Ok, so I am exaggerating and being inflammatory and biased. That’s the beauty of blogs; I don’t have to curve my opinions because it is MY blog. (It’s my party and I cry if I want to). It’s a shame really what is happening in Arizona; I had it in my head to visit every state in this country since I can’t travel outside yet and I thought since the U.S. is so big, varied and beautiful there is still plenty for me to see here without feeling bad that I can’t travel outside yet. So far I’ve been in Louisiana, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, D.C., South Carolina, Rhode Island, Connecticut and of course Florida.
When the concealed weapon law passed in Arizona (allowed in bars and all that) I decided on the spot to forget about visiting the state. I don’t want to be in a place that allows such a lethal combination as guns and alcohol and now that I am one of those bothering spics they want to get rid of I decided, for my safety, to stay away from there. I fit, after all, the description of what they are trying to purge the state of. There goes my visit to the Grand Canyon!
I understand some of the reasoning behind people that are against illegal immigration. You cannot go to Law School for two years and not learn a little to see the two sides of every argument. I understand when “they” say that immigrants should learn English. I completely agree with that statement (but then again I speak it so it may be easy for me to say so), I think that since we decided to come to this country then we have to go native, as they say. We have to try to, not forget where we come from, but definitely try to embrace some of the things that this country offers. We should all make an effort to speak the language. This country offers free ESOL classes (I know because I took them) and they don’t ask you for papers to take ESOL classes why not make an effort and try to learn?
I understand that, what I don’t understand is the vitriol that comes from the people that hate us. It is a little scary to be honest, I have never been in the receiving end of such intense dislike. When I read the comments of users in the online news I feel…I don’t know how to explain it, it’s not fear, or maybe not just fear, but a combination of fear and confusion. Confusion because I don’t see myself as an usurper, I don’t see myself as a burden to this country, I don’t see myself depleting the coffers or using welfare or crowding the ER and leaving unpaid bills. I don’t see myself as an obstacle to progress. I’ve paid my taxes, I pay my bills, I work hard, I contribute and all that I’ve done with the government doing its best to kick me out.
I don’t think people here understand really what it means to be an immigrant. I think they think we want to feel unwanted or that we simply don’t care and that we come here like leeches to suck the U.S dry and take advantage. That is never the case. I think most of them forget where they come from since the U.S. Is first and foremost a country built BY immigrants starting with those first immigrants that came here aboard the Mayflower.
We come here because there is no future where we come from, because we want to work and make money, because we want a roof over our heads and food on our table. We come here because there is no other choice. Why else would we come to a place that doesn’t want us? To a place where we have to learn a new language and struggle through cultural differences? Why else would we leave everything we love and know behind if it wasn’t because we want to work for something better?
To those who say we steal their jobs, I ask, which job am I taking from you? and shouldn’t it behoove you to wonder why they prefer to hire me over you? What am I bringing to the table that you aren’t?
To those who say I’ve caused gang troubles. I am not even going to bother addressing that one, the big cities in the U.S. have always had gang problems and it’s not exclusively a problem caused by immigrants and I am the furthest thing from a homie as you can get.
To those who say I am living on welfare, I have never EVER in the 8 years I’ve been in this country received help from the government. I've worked for everything I have and own and no-fucking-body is going to come and tell me it was a handout.
To those who say we increase the crime rates in areas, all I can say is I don’t even jaywalk and have never broken a law in this country or any other.
What exactly is it that they dislike about me? They don’t know me, they don’t know what kind of person I am, what my goals and dreams are, if I am good or lazy, or hard working and bad. Do they dislike my skin color? Or is it my accent or maybe my customes? Or is it simply the fact that I am here breathing their air, regardless of the reasons, regardless of how hard I work? Is it easier for them to pile me up with a group of people instead of think of us as individuals? With different stories, different reasons, different backgrounds, different personalities, different needs? I guess is easier for them to think of us as a whole group of people instead of thinking of of each of us as a person.
Would it matter if I was blond? Would they even notice I am here if I was a redhead? Or black? Is it my stature and my brown skin that makes me unwanted? Are Irish immigrants in Arizona also unwanted? Canadians? Brittish? Or just the little brown ones? Just the ones of us that look like spics? What about Asians?
I can’t say how sad it was to read that news yesterday on the day of my 8th anniversary of coming to this country.
Is it going to make a difference in my future what happens in Arizona? Who knows, maybe if the law isn’t considered unconstitutional then others might try to pass similar laws in other states and it would spread like a disease and it might eventually touch me.
I guess all we can do is wait and see.
14 comments:
*applause*
I worry about my family members who live in Yuma. Though they are all legal, all work, and have never been near a welfare office, who's to say what will happen if an overzealous law enforcer decides to harass them? I keep thinking about what happened during the years of 1929 and 1930 with the so called Mexican Repatriations. Are we near that point again?
I wonder what will happen when we go back to California in December and have to drive through Arizona. Will we be pulled over and asked for our documents? Or will they let us slide because my husband is Asian and I look like a guera?
This just makes me so bloody sad for Hispanics everywhere.
Thanks for the applause and the comment.
It is sad indeed, there has to be a better way to regulate immigrantion that doesnt smack of racism and profiling. To be honest with you the people scare me more than the actual law.
If you go online to read the reactions of the readers is enough to make your blood run cold and make you want to hide in a hole away from humanity.
I am going to have to read about the Mexican Repatriation because I know nothing about it.
It's gotta make people pause when even Fox News commentators are against the law.
