Do you think...
I saw the thread on racism, and I have a couple of questions.
Do you think there are too many jokes about Mexicans?
In America, many people make fun of Mexicans, and about how they all have lawnmowers. Do you think this is too much?
5 Answers
Estoy en acuerdo con ustedes. I was brought up in a rural poor family. In the 1960s we grew and picked cucumbers all summer. Back then there were a lot of Mexican migrant workers here in Wisconsin every summer. We liked them because they were poor people from the country like us. We didn't make jokes about them because they were more like us than rich whites were.
I don't have any clues as to solving bigotry, other than trying to follow the Golden Rule in my own life.
Sí, me parece que quien se burla de cualquier grupo, bien sean los mexicanos o cualquier otro grupo étnico minoritario (o hasta mayoritario) merece ser repudiado por la sociedad. Desafortunadamente en nuestro país (USA) eso está muy lejos de solucionarse.
I think it depends upon where you live.
I lived in Houston, TX 25 years ago. There were a lot of Mexicans and a lot of Mexican jokes. Usually, the jokes centered on them being lazy. At the time, I saw many Mexicans working in construction jobs in the terrific Houston heat. Every time I would hear one of these jokes, I would say, "I don't know any lazy Mexicans. All I see are Mexicans working outside all day in heat I can barely stand in. I think that these jokes have it wrong."
In Allentown, Pennsylvania, near where I live, there are many Puerto Ricans and Dominicans. The comments are about them, never Mexicans.
I just attended an interesting community discussion called "Courageous Conversations about Race." The discussion was about the dominant race (whites in the U.S.) and minorities (Latinos and Blacks) and how we are getting along and sharing power. The facilitators pointed out that if we don't want to have racism, then we need to be willing to have the courage to tell people when they say something we think is racist and that makes us feel uncomfortable.
Also, they said that it is important for decision-makers to be looking for opportunities to invite more diverse people into decision-making boards.
I went to Spain for a summer with a good friend. His mother was Spanish and his father was American. I heard people make racist comments toward him because he wasn't full-blooded Spanish. Also, it has never failed when hanging around with some of my Mexican friends for the word "gringo" to be thrown around. To me it all has to do with differences in culture. If someone is not necessarily of the same culture, it is almost expected to come up with funny or harsh comments to say about them. Along this same line, I have seen different cultures find similarities in order to make fun of yet another culture because there is nothing shared. An example: a mixed group of Americans and Mexicans making fun of an Arab because he has even less in common with the two cultures. Just some thoughts...
I live in a county that I suspect will be shown to be 25% or more hispanic when the 2010 census comes out for this state.
I don't hear many jokes about Mexicans. I'm not sure when was the last time I heard a joke like that.
Mexicans where I live don't cut grass for a living. But if you want your roof replaced, you'll probably have a Mexican crew, because they are the only reliable workers available for that kind of work around here. The owner of the roofing company explained to me that he tried to hire Americans, but he couldn't get them to work, or else they'd come to work doing drugs, etc. He said the Mexican guys worked all day and did the job right.
I suppose it depends on where you live and who you run around with, but around here Mexicans don't get made fun of much.
We might joke about how many of them there are, or how there are more places in this town to buy a taco than a hamburger, but that's more joking about the way the population is changing.
