There are immigrants and immigrants

This week's New Yorker has a fascinating article by Jane Kramer about the immigration crisis in Holland, of all places. Kramer's article shows an interesting paradox. Political correctness does not equal real tolerance. It is instead a perfect example of the road to hell being paved with good intentions.
Given that we seem to be having a little immigration crisis of our own, all I can say is look at their immigrants and look at ours. Europe would not be going through such social calamities if instead of inviting Muslim peasants to work jobs that the natives didn't want, they had invited Mexicans and Latin Americans instead. Probably a bit of culture shock (in the form of loud music, cheesy soap operas and trenchant conservatism) but no fatwas, no sharia, no fear, no intimidation. All I'm saying is we should be grateful we have such nice immigrants who are happy to be exploited and don't try to blow us up just because we believe in something else.
But having said that, I believe that if people choose to make a living in a country not their own, they have to respect the customs of that country, whether they like it or not. I know I'm going to sound like a right winger, but the Muslims in Europe who, with their violent religious intolerance, are terrorizing the entire population, among them mostly moderate Muslims who dare contravene them, have to understand that the West is a free secular society. If they don't like it, they can go back to their countries of origin and stone everyone they want to death to their hearts content. When in Rome, shut the fuck up and follow the rules like everybody else.

In a way, the same goes for my compatriots who come here. Learn English, try to understand the culture. You don't have to like it, you don't have to accept it, but it is in your best interest not to marginalize yourself and remain clueless and unguarded while you are living in the most powerful country on Earth. I have known immigrants who have been here for twenty years and they still don't speak English. That is the reason why they can't get a decent job, better wages, and they remain mired in poverty, even if they are much better off than where they came from. If you have come all the way from rural Mexico, which might as well be a different galaxy, and you have gone through incredible danger and risk to get a better life, then get a life as good as you possibly can, because, believe it or not, the US is a beacon of real tolerance, as opposed to other countries. Here what counts is your pluck and your ambition and your desire to work hard. True, you'll be exploited, but paradoxically, in this land where the motto should be "scratch your own back", you will be given more of a chance to thrive.