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A Reader Says Fox-Bush is not an "Amnesty" as Defined
From: Ronald Kyser
All the discussion on
Vdare.com about various euphemisms for amnesty
misses an important point-- "amnesty" is
itself a euphemism.
A true amnesty is an exchange
where one party waives the penalties for breaking
the law if the other party agrees to obey that
law in the future.
A tax amnesty requires the
grantee to pay the tax. An illegal weapons
amnesty requires the grantee to turn in his weapons,
and agree not to replace them.
Thus an illegal entry amnesty
would require the grantee to vacate the country
before any penalties are waived. Anything less
would not be "amnesty", but ex post
facto legalization. Our use of the term
actually cedes quite a bit of territory to the
opponents.
August 19, 2001
