I have to say, this has been my favourite book so far. Although I'be been finding it hard to express my feelings in spanish in class, the discussions we've been having are the reason why I wanted to take this class in the first place. As I read on and especially by watching the movie in class on friday, I've been getting into the mindset of the characters and the sort of suffering they encounter. I knwo that in my last blog I talked about being an immigrant as well and therefore somewhat understanding the position these people are framed in, I have to say this whole debacle is way more out of my world than I would've though. These immigrants are so inscribed with a label of what they can and can't accomplish that they'll never get out of this catch-22. They are treated like trash, and as if they should be grateful for the opportunities of work the Americans give them. However, what the Americans dont realize is that they should be the ones thanking the Mexicans. I really want to see that documentary mentioned in class about the "day without mexicans", and I believe every American should too. What bothers me the most is that althought this book is supposed to be set int eh past and so is the movie, I dont feel like anythign has really changed. The problems they are encountering are a little outdated and I hope that those problems have already been solved for the immigrants (such as sanitation), but my belief is that they still struggle to this day with issues just as serious as those. In a world where equality and humanity is so stressed as qualities to strive for, I feel like they are only applied to those of the same colour skin as the ones in power. What is the point of equality if ony applied to a small percentage of the population?! I have heard it said that the U.S. spends more money on war than my helping its own people cope with life in their own country of residence. I think it's time for whoever takes the seat of power in the states to really take these issues seriously and to not only improve the lives of the rich and powerful to back him/her in decisions, but to also look at those who have no power or standards of living. In this book, the mexicans are so stuck in a circle of poverty and loss because nobody is willing to help them change that. I wonder in Canada if there is any group that feels the way the americans feel in the states: undernumbered, ignored, unrespected. I for one think we are better off than the states but I'd hate to know that a distinct group of people is suffering like that just because of one unifying theme: the colour of their skin or nationality.
2 comments:
It was interesting to read you post as it is from your point of view as an immigrant. I can imagine that you feel much more fortunate than those characters discussed in the book; both by means of the era we are in and being in Canada rather than the US. I agree that the movie we watched in class drives home the experiences of the protagonist in ...y no se lo traigo la tierra. It's almost like it added another dimension to the immigrants of that time. I'm not sure that I understand your comment: "I wonder in Canada if there is any group that feels the way the americans feel in the states: undernumbered, ignored, unrespected." Did you mean how the Chicanos feel, or how the Americans feel?
Your post was very interesting and insightful. The issue of immigration is always magnified by those who have actually experienced it.
I find it really curious that this sort of racial persecution and suffering occurs all over the world though. There are the Chinese in Indonesia, the Africans in France, and the Native Peoples in Canada.
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