Repellent Talk From the Left

Recently, another reader who favored a hard line on immigration and was furious at my support for legalizing undocumented immigrants suggested a nice spot for a summer vacation: "Why don't YOU and all of your liberal friends march south across the border and STAY there?" He signed off: "But you keep fighting the good fight, you sellout."

Yet, you're still more likely to hear the phrase from someone on the left. That was my experience back in the late 1990s when, after criticizing Janet Napolitano, a Democrat who was then serving as the U.S. attorney from Arizona, I was scolded by a liberal reader who insisted every opportunity I'd had in life came from affirmative action secured by the Democratic Party. I should be more grateful, he said.

Today, some readers accuse me of not doing enough to fight for the "little guy." But, over the years, I've come to see that the little guy gets shafted by both parties, which are more alike than different when it comes to getting power and keeping it. Sometimes, the little guy is slammed by the right, as when nativists malign undocumented immigrants. Other times, he gets pummeled by the left, as when Democratic-leaning teachers unions stifle the support that Latino parents have for testing and accountability measures.

The reader from San Antonio concluded his letter: "You need to worry about your soul. You have sold it. I see what you are doing to it and, strange though it may seem, I worry about you. I feel sorry for you."

That's the "tell." A conservative might just come out and tell you how much he despises you. But a liberal would much rather tell you how disappointed he is in you, as if you're some social-science experiment that went off the tracks.

Someday, those on the left might just figure out that liberal condescension is -- to many of the folks they claim to represent -- a more effective repellent than bug spray. When that happens, they might even give it a rest. And our national dialogue will improve.

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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com.