Sunday, November 2, 2008

i hear you, but...

I value peoples opinions and beliefs. Everyone has different opinions and beliefs on everything. It makes things interesting. I respect that and I respect people for forming their own opinions and beliefs...if they're well informed, or if they're using ALL their information on something to form their opinion, instead of picking and choosing what they want to believe.


Last night, some friends and I got into a conversation about politics. It was a wide range of topics, but one thing stuck out that bothers me greatly - the immigration issue that this country has.

I realize that illegal immigrants put a strain on our medical resources. But have you ever asked why that is? It's because they are uninsured. And why are they uninsured? Because they're undocumented. Why are they undocumented? Because they came here illegally. Why did they come here illegally? Because it's too difficult for them to get into this country. Why is it so difficult? Because white bread American leaders don't want them here.

One thing that I am sick and tired of hearing Americans say is that these illegal Mexicans are doing is stealing jobs from them. But who's saying that? Politicians and upper-class (and upper-middle-class) citizens of America. I've looked, and I don't see illegal Mexicans running Fortune 500 companies. I don't see them running for elected office. I don't see them anywhere in white collar America. So where are all these illegal Mexicans working? They're your table bussers and dishwashers. They're your maids. They're your house painters. They're your grape pickers (for that wine you love so much). They're your apple and orange pickers. They're your cooks at McDonald's, Burger King, Fuddruckers. They sell you popcicles in the summer time out of those little pushcarts with the bells on them. They do all the menial jobs that Americans don't want. Americans would rather collect Welfare or other Government Assistance than take any of those jobs. Americans are too good for those jobs, so we give them to the Mexicans who will happily work 2 and 3 jobs to send money back to Mexico so their families can afford food and clothing and put roofs over their heads.

I mean, seriously, who gave Americans the right to create our own private club and the materials to build a giant wall and a sign that says "No Mexicans Allowed"? Why not build a wall around the entire border of the USA? Let's keep Canadians out, too, while we're at it? Oh no! That's just crazy talk, right there. Canadians are cool. They say things like "aboot" and have Mounties. We'll just keep the Mexicans out because they're dirty and don't speak English.


I am just so sick of Americans thinking that they (we) are so superior. We all bleed the same blood. We all evolved from the same species of monkey (or we were all made from Adam's rib...whatever you prefer). This country was founded on the basis that people could immigrate here here and build a better life, to seek solace from the tyranny they experienced in their own home countries.


I am such a mixture of all things minority that I feel beat up on a constant basis. I'm gay. I'm Mexican (well, half). I'm a woman. I'm fat. Everyday, I read, hear, or see something that discriminates some part of me. Some of those things bother me more than others, but they all bother me in some way.

I can't wait until Wednesday and all this voting non-sense is over. This heated debate over Prop 8 in California has me exhausted. I just can't take all this hatred anymore.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Stacey,
I am wondering what are you doing to make the world a better place? (I'll be voting for the presidential candidate who has a strong history of this.)

Hooray for most of the jobs you listed. The people doing them are working legally. I know many immigrants who are in the U. S. legally. It can be done. I am impressed when I meet minorities that don't hold themselves back.

I will be voting yes on 8 today and it has nothing to do with hate. I think it's a hateful slogan from no on 8 supporters.

I have read your blog because it is thought provoking and that is all that these comments are intended to be.

Stacey said...

Anonymous,

I am making this world a better place by trying to teach people that Hate is not a family value. I am showing people by my actions and my words that everyone deserves to be heard, that everyone is an equal person. No one is better than anyone else.

A vote No on 8 is a vote telling your fellow Americans that you are better than they are. That you are a more valued person because you have rights that I don't have and are trying to prevent me from having the same rights as you.

I fight discrimination all the time. Discrimination is NEVER right. Prop 8 is discriminatory and wrong.

I have several blogs on the internet so that I can spread the word that the LGBT community is no different than anyone else. We all bleed the same blood. We all cry the same tears.

The ability to get married is a fundamental right that EVERYONE deserves. People who vote Yes on 8 are frightened and are hiding behind their religion or other personal beliefs because we are different than they are. We are all different from each other - that's how we learn. But how is my marrying a woman different than if I were straight and wanting to marry a black man? It's not the "norm", but it's different than most of the rest of this country. Does that mean that I shouldn't have the right to marry a black man if I wanted? No. Two consenting adults should have the right to marry whomever they want.

As far as immigration - yes, there are ways to do it legally, but how many Mexicans have the $11,000 it takes to get here legally? Most Mexicans are dirt poor and want a better life for their families. That's why they want to come here. But why should it take $11,000 to do some simple paperwork? It's ridiculous, to be quite honest.

I appreciate your honest opinions. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

I can tell that you are quite verbal. But what actions are you really doing?

I have never used or heard any negative words to describe a no on 8 supporter. To not have hatred would be for the no on 8 supporters to stop their negative comments.

Speaking of blood, have you donated any lately? Is not accepting blood from men who have had sex with men or the women in those relationships discrimination? I donate mine freely with no reservations about who would receive it. I am not better than you- just different.

I have been to Mexico and seen the poverty. To me, taking action to help is important. I am doing my best to raise our daughter who is Mexican.

Where I live interracial marriage is a norm.

Let's all make the world a better place.

Stacey said...

Not allowing men who have had sex with men to donate blood is discrimination. It's an outdated regulation that needs to be overturned. There is testing that's done now that wasn't done 20 years ago to weed out viruses and diseases that supposedly gay and bisexual men carry.

I actually haven't donated blood in 2 years because I have had tattoos added to my body and I need to not have had one in 12 months before I can donate.

I can understand how you and others might see my comments as being negative towards Yes on 8 supporters, but what I say is true. The people who are supporting Prop 8 are hiding behind their religion to stifle my rights as an American and as a human being.

The child I am trying to have is going to be a mix of Mexican, European, and Nicaraguan. This child is going to know its history (more than I got to know because my Mexican mother is, admitedly, very whitewashed) and understand that all people are equal - rich, poor, white, black, hispanic, men, women. Everyone is equal. My child(ren) will grow up knowing that discrimination is wrong. That's how I'm changing the world. My words here are how I'm changing the world.

My hope is that one day, though doubtfully while in my lifetime, the majority of Americans will believe the same thing.