Mail Bag

A reader writes:

I don't get what point your trying to make with the november 16th comic. Don't you know what happened to the native americans once the europeans started settling the americas? I hardly think that illegal immigrants are going to begin systemic genocide of US citizens, but pointing to the early american settlers as a reason for having open border is just...stupid. In your next comic you should point to the fall of troy as why its a GOOD idea to never worry about sneak attacks.

I like most of your comics, but this one has to be one of the worst
you've ever done.

Native Americans most likely wished the border was closed back in those days, but I'm not advocating for a closed or open border with this one. I thought I would take this "anchor baby" canard nativists use and apply it to a situation on this continent hundreds of years ago where it might have made more sense, hopefully for humorous purposes. Today, an "anchor baby" born on this soil is a citizen with the same right to be here as a so-called minute man patrolling the border.

As for the "dirty, disease ridden" part, there can't be much arguing about them beating today's immigrants in that department. I tried to make the pilgrims as scrubby as possible--they couldn't have looked any better than modern day Amish who use our hospitals and buy toothpaste at the drugstore. Every reference photo I looked up had these strange people in nicely pressed pilgrim suits like they just picked them up at the cleaners. The guys' faces look like they're in a 17th century Gillette commercial.