According to the James family, Giovanni provoked Congo (Left) to attack.Guy James claims that the landscaping workers arrived early when the dogs were in the backyard being fed by his wife. He also states that he yelled from his upstairs window for the workers to stay in their car until the dogs are back in the house. Ignoring Guy James' calls, Giovanni left the vehicle and payed dearly for doing so. In the matter of minutes, Giovanni suffered hundreds of bites which landed him in a hospital room for 5 days.
"They hit my dogs. They grabbed my wife and that's what this case is about," Guy James said.
Kevin Riechelson (Rivera's Lawyer) and Kim Otis, the prosecutor who handled the case, described the attack as unprovoked, saying Rivera never pulled Elizabeth James down to the ground. One must ask themselves here, who's to trust? An illegal immigrant here to literally take advantage of our country for his own monetary gain, or an American family who just wants to save their dog from injustice?
Now how does anyone, even an illegal immigrant for this matter, win a court case in this situation after supposedly pulling the wife down to the ground? If he did in fact pull her to the ground, then he clearly provoked the dogs to attack him, Congo was just doing what all dogs do, he was protecting his owner.
"Maybe they would have killed the dog already," said Oscar, a Guatemalan immigrant who didn't want to give his full name because he's in the country illegally. "This country values Americans." (Ashbury Park Press)
No offense Oscar but... you are in AMERICA! And amazingly enough, AMERICANS live in AMERICA. See the connection? Should we as Americans value those who come here illegally (like Oscar and Giovanni) more than we value the current legal residents? Well apparently the courts thought so, considering that they ruled in Giovanni's favor. The James family has appealed the case to a higher court in an attempt to save their dog.
Despite the James family's efforts to keep this case about saving their dog and not about immigration, Americans from all over the country are voicing their opinion on the topic.
"Why can a person who's in this country illegally get justice in our courts?" asks BinnThere, a member of APP.com. He then continues, "Let me make sure I understand this... this "immigrant" who dosen't bother to apply for immigration, but instead chooses to enter this country illegally can then turn around an use our legal system to get justice and a $250,000 settlement."
If hes here illegally, I don't see why our laws should protect him. Its like the burglar who breaks his leg robbing your house, and then sues you," sarcastically states Jerzeelove, a member of Courierpostonline.com.
Shouldn't we as Americans urge our government to deport Giovanni who was confirmed as an illegal immigrant?
Shouldn't we as Americans urge our government to deport Giovanni who was confirmed as an illegal immigrant?
Should this illegal immigrant be allowed to use the American court system to sue true Americans?
Should Giovanni be allowed to stay in this country even after the court case when he is clearly labeled as illegal?
Maybe our government is failing us and we need to take action on our own? I don't know, but maybe you do. Leave a comment!
4 comments:
I think you have two different issues here.
First, an illegal immigrant is an illegal immigrant, and should be treated as the law states. Should the guy deported? If that is the current law, then yes.
But his illegal status has nothing to do with the attack. Remove that from the equation and process the event.
Was the guy brutally attacked by the dog? Did the courts rule that the attack was unprovoked? Apparently, they did.
Should he be treated differently because he is in this country illegally?
We are all rooted in immigrants. And not all of our families arrived here legally (I'm looking specifically at your Scotch/ Irish last name). We need to get beyond immigration and realize that we live in a society.
Rules about immigration change constantly to benefit the whims of society. When we need people to work low-level jobs, we let them in. When things are smooth, we close the door.
Immigration is a political tool. Don't get caught up in it. The sneaky politicians use the idea to play with your emotions, your sense of national pride.
It's all a load of crap.
By the way, I'm a huge dog fan. I hate that this dog will be put to sleep. I think that is totally wrong.
- George (your journalism teacher)
To George-
Actually George you are right, his illegal status doesn't have anything to do with the fact that he had been attacked, that, is due to the fact that he ignored the owner's call (not sure if the owner spoke in spanish, but why should he... this is America ;P ) and supposedly provoked the attack by pulling the wife to the ground and shooing the dogs with a rake. I don't see how anyone no matter Illegal or not can win a case such as the one I have presented to you.
And George, touche on mentioning my possibly illegal entrance by my Scotch-Irish ancestors but I know for a fact that my German and Italian ancestors found that magical place called Ellis (sp?) Island!
Now George, I'm just wondering, if you were in the place of the James family, how would you feel, that an Illegal (yes it does matter even in this multicultural society)immigrant of all people could beat you in this situation where 1: he is at fault when and 2: he's not even supposed to be here?
And just so you know, I would've posted this story whether the man attacked was illegal or not, I also am a huge dog fan despite never actually owning one.
I mean no offense in this comment i just like stirring debates :)
The James family didn't seem to have any issues with immigrants when they hired the crew to come work at their home.
If my dog attacked someone, it wouldn't matter to me whether the victim was legal or not. People are people. (The question of who trains a dog to be that violent is an entirely different issue). Nobody should be treated any differently because of their place of birth.
Then again, I have a shih-tzu. Not exactly a breed known for aggression.
But just because the guy is an illegal alien doesn't mean the dog should be allowed to attack him. Just because the guy is an illegal alien doesn't mean he has no rights. That would imply that you could go out and shoot the next one you see.
This is about civility, despite nation of origin. We all live together. We might as well get along.
And seriously, think about the last time an immigrant ever did anything to you. Immigration is totally a political ploy ... there is nothing worse than being called un-American, and saying that people like immigrants can sound un-American at its simplest level. It is a great way for a politician to cut the legs out of their opponents.
But there is nothing more American than immigrants. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn't have immigrants in their family within two or three generations.
No offense taken. I love the debate.
German/ Italian ancestors? Named McAdams? Someone is hiding something somewhere in your family. (Just kidding about the hiding part).
- George (the second-generation American teacher)
Now just because the dog attacked the man does not mean it was trained to be violent. It is a known fact that dogs are protective of their owners, and will attack somebody whom they deem threatening, maybe not a shih-tzu >.< But technically George, I can go out and shoot the next person I see, though it's not acceptable in this society, neither is immigrating illegally. You dub this as a political ploy, i'm sorry but it is much larger than a political ploy which i'm sure you know.
I really don't have anything against immigration, the legal kind... Yes george i know people entered this country illegally in the past, but what is the first thing history teachers tell you??? Learn from the past! And what happened in the past when Irish came into the country illegally? Well, mistreatment, gangs fighting in New York, under payed with bad working conditions, and what are we seeing today the same exact thing.
Btw, My Dad is the Scotch-Irish and German (McAdams) and my Mother is the Italian, English and Blackfoot (Tremarki)
-Josh (A legal American)
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