Living in southern California you kinda get used to being surrounded by illegal aliens. They do add to and take away from life here and they're here to stay because the co-Presidents of the USA, Vincente Fox and George W., want it that way. So since there here, I was thinking of some ways to have fun with them. My first thought was to put on a dark suit and some sun glasses and drive up to one of there day worker gathering spots in a dark sedan (to look like a government guy) and start taking pictures of them. Let's see how they respond. Another idea was to just drive through an industrial park with a speaker and shout "Migre!". A last one was to print up cards in Spanish and put them on the two blocks worth of cars that park in my neighborhood (overflowing from an apartment complex around the corner) saying something like "we are looking to hire some new immigration agents and will be here Tuesday morning accepting applications, signed uncle sam" and then we'll see how parking looks that morning. My grandfather (a legal immigrant from Ireland) always said "If you're doing nothing wrong, you shouldn't care who's watching." It would be fun to see who's actions say "I'm doing something wrong". Any more ideas? Note: Don't bother throwing the race card because the illegals here are of mixed race and I have ancestors that spoke the prefered language of the illegals. Gracias.
I find that pretty funny (since I'm in the LA area), good times. nothing I would do myself, but it is funny to me.
I lived in LA 17 years, had two of my five kids born there. But the immigrant thing is nationwide now. I am very hot on this subject because I am in an industry that cannot survive without them and EVERYONE knows it. I also have great respect for the group as a whole. I know this is not a popular stance, certainly of late, but, really, have you seen their women??? Not only beautiful, but firey, and true. They'll stay up late at night washing their man's one pair of socks in the sink so he doesn't have to go to work with dirty ones on. I was married to a typical American gal once who didn't much care for work (while I was working three), I bought her a state-of-the-art washer and dryer, and still couldn't get a clean shirt out of the deal. They can stay as far as I'm concerned. What I especially like about this thread however is that it does not seem to be meanspirited. And if they (illegals) really want to assimilate they will have to learn to laugh at themselves. This is one thing America is all about. I am a fantatic for practical jokes so I will think on it and come up with something for ya
I'd be interested in what industry that might be. My first guess is food services and second would be landscaping. Either one could survive without illegals. I find it kind of novel to visit a fast food joint back east and place an order with some white or black American raised kid and I woder "do California kids work?". And without dirt cheap landscaping, maybe a few more of us will remember how to pull that string on the lawnmower and mow that 400 square feet of grass in front of mi casa. Mucho trabajo!
Food services, and forgive me for cutting in on board, Dead Corn, but I'll respond with my experience. As a group, these folks bust their asses to make a better life. They are professional, hardworking, "team players." A good many other folks whine that they have to work so hard, and so they don't last in an industry that ain't pretty, glamorous, or all the other crap being spewed on the Food Network (classic was in my last kitchen - true story - a kid straight from culinary school who whined she didn't want to carry stock pots; she offered 2 weeks' notice, saying "it was too hard," and 'sides, "she just wants to cook for celebrities." I offered my boot, and the door). These people are exemplars of the putative American ideal. They should be welcomed for it.
I'm a bit confused. You have made reference to the "barrio, er, neighborhood," and your posts are replete with Spanish references. What "mixed races" are you referring to? Asians, Pacific Islanders, or Finlanders who happen to speak Spanish? Yep. Find better ways to occupy your mind.
Some countries that speak spanish for reference: Mexico cuba Dominican Republic Argentina Costa Rica Puerto Rico and there are illegals from all these countries and more....
Uh, thanks for the geography lesson, buddy. My point was apparently lost on you. In the same paragraph that he indicates he is not playing a race card, he limits his opprobrium to Spanish speakers. The meaning is clear. "Hispanics," while no longer classifed as members of a "race," apparently get in tbarr60's craw.
Well sue him then... or sue me or both or everyone... geesh... the pc crown is yours buddy. Anyways back to reality. I have had and currently have friends from different races and none of them, whether they came here legally or not, have regrets in coming here and working hard. Some had to fight racism at times, but still find the PC thing to be rediculous. Like when I was in the Dominican Republic, they find the USA to be a joke with all the PC crap. If someone is black skinned you can call them black, no one takes issues with it and gets offended for stating a fact. They seem to take pride in the differences (of course there are some who view the darkness of the skin as negative and the lighter more Dominican, the better)
Barking up the wrong tree, buddy. I am not "pc" about anything, though it might be easier to think this than to, well, think. I loathe the "___-American" nomenclature more than perhaps most, as it tells me the user has classified the "African American" or "Native American" or you-name-it-American as a type, and not as a person. I have black friends, hispanic friends, asian friends, white friends, you name it friends, and, thankfully, fewer enemies of all racial and ethnic persuasions. I've got Indian blood, not "Native American" blood. What I am responding to is getting one's puerile jollies by targetting any one group of people - in this case, Spanish speakers - hispanics. Call it what you will, it's bullshit. Let me, once again, write from the world I come from: My respect for this culture wasn't picked up in a pc pamphlet, nor some college course infused with liberal thinking (this, I came to separately, on many issues). It was earned in 18 hour days, side by side, in ball busting, character-building labor, over the course of years of direct, close contact. They came here to build a life for themselves and their families. They do so humbly, with nothing but their native skills and desire to learn more to show for it. I'm proud to call the guys I worked with my friends, and happy to welcome them to my land as equals. Debunked, you may recall your contribution on Stockings. I'd recommend you think first, then write.
