Okay, I'll admit -- I'm one of those young'uns that have a Facebook. No, I'm not all about social networking, but I figured I needed a place where I could catch up with old friends after I've forgotten about them for some time. Aside from asking the mundane questions of "how are you?" and "what's up?", I often post small "notes" about random things. Some serious, some not.
The last note I posted was just a small blurb and a link leading to a music video that I found horribly cute. The singer in the video is from Japan and she goes by the name Koda Kumi. Overall she and many other popular singers from Japan are not very well known in the states. Those who have heard of her and other artists like Utada HIkaru and Ayumi Hamasaki are either very much engaged in the pop culture of Japan, or they play video games. No, really. Okay, fine stereotypically. Unfortunately, I fall into both categories, maybe even a third including people who just enjoy foreign music.
A friend of mine posts a comment telling me how he was listening to Koda Kumi's music in his car while driving to class and that he wishes artists like her were successful in the US. A simple statement like that all of a sudden exploded into an in-depth discussion about illegals in the United States. No, he and I were not arguing with each other; in fact we were slapping the icing on each other's cakes.
I'm very irritated with the way our government handles things. First of all, why are we taking care of starving children in Africa when we have starving people in Appalachia? All over our country there are people in need, yet the government wants to play international advocate and try to cater to everyone else's needs. I'm sorry, but right now I kind of don't give two spits about the starving children in Africa or Indonesia or Malaysia or wherever. Until we fix our own hunger issues, we really shouldn't devote all of our time, energy and money to others. I'm not saying, "Don't help them at all." I'm saying, work your way out, not your way in, because one day you'll be shut out.
Next, I'm not sure why we're still in Iraq and those other Middle Eastern countries. We went, we saw, we conquered, and now we're just meddling. C'mon Bush, whaddya doin'? NO, we don't need more money for war funds. NO, we don't need to deploy more troops overseas. Haven't we lost enough? Are you not satisfied with the bloodshed that's already taken place? How many more families are you going to cause to suffer?
And then we hit home -- why in the world would Mexicans want to come here? Why? I'll tell you - it's the falsified American dream that all foreigners are brainwashed into thinking about. Sure, the United States is great! We have awesome tourism hotspots, funny slang in different parts of the country, and states that claim to be "New." (I live in one of 'em.)
My mom tells me stories all of the time about how before being sent to the States, they were made to watch videos and sit in on lectures on how great our country is. How the air is cleaner, the food fresher, the opportunities greater. I will agree with the latter, though the former two are completely false in my opinion. I believe that if an immigrant wants to come plant their two foreign feet on authentic US soil, by all means I encourage them to! I love being an "American," and I would have it no other way (though being Canadian sounds just as enticing).
The want to be here, to be an "American," to be in the land of great (epic, awesome, unrepressing) opportunity is so grand that people wait months, years, decades to come over here. That, my friend, is determination. Now this is assuming they've done it the legal way - immunizations, passports, paperwork, blah-blah, blah-blah, blah-blah~ Those people are the people I welcome with open arms. Good for you! You have patience.
Then there are the Southern Belles. My God, Mexicans from Mexico, why must you persist to evade American authority and live in our land for free while others have to slave and wait and tire themselves out just to live the "American" dream? I understand you know that our country's so great (ahem), but come on now.
The women are slick. Get pregnant in Mexico, come a few weeks before you're due, pop that little sucker outta your body, and POOF. Instant citizenship. At least for the child. In my sick little world, little illegal mothers will get deported SANS CHILD. The child will be put in foster care, those foster families will get paid (as they do anyway), and if the mother wants to be with her child, she must either A) enter the States legally, or B) request the child be deported to Mexico, where it should have been born in the first place. Mexico and their babies are like Vegas - what happens there stays there...unless they get a visa or immigrate to the States legally.
I must sound like some bigot, but believe you me, in the back of your mind, you're saying, "I kind of agree."
Don't get me wrong - I love Mexicans...love their food, their music, their dance, their everything (though the guys are kind of creepy). But come on!
Another thing that blows my whistle is the language riff-raff. In America, we speak American. It's a lesser form of English, derived from the Queen's mouth, because apparently the people of England HATE the way we speak. When you come to America, you speak American or English (whichever you learned first), no questions asked. Don't come here speaking Spanish, expecting everyone to "comprende" you. That would be like an American going to China and saying, "What's up, dude?" to the hotel owner. Not only would he not understand, he'd probably toss you out for lack of comprehension.
The bottom line: you go to a foreign country, you speak a foreign language (or find someone who can speak...whatever it is you speak).
And what about the National Anthem? The country's sacred song... Who's dumb idea was it to write it in SPANISH and record it in SPANISH? Sorry, you in America now.
My dad tells me often, "I think people living on the Mexico/US border should have the right to shoot any illegal that tresspasses." I think that's a little extreme, but he's got a point. Why wait for the border patrol? I mean, God forbid an illegal runs by when Dunkin' Donuts is having free iced coffee day or $.29 donut day, the bp may not even be alert enough to realize it.
You think I'm joking.
How many illegals are currently living in the US? You KNOW the government knows. Where was border patrol when they snuck by? Hmmmmm? They send out reports every so often with stats that have what people live where in percentages. I could have SWORN I read a percentage that had something that referred to illegals. Maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me. Maybe it actually said non-citizen, which is a legit thing, but...whatever.
Either way, my point is: if you can't get here the same way as everyone else, don't bother because we don't want you here anyway. Think of it as waiting in line for two hours to get into the club, only to get butted in front of by some random person that's not even from around the area...like they're from Texas or something...and you're in NY. You'd be pissed, right? I mean they're going to get in before you, but you've been waiting longer.
I need sleep. Now.
