Why Does the U.S. Insist on Embarrasing Us???
Wow....I just saw a story on the news about how anti-immigration proponents are planning a nationwide boycott of all Mexican goods and services, including restaurants, tourism, etc. on Cinco de Mayo.
Oh come now, can things get just a little more ridiculous? First we boycott French wine and call those potato sticks we all love so much "Freedom Fries" becasue Mr. Bush said so, and now we are supposed to boycott margaritas and mole on Cinco de Mayo? Estos Americanos racistas se estan volviendo locos. Every time the US gets mad at some other race, religious or ethnic group we are told or suggested to boycott their goods? Wow. Not me. No boycotting in my household.
What makes this country rich is the array of people that have come to live in it and the many aspects of their cultures that they have brought with them. Give me a break. And are Mexicans the only immigrants? If the US is supposed to boycott illegal immigrants than why not go full speed ahead and boycott all things Cuban, Russian, Estonian, Chinese, Dominican, El Salvadorian, African, Nicaraguan, Hungarian, Polish, Jamaican, Haitian, et. al.? My God, it is becoming quite embarrasing to be an American. Are we that shallow a country? And that ignorant? Racist? Ethnicist?
This country would not be what it is without immigrants. Yes, there are many many people from other countries that come here and "take jobs". These jobs they are supposedly taking are mostly ones that we, as US citizen,s turn our noses up on. Janitors, field workers, housekeepers, dishwashers....I don't know of anyone that is clamoring for any one of those positions. Supposedly they are living off of our tax dollars, getting government aid, etc. Yes, that is true often enough HOWEVER, there is more than a fair share of US born...and yes WHITE Americans who live off of the dole, breed children like rabbits, and spend their days smoking whatever they are growing in their backyards.
I worked as a medical interpreter for several years after graduating from college and since I was translating in Spanish/English I worked with many South and Central American immigrants. They were always humble, eager to please and grateful people. They had so little yet were GRATEFUL for it. I always left my sessions feeling humbled especially after hearing horror story after horror story about their work conditions. When was the last time any of us changed blood soaked sheets from a hotel bed? We are a nation of avarice and instant gratification....God forbid anyone want to cross the border and have the chance to have a shot at any of the good stuff we either already own or hope to acquire.
I do agree that immigrants should try their best to assimilate into American culture (whatever that really is....) and learn the language, get driver's licenses, etc., while keeping their own culture alive. This is what my family did. My parents are immigrants. Actually my mother is an immigrant and my father is a refugee. Both became US citizens, both learned English and both work, vote, etc. They also both started off doing menial labor and often times were humiliated by their American co-workers and told to "go home".
My mother is Cuban, related to Calixto Garcia one of the former Presidents of that island nation. My father is Hungarian and descended from a long line of Hungarian blue bloods that date back to St. Istvan the first King of Hungary and whose father saved seven Jewish familes as they were being transported to Auschwitz. His life story reads like a book yet when he comes to the US he gets a job in a mailroom. My mother's first job here was mopping up urine at a hospital. They got these jobs because NOBODY else wanted them. The same thing happens everyday to the new immigrants, some of which were poor in their countries and some of which held high positions. Who are we to judge them and resent them for taking these crap jobs that we would never do...but that someone has to do so that we can live comfortably? Anyone seen "A Day Without A Mexican"? Satirical but very en pointe.
But I digress.......boycotting Mexican goods on Cinco de Mayo...ludicrous and unnecessary. Embarrasing, if you will. I will take no part in this vapid show of "patriotism" and will very happily share a margarita and a huge plate of carne asada with my fellow thinking men and women. The boycotters can stay home with their bottles of So Co and mend the holes in their white sheets.
This is my opinion, take it as you will.
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I agree with you
I dont see the need to boycott Mexican goods.. Bush has problems and im not sorry or embarrassed to say that I dont agree with anything he has done and I dont like him being our president.
-iF nOt Me thEn wHo?
Come to my renter's
Come to my renter's restaurant on Cinco de Mayo. I'll buy you a margarita. lol And their carne asada- ohhhhh. Food fit for the gods.
Seriously, this is ridiculous. Your parents experienced it firsthand, but unless someone is fullblooded Native American, they don't belong here. So to make any group or person feel bad for coming here is absurd.
