The Statue of Liberty brings different thoughts to each individual. In our family one phrase comes to mind, "We made it". It isn't easy being a Mexican immigrant trying to make it in America. Every culture has their own struggles and oppressions such as the Irish, African Americans, Asians, and Native Americans in early America. Experiencing life through my parents made me realize the "tough skin" one must have in order to succeed in a land that portrays an immigrant as "alien"
My parents were both born in Mexico. They grew up there until their late teens/early twenties when they decided to move to America. At this time employment in Mexico was hard to obtain. My parents heard about the "American Dream" so they gambled to achieve success, and journeyed across the boarder. They arrived into America illegally and began to raise a family in a foreign location. Compared to Mexico, America was different in weather, landscape, and culture. My parents explained to me that it was very difficult to adapt because of the language barrier. They overcame this obstacle by attending night classes. Now if I look at this situation and take a look at laws that are trying to be passed currently, such as forcing everyone to take the driving test in English, it would make receiving a license for my parents nearly impossible to do so. If my parents could not drive, it would be a slim to none chance my parents would make the effort to learn English. It would have made things so much harder. Once my parents learned English, things were a bit easier. Life was still rough because although they could carry a conversation in English, they still had a thick accent and my dad dressed as a cowboy. This brought a lot of racism and stereotypes. I don't know how my dad did it but he blocked it out and just worked hard. My family only cared about taking care of the family. Throughout the years my parents assimilated and after 13 years both my parents earned their citizenship. I was proud of my parents for becoming American Citizens. This got me thinking though. My parents did have to assimilate to make things easier. I have many assumptions on what caused my parents to try to assimilate such as racism and stereotypes, or maybe media influence.
Now my parents are doing well and are considered middle class. They have done things that they never thought they could have done. Four years ago my parents went on a vacation to New York. It was their first time going there. When they arrived to New York the first thing my dad wanted to do was visit the Statue of Liberty. Once they arrived to the Statue my dad stood there and stared at it for at least 5 minutes in complete silence. The fist words that came out of his mouth were “We made it”.
the image above is borrowed from:www.visitingdc.com/new-york/statue-of-liberty...
That's cool that your parents worked really hard to achieve their success, and the laws that are being passed now would have made it much harder for them to obtain that success. One of the new laws about needing to show your papers when getting pulled over in southern states would have been one of them. I personally think that while this law may seem racist it makes sense from a lawmakers point of view. Illegal immigrants, who do not get their visa and the approval to come into the states take away jobs and opportunities from United States citizens. All in all I can understand why some of the laws are being put into place, but at the same time it is inspiring that your parents overcame much diversity to achieve their dreams and gave their children a better life.
ReplyDeleteNatalie -
ReplyDeleteI think that you are not looking beneath the obvious on this issue. For instance, in the movie "Knocked Up" Seth Rogen's character is actually an illegal immigrant (from Canada) who eventually ends up employed in the U.S. in a fairly respectable IT job. However, the issue of his illegality is never really brought up in terms of him taking away jobs from Americans. In terms of how you feel about illegal Latino/a immigrants do you think that there is a double standard going on there? How can Seth Rogen's illegal status in "Knocked Up" be the butt of several jokes while there is such hostility against those who cross over from Southern countries? Could there be racism embedded in there somewhere?
Make sure to stay critical in your responses. Look beyond the what is being said to what its implications are in terms of gender, race, and class.
- Ruth
Carlos -
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your personal story regarding immigration. I think that it is really touching and important in terms of our class discussion.
In future blogs don't loose sight of the readings as you explore your personal connections.
- Ruth