It’s the 5th of May, and if you live in Mexico, you probably don’t care as Cinco de Mayo isn’t really observed there.  However, if you live in the US, then Cinco de Mayo is a day to celebrate the culture and experiences of Americans of Mexican ancestry.  However, as you enjoy your food, music, and folkloric dancing, keep in mind the origin of the holiday.  May 5th, 1862 – The Battle of Puebla, where the outnumbered Mexicans defeated a much better-equipped French army.

Let’s talk about Mexican’s for a bit.

Like the Russian’s I wrote about on May 9th (note the temporal disorder here), most non-Mexicans don’t know squat about Mexicans.  So, I’ll learn you some, just about the ones you need to know though:

Mexican-American: I did some growing up in Lindsay, California.  It’s mostly populated by Mexican’s (like 95%); consequently, it’s one of the few places in California that doesn’t suck.  These people are mostly migrant workers, picking oranges and olives, and working in packing plants.  As a kid, I worked in an orange packing plant with them, and was honored when one of them said “you work like a Mexican.”  They’re proud, honorable, trustworthy, and very hard-working.  In fact, in 1995, Lindsay was given the All-American City Award by the National Civic League and was also named a California Main Street City in 1987.  They’re as American as apple pie.

Illegal Immigrants:  Unlike the Mexican-American, this usually refers to Mexicans who illegally come into the United States.  Now, I’ve lived my entire adult life in Arizona.  I understand the Mexican’s point of view.  Imagine that you, as an American, discover that you can get a job in Canada working in restaurants, and the pay is $200k/year.  Problem is, this is the part of Canada that speaks French, and you only speak English.  Also, you can’t get into the country legally.  Ok, for $200k/year, most would consider illegally entering Canada to work in their French-speaking restaurants. We could pay off the house and support the family back in the US, and then go home after 3-years.  That’s exactly what the illegal immigrant from Mexico is doing.

Of course, Canada isn’t like that at all.  In all honesty, if it were, I would NOT enter Canada in violation of their law.  Okay, some Americans do go to Canada and illegally get medical benefits from their socialist healthcare system, and they should be shot for it. However, in their defense, Canada’s not even a real country anyway, so I don’t think it counts.  In Arizona, illegal immigration causes tons of social, economic, and political problems (too many to list), as with other parts of the US. Our immigration laws create a system of exploitation, and it needs to be improved.  Most importantly, I’m on this side of the fence, and this is my backyard.  I don’t want to be the welfare system for any country that can’t take care of itself.  This is MY country.  Any immigrant who enters legally works hard and earns their place at the table, I will welcome them with open arms and call them my fellow American.  Regardless of our crappy immigration system, the rules are the rules, and I consider those who enter illegally to steal from America’s wealth to be no better than thieves.

Tags: American, Arizona, Canada, Cinco de Mayo, Culture, French, History, Holiday, Immigration, Law, Mexican, NAFTA, Socialist Pigs, Tradition, War

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 5th, 2009 at 3:50 PM and is filed under News, Rant. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.