My renters are hard working. I suspect that the mother was not born here, but that doesn't matter. She is here, legally in fact, and she came with her 10 children and husband to create a new life for themselves. They have succeeded. They own a chain of authentic Mexican restaurants across the state. She doesn't speak perfect English, but she tries, and to me, that counts for a lot. More importantly, she is a nice, decent person who always has a smile on her face. Her daughters especially are so kind to my children, and they always have time to joke around with them.
And these are US citizens, several of which were born here!! So if their restaurant is boycotted, it is for no reason other than the color of their skin. So if we are to boycott them simply because one or more people in there may be an immigrant, even though they are legal, then there is no distinction being made between legal and illegal immigrants. And if we do make a distinction, does it matter?? I was all set to move to England last year. I would have been an immigrant there, and I would have followed all the proper channels. But in my view, it is much less essential that I get that spot than say someone who is escaping torture or starvation in their country. 'Cause let's face it. I have a home. My family has a liveable income. We are LUCKY. Not everyone does, and if they get to survive because that job I would have taken goes to someone who would otherwise come to harm, then I don't care how they come into the country. No, this boycott is racism. Pure and simple.
As for me, I will be camped out eating carne asadas all day. Let the haters stay home and enjoy their pizzas. No, wait. That's Italian. Let them have their Sushi. Nope. Japanese. Maybe hamburgers. Surely that's American food. Nope. They were brought over from Europe on the Hamberg-Amerika lines as pieces of spiced, ground meat that could be quickly thrown on a grill and then put between two pieces of bread. But ice cream sundaes are cool. As long as you don't use ice cream in them. It goes back at least as far as Marco Polo.
England!!!!
Oh Intricate!!! That would have been a lovely place to move to! IF it werent for my husbands job keeping us here and my family living here (all of whom are elderly, parents, grandparents, etc.) I would pack upa nd move to Europe. I have lived there extensively in the past for my line of work and children there have a much better education and respect levell and quality of life......I wish my son could have that.
I try to live my life with
I try to live my life with few regrets. This is my biggest one. I have to believe we are still here for some reason, but my crystal ball is not working right now, so I have no idea what that reason could be.
We had all of the same reasons as you do, but for us, they were not reasons. We were so close, but the ONLY reason we stayed is because it is a terrifying idea to think of moving to another country with no job and no promise that one will come soon. Maybe this is why I can sympathize with immigrants. I KNOW how scary that is, and they leave anyway. So things really have to be serious to overcome those fears.
(And if I moved to London, I would have taken the crappy jobs. I would have worked in the pubs since the locals only want to drink there. It would have been long hours and every day, and when I got home, it would be in the tiny apartment above the pub where my entire family lived in a small, cramped space. At least until my husband found work and we could make the riches we dreamed of making.)
Europe or england is the
Europe or england is the last palce you would want to
move to .
We are now over run with illegal immigrants,taxed
to death almost,pay among the highest prices for
fuel.
We also have a pseudo communist govermnet new
labour same old crap.
So stay put it's probaly better in the US
I'll trade you then.
I'll trade you then. lol
There will be problems anywhere. Some places will be better than others. And yet for every flaw I find in the UK, it does not diminish my love for it. I could be happy and contented for the rest of my life in the UK.
No, Europe and England are not the last places I want to live. That distinction would go to Kansas. The best thing I can say about Kansas is that they have very nice toll roads. lol The worst thing I can say about them is that the best parts of Kansas City had the sense to leave the state they were named for. lol (No offense to and Kansas residents. The whole midwest is pretty dull for my tastes.)
I'll trade you too tucker!
I have lived abroad so I know what I am talking about when I say that the quality of live is better in some other countries. I agree with IntricateGirl.....I'll trade you too! Work keeps my husband here and I am not going anyehre without him, otherwise I'd be outta here. I may get lambasted for being "antipatriotic" but that's okay. We get taxed up the arse as well and have nothing to show for it, no socialized healthcare or decent public schools.....There is no such thing as a Utopia but I will take any country that will give my son a decent, well-rounded education, where should we get sick we won't get turned down for lack of insurance, and where the crime rate is far lower (the year I lived in Austira only one murder was documented...this was due to a mentally incapacitated boy killing his sister while his parents were at market).
Also, I must say that I LOVE how Austria, Germany and several other countries in Europe give parents the option of a THREE YEAR maternity leave with the security of their job being there for htem when the 3 years are up. Hmmmm......this makes for a much better quality of life as opposed to parents being forced back to work after, what is it here in the States?....6 weeks?
