#petition guy

Let me start by saying that I love The Fosters....for the most part. But occasionally there are moments that just rub me wrong. I know your waiting for me to tell you....well here's the perfect example but I will warn you right now that there are some spoilers enclosed. SPOILER ALERT! This weeks episode titled "Telling" has Callie at her new school when she is approached by "Petitioner Guy". Now he tells her all about how the petition is to keep an immigration "expert" from speaking at the school. His reasoning is that this expert isn't really an expert and just uses the title to spread hate speech . Now, Callie refuses, later explaining to her new friend, who just happens to be undocumented herself(I'll get there too), that she is just trying to stay out of Trouble. As time moves forward Callie is convinced to meet the group on the Quad after being guilted into it by A. "Petition guy" claiming she is lacking humanity fir not signing the petition B. Her friend expressing fears over registering with the govt. even though admittedly her parents hold no such fear. Now here is where my issue lies-- 1. First-petition guys opinions aside as well as her friends plight- Callie doesn't even do an ounce of research herself into this speaker. She just takes the word of the petitioner who has decided that despite the "schools" labeling this person an expert...they must not be and must be a hate mongerer. 2. College used to be about exploring all sides of a subject, not just the one you agree with necessarily. I am absolutely not saying that groups like the KKK should be lecturing in classrooms. What I am saying is that if someone is lecturing about - illegal immigration, how it affects our country, what our laws are, how to legalize citizens (and their children) & what consequences there are for those that break the law-this does not mean that what they are saying is hateful. Now I'm personally unfamiliar with the name of the person who is supposedly scheduled to lecture. I don't know if they are a real person or fictional character and honestly couldn't find their name when I tried to search what the name in the show was. I think it's super important though that our children not believe that anyone who disagrees with our opinion is immediately labeled someone who spreads hate. In Life we run into all sorts of people with a variety of beliefs that may be different than ours but are not hateful. The more we try to understand multiple sides of an issue, the easier it will be to find solutions. By refusing to allow dissenting opinions, we are teaching them that only one point of view is valid. 3. I know how long it can take for a person to be one a citizen but that is not a reason for someone to not even bother trying. Within Cassie's friend's life, there have been numerous amnesty programs available to encourage illegal immigrants to become citizens. Why in the world wouldn't her parents have taken advantage of any of then through the years. 4. While technically, she is correct, that any violation of the law can result in revocation of citizenship & visas, this is not new. I think it's important to keep in mind, the overwhelming majority of jaywalkers have never & will never be deported(i personally haven't seen the statistics but if I had to guess, I would think the total would be 0. If you commit a crime and are not a naturalized citizen of this country, you can be deported. This isn't a new law. In fact, it's not even newly enforced. It's just that it's not being hidden away & currently criminals are actively being sought to be deported. My knowledge comes directly from an immigration attorney that a fried of mine is currently using. If you aren't a criminal, you have nothing to fear. I wonder if Callie's friends parents had spoken with their immigration attorney. Maybe that's why they weren't scared. In closing, my points are these: Why does the lesson have to be that Callie not signing the petition is selfish rather than showing her have an independent thought in her head and do her own research to find out for herself whether or not this woman is truly preaching hate or if she is just not agreeing with some of the students ideas on how immigration should be work. Either way, at least Callie isn't just going along with what she is being told but she is finding out for herself. Open minds can't just be open to one side if a story; it has to truly be open to learning at least the true motivations of others. So often it isn't as simple as saying, you don't agree with me, that means you are spreading hate. Lastly, I would hope that The Fosters would want to prevent the furthering of fear mongering by making sure they present the facts and not just the fears. I hope that next weeks episode explores some of these issues so Callie can hopefully learn that no matter the outcome, independent thinking will at least give you the opportunity to make informed choices in life.