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I haven't sent this yet. Want to hear what you all think...
Try Doing This...
a.Try driving around as a Gringo in Mexico with no liability insurance..and have an accident.
THAT WOULD BE IRRESPONSIBLE. BUT THAT DOESN'T JUSTIFY BIGOTRY.
B.Enter Mexico illegally. Never mind immigration quotas, visas, international law, or any of that nonsense.
A LOT OF COUNTRIES HAVE IMMIGRATION PROBLEMS. BECAUSE THE U.S. IS ONE OF THE MOST AFFLUENT COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD, THE PROBLEM IS GOING TO BE MAGNIFIED HERE. AND BECAUSE MEXICO PHYSICALLY BORDERS THE U.S., IT'S ONLY NATURAL THAT MORE MEXICANS WOULD BE TRYING TO COME HERE. WHILE THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED, IT DOESN'T MEAN WE SHOULD SCAPEGOAT MEXICANS OR ANY OTHER RACE.
C.Once there, demand that the local government provide free medical care for you and your entire family.
ACTUALLY, YOU CAN GET SOME FREE MEDICAL CARE IN OTHER COUNTRIES. NOT EVERYWHERE, AND MAYBE NOT COMPREHENSIVE, BUT IT IS POSSIBLE. BESIDES, DOES THE AUTHOR REALLY MEAN TO SUGGEST THAT A SICK OR INJURED CHILD SHOULD BE LEFT TO DIE BECAUSE HIS OR HER PARENTS CAME HERE ILLEGALLY AND CAN'T AFFORD INSURANCE? WOULD HE OR SHE HONESTLY BE ABLE TO WALK AWAY AND NOT HELP SOMEONE IN THAT SITUATION? I KNOW I COULDN'T LEAVE SOMEONE TO DIE, IT WOULDN'T MATTER WHAT THEIR IMMIGRATION STATUS WAS.
d. Demand bilingual nurses and doctors.
LOTS OF COUNTRIES DO HAVE MULTILINGUAL HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS. AMERICA IS SUPPOSED TO BE MELTING POT, SO WOULDN'T IT STAND TO REASON THAT AMERICA SHOULD OFFER THIS SERVICE?
e. Demand free bilingual local government forms, bulletins, etc.
OTHER COUNTRIES PROVIDE A LOT MORE THAN BILINGUAL FORMS. READ THE FORMS IN MANY, MANY OTHER COUNTRIES. YOU'LL SEE UPWARDS OF 8 OR 10 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES ON SOME THINGS.
f.Procreate abundantly. Deflect any criticism of this allegedly irresponsible reproductive behavior with, "It is a cultural United States thing. You would not understand, pal."
STEREOTYPING DOES NOT SOLVE ANYTHING, IT ONLY ALLOWS PEOPLE TO JUSTIFY THEIR BIGOTRY AND IS INTELLECTUALLY LAZY. "IRRESPONSIBLE REPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOR" DOES NOT EXIST IN ONLY ONE ETHNIC GROUP.
g.Keep your American identity strong. Fly Old Glory from your rooftop, or, proudly display it in your front window or on your car bumper.
PLENTY OF AMERICANS DO JUST THAT WHEN TRAVELING OR LIVING ABROAD. OR IS IT ONLY OKAY FOR AMERICANS TO DO THAT?
h. Speak only English at home and in public and insist that your children do likewise.
MORE STEREOTYPING AND COMPLETELY GOES AGAINST ANY ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE I'VE COME ACROSS. I'VE LIVED IN ETHNIC NEIGHBORHOODS IN THE CITY AND THE CHILDREN WERE, ALMOST WITHOUT EXCEPTION, BILINGUAL. HOW MANY BORN AND BRED AMERICANS CAN SAY THEY KNOW MORE THAN ONE LANGUAGE?
i. Insist that all products' labels, owner's manuals, instructions, etc., be written in English as well as Spanish.
PRETTY MUCH THE SAME ARGUMENT AS "E" TO WHICH I HAVE THE IDENTICAL RESPONSE.
j. Demand classes on American culture in the Mexican school system.
