America is slowing being filled with Latinos, mostly from Mexico. They have permeated the American population in great numbers. Well have our own image of them as a whole.
Stereotypes run rampant through non-Latino cultures. Some people consider them only in terms of immigrants and “illegals”.
Being a white male from Texas, I can only address this issue and an outside observer.
Taking in consideration most of my time growing up and living in Texas has been in the North-eastern part of the state, my exposure to Latinos had been limited until the last 30 years or so. The rest of Texas has always had Latino families in fairly large numbers. Texas, after all, is Nothern Mexico.. taken from Mexico at the point of a gun in 1836, people who’s main motive was to make money with it.
But what I want to address here, is about what I think I know and have seen.
While many white, conservative Americans malign the existence of Latinos in America, and blame them for taking away jobs, there is another aspect few people talk about.
Of course most of these same white conservatives, would feel similarly about any race other than their own, if the truth were known.
Latino culture as practiced here today , is VERY American! But to truly understand that statement, you would have to have to consider the America we had before the 1970’s or 80’s. When I think about today’s Latinos, I see America’s white population 50 years ago.
A vast majority of white American’s worked in blue collar jobs back then or they farmed.
Our value systems were different from to today.
Latinos as a whole, have strong family values. They care for their elderly like we did. They value hard labor like we did. They value skill as much as they did intelligence.
We used to know how to “get by” and “make do”.. Latinos have ingrained in them, still today. Where we find problems today, they have always found solutions. We were once as resourceful as they are now. We once worked as hard as they do now. We once valued helping each other and making great sacrifices for each other as they do now.
A lot more Latinos today believe doing good and doing for each other is a obligation to God for the Grace they have been given far more than whites do today.
While some laugh and scoff at Latinos living so many is such close quarters, they refuse to sacrifice their comfort for the good of their own families. While some struggle with debt and car payments, they scoff at Latinos for driving old vehicles and sharing rides and other resources with their family and friends.
The honest truth, I believe, is that conservative white Americans are afraid of Latinos because deep down they are ashamed. They resent Latinos for shedding light on how selfish and lazy they have become. Fear of Latinos taking over stems from their guilt of letting it happen by their own unwillingness to sacrifice for others and value hard labor and skill. Many of these same conservatives think they are too good to mow their own yards and are not willing to sacrifice for anyone. Where money and self is their true God, these other people know God gives and rules all things.
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Set in New York in the mid-1950s, the musical explores the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The members of the Sharks are first-generation Americans from Puerto Rico taunted by the Jets, a white [1] group who consider themselves the true Americans. ...
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your right about that, in many ways
It's odd don't you think, that Mexicans come to the US for jobs and Americans are starting to go to Mexico for lower cost health care including pharmaceuticals and even operations.
Another reason that conservatives like to scream about illegal immigration is that gives the poor white folks someone to "hate"...and then the poor white folk don't have to time to notice how the rich cons are screwing them...no one on the con side speak about higher fines for businesses/corporations who hire illegal immigrants to work in factories, etc., that just isn't an issue we find on news.
We have at least 2 businesses in my area that have INS raids at least a couple times a year...one makes cardboard boxes--I can't see where actual citizens wouldn't do the job, but then the place would have to pay higher wages and maybe some benefits....
I don't like having so many millions living outside the law. I am furious that employer sanctions were dropped within weeks of Geo. W. Bush's election.
I hated seeing construction jobs, which once provided a good living to young men without college had wages lowered by illegal labor.
I know people who had to get out of the gardening landscaping business because they weren't using illegal labor.
I saw what used to be good part time jobs for some women cleaning motel rooms go to cheaper illegal labor and so on.
So while I do like the people, it is a lie they are doing work Americans don't want to do.
They are doing it cheaper, often for cash, no taxes, for the employer, no worker safety rules, no overtime pay, so many willing to work for so little did harm the American Worker.
Some find a job work hard and contribute to our economy; others just come over to sponge on our system.
We have always been a country that welcomes other people from all over the world; in the 50s, it was the West Indies that came over in droves to do the work that was menial, I can remember there was on kid in my class at school who was black whose family came from Jamaica, there's were the only family on our estate that were black, they were an hard working family, we were not used to seeing other cultures.
Then in the 60s, it was the Indian and Pakistani people that came over, they too are hard working people that work all hours that god sends.
All three cultures in my country seem to look after there loved ones far better than we white people do. Go in many nursing homes In Britain and it will be a rare sight to see any of those three cultures with an old person in residence, that’s because they look after there old parents far better than the white British population.