IntricateGirl & MizzQueen!
Thanks to both of you on your comments to my post....I was actually crining a bit this morning when I logged on thinking that I may be getting my head bitten off for myh "bleeding heart" liberal views! I 100% agree with both of you as well.
And IntricateGirl....your renter's restaurant sounds divine! Wish I could make it out there on Friday! :-) You it the nail on the head....this boycott is nothing more than blatant racism. It blows my mind....are we not in the 21st century? How is it possible for this kind of sentiment to still exist?
And yeah....the boycotters can stay at home and enjoy....jeez, there's not much here that didn't originate in another country. And I don't think that they would dig Native American fare either seeing as the people who would boycott Mexico would also probably dislike Native Americans because they too are a "brown" people. Sad, isn't it?
Why does the US insist on embarrasing itself?
Oh, yes, I have to add a tidbit to my post.....the entire Southwestern United States belonged to them.....how can the US tell them to go home when they technically are already home? It's like telling Native Americans to go home....they already are! We are a country that has kicked off it's native poeples from their rightful land and then scorn them for wanting to come back. Sickening.
Actually...
The entire Southwest US belonged to Spain. The native tribes that existed in the Southwest US prior to Spanish intervention for the most part no longer exist or are represented by tribes with local reservation land such as Sycuan, Morongo, Pechanga... you know, casino injuns.
While Mexico did briefly hold what is now the Southwestern US, they did so through mostly heriditary governorships and did so only nominally. There was no Mexican governmental infrastructure in place in the Southwest US and it certainly was not populated by "Mexicans" in anything more than name.
The "brown people" who lived in the SW US prior to its annexation by the US have almost no cultural or biological link with the "Mexicans" illegally entering this country.
And, one culture being displaced by another is one of the most long-standing traditions of the human race. Why is it suddenly wrong now in one isolated incedent and after the fact?
Wait, wait, you can name many many cultures that did not displace other cultures to get their land. Like, the Japanese! They just moved into empty islands! Oops, nope, they displaced what they fondly call "hairy northern barbarians." The "northern" part is because they drove them to the farthest northern reaches of Japan, a land most inhospitable to life.
Ok! Ok! The Aztecs! Oops, nope, they were hardly the first people to build a city at what is now Mexico City.
Zulu? Chinese? Norweigans? (East) Indians? No, no, no, no.
History, it's wonderful reading.
your welcome
any time :)
-iF nOt Me thEn wHo?
Mexicans don't celebrate Cinco de Mayo
I hadn't heard anything about this "boycott" of Cinco de Mayo.... but I think it's pretty funny. Especially because Cinco de Mayo is not a big deal to Mexicans. Shocking, I know... ;-) Sure, it's become a big thing in the US... I mean it's a good way to sell lots of beer and Mexican food... but if you ask any Mexican, they'll tell you the same, it's just not a big deal.
September 16th is Mexico's Independence Day and yes, they make a big deal out of that (like our 4th of July). In fact, it's somewhat of a joke among Mexicans that Cinco de Mayo became a "gringos holiday" because "el diez y seis de septiembre" would be too hard for them to say ;-)
So boycott Mexican goods and businesses on "Cinco de Mayo" if you want -- but the joke's on you ;-)
Nice job, ModelMom :)
American Idol Madness / MySpace or Yours
Look, I'm up for ANY excuse
Look, I'm up for ANY excuse to have their carne asada or pretty much anything at the restaurant. I'll celebrate Sept. 16th, and July 4th, and pretty much any other day. lol I know, I'm totally proving your point. lol
Cinco de Mayo
lol...that's ok - I know carne asada is hard to resist... no excuse needed :) We sometimes have it 2-3x a week!
So if you're ever in Seattle... ;-)
American Idol Madness / MySpace or Yours
What? Gringo Americans racist?
Never! How could such a thing possibly be?
Never mind that when Texas was first colonized by Americans (Sam Houston et al., all white of course), they agreed to convert to Catholicism, learn to speak Spanish, and respect the laws of Mexico - which included a ban on slavery. All the trouble began when the Mexicans discovered that the gringos were setting up Protestant churches, refused to speak anything but English, and were importing droves of slaves to work the cotton plantations.
