Why is it that some people feel their opinion is more valid than the opinion of others? One logical reason would be that they have education and/or experience in a particular field that allows them to have an educated opinion. Another good reason would be that they have sought the knowledge of others who have those qualifications.
But not Ruben Navarrette.
In his latest CNN commentary, Navarrette makes sure to inform us how important his opinion is to others.[Link]
“As someone who is paid to express opinions on a daily-sometimes hourly-basis, I don’t mind being wrong.”
It’s a good thing he doesn’t mind being wrong, because it happens a lot. One big reason for that is how he draws conclusions for his opinions. They aren’t based on education. They aren’t based on experience. They are based on the words of “a reader,” or “a couple of illegal immigrants.”
For example, in a July 16, 2007 CNN.com article, Navarrette claims that “U.S. workers will pick lettuce for $1,000 a week.” Did he conduct a blind poll of U.S. workers to draw that conclusion? Did he consult a polling firm who had done so? Nope. Mr. Navarrette based that opinion on this:
“Immigration restrictionists claim that Americans would line up for even the most dirtiest and distasteful jobs if only wages were higher. How much higher? A reader told me that he’d gladly go pick lettuce around Salinas, California-for $1,000 a week.”[Link]
It’s sure hard to argue with logic like that, isn’t it? It must be true, because “a reader” told him so. Heck, it’s no wonder the House of Representatives can’t get anything done-they have all those people! We obviously only need 1 voice to represent the entire population of the United States.
Navarrette’s latest CNN.com article isn’t much better.
A December 22, 2007 CNN.com article claimed that illegal immigrants were “packing up” and leaving Arizona due to a new law scheduled to go into effect January 1, 2008 which penalizes employers who employ illegal labor. To support this claim, the article cited the testimony of a local illegal immigrant woman, but also cited Arizona state representative Russell Pierce, immigration lawyer Nancy-Jo Merritt, and a research economist from Arizona State University.[Link]
But as far as Ruben Navarrette is concerned, those people just don’t know what they are talking about. According to him:
“It’s wishful thinking to think that the solution to our immigration woes is to simply expect the condemned to carry out their own executions. It’s more complicated.”[Link]
You know, I’d have thought the same thing before reading the CNN article. But unlike Navarrette, I listen to people who know more than I do. Let’s see who he listened to in order to draw this latest conclusion:
“On a recent trip to Phoenix, Arizona, I spoke to a couple of illegal immigrants who told me that, indeed, some of their friends were leaving the state but others were staying.”[Link]
Those illegal immigrants he spoke to must be “friends” with every illegal immigrant in the state of Arizona for their words to carry more weight than a state legislator, an immigration lawyer, and an economic analyst. I sure hope CNN didn’t pay those experts much money for their opinions, when all they had to do was go to any street corner in Arizona that is filled with day-laborers to get the real facts of the matter.
The worst part of all of this is-I have emailed Ruben Navarrette concerning his sweeping generalizations, bias, and lack of objectivity. He answered that he is a columnist, and if I want objectivity I should turn to page 1A.
And this is the opinion people pay him for? I’m in the wrong business!
