One of the things I had to really wrap my head around is I have no control over what people call me: advocate, activist, gay, Filipino, undocumented person, gay person with an Asian face and Latino name. Jose Antonio Vargas More Quotes by Jose Antonio Vargas More Quotes From Jose Antonio Vargas America is White and Black and Latino and Asian. America is mixed. America is immigrants. Jose Antonio Vargas black white america Citizenship to me is more than a piece of paper. Citizenship is also about character. I am an American. We're just waiting for our country to recognize it. Jose Antonio Vargas waiting character country For Filipino Americans, it's a battle for recognition, for identity in a culture where, for the mainstream, Asians tend to fade into a monochromatic racialized 'other.' Jose Antonio Vargas battle identity culture There's always to me a universality - one of the things I learned early on as a journalist and a writer is that there's a universality in specifics. The more specific you get, the more universal it can be. Jose Antonio Vargas journalist Together, undocumented people like me and our relatives, friends and allies wait for broader immigration reform, not just for Dreamers but also for undocumented workers of all ages and backgrounds who contribute to our economic security and prosperity. Jose Antonio Vargas dreamer waiting people I am not the 'illegal' you think I am, and immigration is not what you think it is. Jose Antonio Vargas illegal immigration thinking When people call me illegal, calling me illegal says more about you than it does about me. Jose Antonio Vargas calling doe people The DREAMers are the safe ones, right? It's okay to advocate for the DREAMers because they're the English-speaking, college-educated ones, right? It's so interesting that I set out to document DREAMers, but what I ended up doing was actually documenting the experience of, the reality and truth of, the moms and the parents. Jose Antonio Vargas mom reality interesting To be in America illegally is actually a civil offense and not a criminal one. Jose Antonio Vargas offense criminals america I remember the first thing I did when I found out I was illegal was to get rid of my thick Filipino accent. I figured that I had to talk white and talk black at the same time, like Charlie Rose and Dr. Dre. If I can talk white and black then no one is ever going to think that I'm "illegal." Jose Antonio Vargas white rose thinking You have to stand for something bigger than yourself. Jose Antonio Vargas something-bigger-than-yourself stand-for-something bigger For some people, I got away with something. And you know what? That's a fair thing to say, for them. I'm not saying I agree with that, but I can see how they can say that. But it's a matter of just like...you know, I'm really fortunate. As a journalist, I don't have to agree with you to talk to you. My job is to figure out why you think the way you think. I want to get to the root of why you think the way you think. That's what I find most fascinating as a storyteller. Jose Antonio Vargas like-you people thinking I have no control over what people call me. The only thing I have control over is my work, and that's really all I can be judged on. Jose Antonio Vargas call-me i-can people To me, it's just that social media is allowing people to be in charge of their own narratives. Jose Antonio Vargas narrative media people Immigration is by far the most controversial yet least understood issue in America. Frankly, given the way we're talking about immigration, given the emphasis, the overemphasis on border security, I would argue that we're not on the same page when we debate this issue. We're doing far too much debating and not enough conversing. Jose Antonio Vargas debate immigration arguing There isn't anybody I won't talk to about immigration - at least once. Jose Antonio Vargas immigration If I could, I'd go city by city, county by county, town by town, and talk to people to explain to them what immigration is really about - that this is not about me, this is not about us, this is not about us taking something from you. This is not about us being a threat to you. This is not about Democrat or Republican, and this is not really about border security. But in some ways our politics, and in many ways our politicians, have gotten in the way. Jose Antonio Vargas republican immigration people I'm not excusing the illegal act. I am here illegally. I'm here illegally, without authorization. That's a fact. That's nothing you can call the Orwellian cops about. But I am a human being, so therefore I am not illegal. That's also a fact. Jose Antonio Vargas orwellian cop I always felt like I had the word "illegal" tattooed on my forehead. Jose Antonio Vargas tattooed foreheads illegal As you can imagine, there were people who were like, "Why are you being the PC cop?" or, "This is Orwellian to tell people to stop using the word 'illegal' to refer to people." Well, I just want people to think it through. Jose Antonio Vargas cop people thinking
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