The Leonard Lopate Show

Would the issue of whether to intervene in Darfur fall under the argument about "personhood"? Does the guest think that we don't see the people in Darfur as "people" fully, so that's why we don't do more?

It sounds so scary when you said it Leonard, that Americans don't see non-Americans as persons, but unfortunately true!!

I think that if Americans don't see non-Americans as 'people' it is a tendency that we have much less so than people of other nationalities. This is perhaps because our ancestry comes from all over and our citizenship is not based on blood. This idea would not even be discussed or admitted in most countries. Think about Chinese.

I take exception that Americans cant see the humanity in others, this is exceptionally an aspect of Americans of European Ancestry.

As for the vacilating attitudes of Americans toward immigrants, the past inclinations of Americans should have no bearing on the future how we judge the situation going forward becasue we are now in a fundamentally different time of human history. Prior to our lifetimes, there were parts of the planet that were 'undeveloped'; underpopulated or at least not industrialized. With over 6 billion people not consuming the planet like locusts devouring a corn field, the situation has changed. For one, I do not want the world's excess population coming here. This is not some xenophibic fear of people unlike myself; I have friends around the world and I cherish their difference. To conflate my views with people who may have these fears or discomforts only obfuscates the real issues of overpopulation and sustainability.

James Rodriguez in the Bronx states: "I take exception that Americans cant see the humanity in others, this is exceptionally an aspect of Americans of European Ancestry."

Particularly those from Spain, James?

Projections indicate that people who are not of European ancestry will be the dominant by mid century, and the Latino's will be the outright majority by the end of this century, how will this effect American behavior toward the rest of the world and or over all perception of a person's humanity even of those that are not American?