I have to wonder
I bought a new car on Friday and on Saturday we took the trade-in to the car wash to make it presentable to the dealer. (Yeah, I know they said I didn't need to, but it's sort of like cleaning up before the maid comes over--not that I have any experience with that--so she doesn't think you are a complete slob...)
Anyway, virtually everyone working there was Latino. And you know, so what? There was no way to tell which of them might be in the country illegally. If the boys in power (read: Republicans) were so serious about controlling illegal immigration, instead of posturing at election time, they would go after the employers who knowingly hire them. And they would support policies that assist workers in other countries rather than those that ONLY benefit the multinational corporations. But that is an argument for another day. This is a personal reflection.
As I was watching those workers dry my car and clean the windshields, I felt no anger at their existence. Then I reflected on the Vietnamese woman who does my nails. Her father had been a political prisoner in Viet Nam and her mother was left to hold together a family of eight children.
Finally, I thought of my German and Swedish ancestors who, with hope in their hearts of a better life for themselves and their children, left all they knew and loved behind and crossed the ocean to America. I am sure the ones who got here before them resented them too.
So, I have to wonder at those who seethe when they see a brown-skinned person doing a job they wouldn't do in a million years. Do they think of their own grandparents? Do they think that if economic opportunity truly existed south of the border millions would actually leave their family, friends and home, just to come to a land where they didn't know the language and be villified? Anyone who has even considered leaving a miserable job will attest, the comfort of that weekly paycheck is hard to let go of. Now imagine leaving your country just for the chance for something better. Submit To Propeller
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Anyway, virtually everyone working there was Latino. And you know, so what? There was no way to tell which of them might be in the country illegally. If the boys in power (read: Republicans) were so serious about controlling illegal immigration, instead of posturing at election time, they would go after the employers who knowingly hire them. And they would support policies that assist workers in other countries rather than those that ONLY benefit the multinational corporations. But that is an argument for another day. This is a personal reflection.
As I was watching those workers dry my car and clean the windshields, I felt no anger at their existence. Then I reflected on the Vietnamese woman who does my nails. Her father had been a political prisoner in Viet Nam and her mother was left to hold together a family of eight children.
Finally, I thought of my German and Swedish ancestors who, with hope in their hearts of a better life for themselves and their children, left all they knew and loved behind and crossed the ocean to America. I am sure the ones who got here before them resented them too.
So, I have to wonder at those who seethe when they see a brown-skinned person doing a job they wouldn't do in a million years. Do they think of their own grandparents? Do they think that if economic opportunity truly existed south of the border millions would actually leave their family, friends and home, just to come to a land where they didn't know the language and be villified? Anyone who has even considered leaving a miserable job will attest, the comfort of that weekly paycheck is hard to let go of. Now imagine leaving your country just for the chance for something better. Submit To Propeller
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posted by cls at
11/14/2005
