visit an institution. After the visit we were to write a report.

I chose an addiction treatment center called Raleigh Hills. (Looking back, it was the only one on the list that wasn’t a government agency.)

I called the number the professor gave me and scheduled a tour/interview. It turned out to be an alcohol treatment center. They explained that a patient was checked into the facility, given a complete physical and psychological exam, then “dried out” prior to the therapy.

The patient was brought into a room with a mirrored wall lined with all sorts of booze. They would crank up the lounge music and sit him down in a comfortable chair. They would also give him some medicine that would make him puke if it mixed with alcohol.

Then the patient would be asked, “What’ll you have?” and they would proceed to mix his order. Whatever he wanted.

Of course, he would take a drink and watch in the mirror as he Ralphed all over the place! And they would do this over and over again until the patient would barf even if he didn’t have the medicine.

Now, we can all relate to that to some extent. We’ve all had a favorite food at one time that we no longer like because we OD’d on it. Maybe you used to like Barbeque flavor potato chips…then you ate an entire bag in one sitting. Now you can’t stand the thought of them.

Or maybe you went to shrimp fest at Red Lobster and now you don’t like shrimp.

I think there are a growing number of citizens who have had enough of the Hispanic invasion. We never really thought much about it before. We have friends who are first generation immigrants from Mexico. They are fine people. Great cooks. Colorful dance costumes. Hard workers.

Maybe we’ve even got them in the family as a relative married a recent immigrant. No problem with that.

But that doesn’t mean we want America to be a Spanish-speaking country! And we don’t like it when they take to the streets by the hundreds of thousands to make demands, especially when they are here illegally.

This mindset was predicted by the U. S. Commission on Immigration Reform in 1994. Here’s what the report said: "We believe that unlawful immigration is unacceptable. Enforcement efforts have not been effective in deterring unlawful immigration. This failure to develop effective strategies to control unlawful immigration has blurred the public perception of the distinction between legal and illegal immigrants." (pg.ii)

Instead, it is easier to label people as racists, xenophobes, and bigots when all we are really saying is, “We’re getting overwhelmed here. Do something.” Do they understand, “Too much of a good thing”? Is there a problem with us preserving our language and culture?

I think we’ve been patient; maybe too patient. Some are calling for a moratorium on all immigration. I disagree.

But make no mistake, it is the right of our citizens to decide who comes here and how many. My biggest fear is that our leaders have become pure politicians and are acting in their self-interest, ignoring our desire to preserve the culture. So when we look at comprehensive reform and see that they have thoughtfully considered the desires of the illegals and ignored the wishes of the electorate, we become alarmed.

Can you understand my concern?