I never did catch what you were saying on the stocker thing until now, I didn't realize I mispelled the word. LOL. My bad. Anyways, I guess what I see with what he is saying was playing a prank on his neighbors, that speak spanish. I guess I don't see any hatred on his part. But then again, most people I have met from L.A. are the most racists people I have ever met - or equal to some skinhead nazis I have met. So, maybe I am wrong on this subject? I would and friends of mine, played some jokes on friends or ours that were illegal - we have done the "la migra, la migra!!" scare before. From what I remember no one took it wrong then.
The post was about illegals. These illegals you work with and their employers, how are they handling taxes? Identity theft, paying under the table (stealing from the country they are enjoying), or do these illegals have a legal tax payer ID? If their culture includes a strong work ethic why doesn't that society provide for them like ours can? I think you are confusing culture with trying to keep themselves out of trouble while illegally working here.
Fair enough, debunked. I've done the same. The key distinction, I would guess, is that these guys were friends. Somehow, if the many threads tbarr60 has posted on the subject are any clue, I can't see him quite hanging with the fellas, and I don't quite see it as "all in good fun." All the best.
Tbarr - <<shhhh - it's a secret>>: I know it's hard to imagine, but close your eyes, and try - some countries reward hard work better than others.
That's part of something called <quiet>CULTURE.</quiet> P.S. My sister has a degree in culinary arts and has been in corporate food service management for over 15 years. She just got laid off, I suppose culture may have led to the loss of the contract.
? ********** Tbarr60 just notified me that he looked up my blog to see where I live, asking if we have immigrants here - implying that as immigrants are few, and that the wave of immigration that exists "was over 100 years ago", in essence, where's my beef? That about right, tbarr? For the record - as I've said on this and other threads. I've worked with these folks over many years. I'm a native Southern Californian, lived on the edge of East L.A. a good part of my life - as I told Rick Michael, not quite the heart of Mi Vida Loca, but close enough. The last several years, Chicago - which we all know, is devoid of immigrants, new and old. A city to which we are likely returning to soon. So, you may want to let that strategy go, old boy. Rather than investigating where my home is located, you might want to try a more substantive tack, and do it on this board. Otherwise, folks may question your motives. Oh, and avoid La Vida Blanco. I'm sorry this happened to your sister. Not knowing your sister, or the circumstances, I have no idea why she got laid off. There may be one or two more people in like situations, and I don't know why they did, either. Probably illegal immigrants who take over corporate food service management positions from culinary-degreed professionals with 15 years experience.
I visited your deer hunting blog and saw that it was referencing the upper peninsula of Michigan where I visited this summer. It seemed odd that a guy that was so pro illegal immigrant would have a blog covering an area with no (inbound) immigration. I think it's wrong to do illegal things. I'm not big on cheating on taxes. Identity theft is not such a great thing in my book. When I had a chance years ago to extend a trip around Oceania by picking kiwis in New Zealand or tending bar in the Australian bush, I opted not to break the law and came home after 3 months. I prefer to be law abiding, you are free to disagree. I'm being a nice guy, I am not calling immigrations, I am letting them stay and suppress the wages of the unskilled and ship the money back home. I was just amusing myself with some prank ideas. Thanks for joining in the fun!
It's only odd to you, buddy. Even before I posted: You might have stopped, taken a breath, and read my original post: Let me help you with the word "experience." Stay with me now: 1. [n] the accumulation of knowledge or skill that results from direct participation in events or activities; 2. [n] the content of direct observation or participation in an event. You see, Tom, though I currently live in this area, I, well, experienced what I wrote; as I said, I worked with these folks, over many years. If you'd bothered to think, rather than investigate where I currently live and post it on this forum, you'd ask yourself - how was I able to "respond with my experience" if that experience was limited to this area? It's clear you enjoy, uh, "amusing" yourself (teenagers call it something else, but O.K.). If it gets you off to play games most men stop playing by the time they reach puberty, knock yourself out. (just a thought - but pulling the wings off flies might better give you your much needed sense of empowerment). Between running around Wilshire Blvd to play childhood pranks, and investigating the residences of DP members, when do you find the time to do productive work? As painful as it might be, many folks' experience differs from yours. You have a tragically limited worldview.
Since you are obsessed with winning this thread, I'll stop responding to you and let you declare yourself the winner.