Hey Melo, if you ever watched the movie "My Family", the mom is sent back to Mexico because of the Mexican repatriation...during the Great Depression, they were sent back because they were blamed for the economic crisis
cari
great post! i feel the same way. Arizona is fucked now. bye bye tourism.
I think coming to America illegally is like cutting in line, unfair to others who are going through the system legally.
On the other hand... I ran through your blog quickly, and you seem pretty cool and Chavez is a scumbag.
You've opened my eyes to the plight of some illegals here.
Thank you primis for commenting and now I have to read about it and watch the movie!
Anonymous:
Thank you very much for taking the time to comment and also for reading not just this post but also for reading some of the others.
It is the nicest thing to hear that what I wrote help you see us a litte differently, is not all black and white.
Please keep reading and if you have any suggestions for future posts, or questions, please say so and I´ll be happy to write about it or clarify any doubts.
and thanks for calling me cool. :)
I just discovered your writings. Wonderful stuff.
I'll continue reading through the old stuff read the new as it comes in.
@ Huitz'Sapi,
Thank you so much for reading and commenting. I am at the moment on a short hiatus while waiting for my paperwork to be done. I don't want anything that I have written here used against me for any reason when the moment comes to finalize my process.
The good news is that there are plenty of previous posts that you can read and hopefully by the time you are done with those I will be back.
I hope you continue reading and commenting.
Fuck all spic wetback bean eating fuckers yours truly michael
You seem ok--but that doesn't change the facts. Hispanics are the least likely to graduate from high school of any ethnicity, and that's saying something. The Mexican state is corrupt and near civil war. I have no desire to replicate Mexico here. It is ridiculous(!) that a sovereign nation should even have to take a few moments to defend its right to impose an immigration scheme. You should know better.
As a critically thinking sort of person, I can agree that hispanic people have a bad rep. Their pop music is viral and quite annoying (sorry if this is offensive, but I am not a reggeaton fan and hate hearing it blasted as some dude drives through my neighbourhood... the same overused repetitive beat-style found in every song is not my idea of good music and hate how it has matched Rap in some places as the next genre to try and kill GOOD rock,... similar to how Dubstep is attempting to destroy Trance music.) However, I will also agree that alot of what they go through is unfair and much of the unfairness is race-based. Racism agaisnt Hispannics is the fear of two things: Revanchism from Mexicans and a rising strain on the economy as more illegal hard-working immigrants pile up into a house meant for a family of 4 and do jobs no American citizen wants to do for tax-free pay that half of which is sent back to Mexico where a dollar is worth much more than it is in Europe by comparison. Both scare alot of us....
Now, before anyone either bashes or praises me for saying it like it is, I'm a moderate Liberal. I believe EVERY immigrant should be given a fair chance at getting into the country legally and with as few hassles as reasonably possible. I'm FOR legal immigration and I feel that background checks and fluency in at least proper English (you don't have to speak slang, you'll figure that out in time, like all of us do) should be mandatory and enforced. TO keep Illegals from coming illegaly, however, every business large or small, should be banned from hiring anyone who is undocumented (nationality notwithstanding), let alone tax-free. All workers should contribute to society at large... socialism, you say? Well, when you get old and there's no money for Social Security because less taxes are paid into it, good luck living when you can't work anymore. We need taxes and documented workers to keep the economy going well, although I will be the first to admit that undocumented workers are a negligible strain on our economy compared to the incessant greed of large American corporations who use more government welfare than the poorest hood-rats and the gullibility of idiots who believe in trickle-down economics.
As for the fear of revanchism, it's not unfounded. many Mexicans feel that the area of Texas, Arizona, Nevada, and California belong to Mexico and should be taken back... they call it Atzlan and there is talk of some Mexicans dreaming of "la Reconquista", which if my Spanish is correct, means "the Reconquest". Problem is, Mexico has their Cartel gangster problem as the ogligarchy tends to corrupt the legitimate government there and that puts a severe damper on any possibility of military action. Furthermore, our wastefully high defense budget tends to deter most people from threatening us... aside form some religious zealots. If America falls, it falls from within. No one is arguing that, not even the revanchists. Therefore, the Revanchist Mexicans have in some places, like southern Cali, have resorted to killing black people because of the sole fact that Black people reproduce more than white people. It's a population war and usually restricted to ghettos and occasionally suburbs. It's not necessarily a racial matter of Mexicans having alot of babies.. it's a religious one. Catholicism is the dominant religion down there and Catholicism promotes having many children and forbids birth control or contraception in any form. Sex is for baby-making only to them.... White people tend to have fewer children on average than minorities do, therefore they are less of a threat.
I do not mean to be an asshole here, but I am making observations. I also do not mean to bunch every Hispanic up into one pile. My best friend happens to be hispanic, but he isn't one of the lunatic fringe or desperate types that I refer to. Our blogger here has a legitimate point and she is quite respectable. I don't hate hispanics (just their reggeaton). I only feel threatened by Latin Kings or MS 13 members and the occasional revanchist. I dont' fear losing my job to an illegal immigrant, however... despite Florida failing to pass the infamous "Arizona Law" after our crooked Republitard Governor vowed he would get it passed. I dont' agree with that law anyway, since it does little more than racially profile people, which is counter-productive. Just put up rewards for ratting out undocumented workers and enforce existing immigration laws. The only new law that ought to be enacted is an outright ban on any business taking on workers willing to work for less than minimum wage and without income taxes paid.
Also, sorry for the long, three-post rant...
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