Never mind that, in the 1840s, when most of America north of Texas was concerned mostly with the immigration of droves of Catholic Germans and - God forbid - starving Catholic Irish, the Know-Nothing Party sprung out of nowhere to deny the rights of American citizenship to anybody who couldn't trace ancestry back to the Mayflower (Massachusetts) or Charles II (Virginia). In the 1850s, the Know-Nothings vanished - into the bosom of the Republican Party. Who wanted to abolish slavery - and then throw all the blacks the hell out of the country.
As a nation, we began by declaring that "all men are created equal." We now practically read it "all men are created equal, except Negroes." When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read "all men are created equal, except Negroes and foreigners and Catholics." When it comes to this, I shall prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty
- Abraham Lincoln
(Letter to Joshua Speed, 24 August 1855)
Mav is right. History does make fascinating reading. We have all been here before ...
* * * *
"The years between fifty and seventy are the hardest. You are always being asked to do things, and yet you are not decrepit enough to turn them down." - T. S. Eliot
I'll Take France...
No place comes free of 'issues'. Yet, I too am embarrassed at times to be considered American. I do not feel represented by my gubment.
My times in France have been wonderful.
deorre
'Life Stew, With Psychosis
I'll got to France with ya Deorre!
France has a wonderful education system and they also have wonderful support for new parents with very low cost "part time" day care so that stay at home moms can go to the doctor, meet a friend for a cup of coffee, etc....basically allowing a mother to still have some autonomy. Read "Motherhood in an Age of Anxiety"....written by and American mom who lived in France for a long time.....it is an awesome read. When I read it I was so angry that the US is so family unfriendly and how bad our education sys. sucks. So I am with ya! Vive le France!
Speaking of places with history
How long ago was it that France was slaughtering protestants in droves?
French slaughter
Yes, we ALL have carnage in our histories.....true....but France has a wonderful and very family & child friendly society and system.....)you can read what I wrote to deorre up above....) I have always loved living abroad and now that I have a child of my own, I can truly see how deficient the US is when it comes to education, familial support, etc. Tough for me to shrink down into a tiny post but the book I told deorre about above explains it pretty well.
Just look at kids in Italy,Germany, Hungary, Austria, France, etc....they dress like children not like midget pimps and hoes, they know more about American history than most American college students do, they are respectful to their elders, hang on to their innocence far longer than their US counterparts, are polite......and yes, there are exceptions to the rule as with everything....but I am speaking from first hand experience here. This is what I have seen and lived. And children are the future of their respective countries. I'm not sure of the future of a country where 6 year old girls look like strippers, 8 year old boys look like thugs and have no respect for authority figures whatsoever.
No country is perfect....but to me I put a lot of importance on tolerance and an environment that is conducive to raising a happy, healthy, polite, educated and culturaly embracing child. It really does take a village you know.....
ModelMom, I am with you!!!
What is it with these people that want to act so high and mighty? I worked with low income families-heck I fall into that category! I did homevisits with Mexican migrant workers. They are beautiful people. They are gracious, law abiding and eager to teach their children the ways of America. All this they do, to give their children a better life! They suffer here, willingly to give their children a better education, a better chance of moving up in the financial realm and a chance at making it in the Land of Dreams. They work hard, doing jobs we think are beneath us. They cook our food, wash our laundry, care for our kids, clean our hotels, clean our pools and we want to throw them out like yesterday's newspaper.
A look at our current youth, with dreams of homes like MTV cribs and absolutley no ambition assures us that if they were removed from this country-these jobs would be hard to fill. The majority of the poor of this country as well as the youth of America do not want to take unglamorous jobs like hotel maintenance or short order cook. That's why the immigrants are busboys, janitors and migrant workers. They are ready to work a hard day's labor for pay (and most of the time it's not even fair pay).
Look, I will not forward any ridiculous email ridiculing these immigrants. I will not forward any email asking for a boycott on Cinco de Mayo! These people are selfish. Why don't these same people complain, whine and act against the RICH WHITE POLITICIANS that are squeezing us dry with these high oil prices?!?! Let them find a way to pinch Haliburtons' pocket and I'll join the bandwagom. Until then, let them google what is written at the foot of the Statue of Liberty and remember that the White AngloSaxons STOLE this land from the NATIVE AMERICANS, just like they stole natives from AFRICA for slave trading. They love to steal, but don't like to share....
I was born in NYC. My parents were both born in Puerto Rico. I know what discrimination is first hand. I lived it...
Earn money blogging at Blogcharm!
Amen to that TheClassy1!!!!!
Thank you for your reply.....I couldn't agree more!!