WHEN I HAVE CHILDREN I WANT THEM TO LEARN ABOUT AS MANY OTHER CULTURES AS POSSIBLE. WE LIVE IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY AND WE SHARE A RELATIVELY SMALL PLANET. PRETENDING THE REST OF THE WORLD DOESN'T EXIST IS NOT ONLY IGNORANT, IT'S DANGEROUS. IGNORANCE BREEDS FEAR, FEAR BREEDS HATRED, HATRED BREEDS VIOLENCE AND SUFFERING.
k. Demand a local Mexican driver license. This will afford other legal rights and will go far to legitimize your unauthorized, illegal presence in Mexico.
THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED. BUT, BY CONSTANTLY REFERRING TO MEXICANS ONLY, THE AUTHOR MAKES THIS POINT MUCH MORE ABOUT HIS OR HER OWN BIGOTRY THAN ABOUT SOLVING A COMPLICATED PROBLEM.
L. Insist that local Mexican law enforcement teach English to all its officers.
PRETTY MUCH THE SAME ARGUMENT AS "D" TO WHICH I HAVE PRETTY MUCH THE SAME RESPONSE--WITH ONE SMALL NOTE. I NOTICED THAT THE AUTHOR LIKES TO USE THE WORD "DEMAND" A LOT. AS IF THERE ARE THESE ROVING BANDS OF ILLEGAL ALIENS BEATING UP ANYONE WHO DOESN'T SPEAK SPANISH. I THINK THE REALITY IS THAT BUSINESSES AND SERVICE AGENCIES HAVE FOUND IT'S MUCH EASIER TO DO THEIR JOBS, MUCH EASIER TO HELP PEOPLE, AND MUCH EASIER TO AVOID MISTAKES IF THEY HAVE MULTILINGUAL STAFF MEMBERS AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS. I THINK IT'S MORE A MATTER OF RESPONDING TO A NEED THAN GIVING IN TO A DEMAND. BUT THE WORD "DEMAND" IS MUCH MORE MENACING AND MAKES IT EASIER TO RESPOND NEGATIVELY TO THOSE DOING THE "DEMANDING" I THINK.
Good luck! Because it will never happen. It will not happen in Mexico or any other country in the world... except right here in the United States...Land of the naive! If you agree, pass it on. If you don't, go ahead and try the above in Mexico or Iran, or just about any other country in the world, for that matter.
OKAY, LET'S SUPPOSE FOR A MOMENT THAT AMERICA *IS* THE ONLY COUNTRY "NAIVE" ENOUGH TO DO ALL OF THE ABOVE (A COMPLETELY FALSE PREMISE, IN MY OPINION). DOESN'T AMERICA HAVE THE REPUTATION OF BEING THE BEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD? DOESN'T THAT TITLE IMPLY THAT AMERICA CAN AND DOES (AND *SHOULD*) DO MORE TO HELP PEOPLE THAN ANY OTHER COUNTRY? MAYBE YOU CAN'T GET ALL THOSE SERVICES IN IRAN OR MEXICO, BUT IF THOSE COUNTRIES ARE SO AWFUL WHY DOES THE AUTHOR WANT AMERICA TO BE ON PAR WITH THEM? IF OTHER COUNTRIES AREN'T "PLAYING FAIR" IN THE EYES OF THE AUTHOR, DOESN'T IT DIMINISH AMERICA TO STOOP TO THEIR LEVEL? I CERTAINLY DON'T SEE HOW IT SOLVES ANYTHING.
Words of Wisdom: "Support the country you live in...or live in the country you support"
TO ME, SUPPORTING AND LOVING AMERICA MEANS EMBRACING ALL THE CULTURES THAT MAKE UP THIS MELTING POT, EVEN WHEN IT'S NOT CONVENIENT. THERE ARE INDEED A LOT OF PROBLEMS IN THIS COUNTRY, AND IMMIGRATION IS AN ESPECIALLY STICKY ONE. BUT WE'LL NEVER COME TO A SOLUTION IF WE SCAPEGOAT AND BLAME BASED ON STEREOTYPES AND FEAR.
AS THE GRANDDAUGHTER OF IMMIGRANTS, THESE WORDS MEAN MORE TO ME THAN "Support the country you live in...or live in the country you support":
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
BUT I GUESS I'M JUST NAIVE.
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