I've pondered over this the last couple of days since the passing of stupid law in Arizona and secretly for a couple of years based on a comment made to me.
I will readily admit, I do not look like I am of Hispanic descent. Being my father was of Northern European and my mother of Spanish/Mexican heritage the blending of ethnic groups shows up differently with their children. As my Mom was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas she does not have very fond memories of growing up there. She wanted both my brother and I to assimilate as much as possible. In doing this, she also did not teach us either of us the language and/or its culture. However, there were times as we were growing up that she taught us some of the customs and holiday celebrations.
I asked her when I got older why she did not teach us the language and she told me, "because I did not want you having an accent as I did and that was the first thing people judged you on". People will make quick assessments of you because of this and think you are not educated or equal to them. As I thought about this at the time a little later, she was quite true in this statement.
My Mom had many secrets in her life time, and we sometimes had a difficult relationship, but she did teach me to be proud of who you are and that you can do anything you set your mine to do in this world. I can remember even when she boycotted the grocery stores during the Cesar Chavez days. As she got older she did share more stories of her background with me.
You wonder about the comment made to me. One day at work, someone saw a picture that I had of my Mom on my desk. They wanted to know if that lady was my Nanny. Knowing that I am an expressive person, after I picked my jaw off of the floor, I told them, "no that is my Mother". This person then told me, well, "I didn't know you were a Mexican, because you don't look like one". As I calmly asked this person to leave my office, I stewed over her comment and pondered it for a couple of days.
A couple of weeks later we were having a diversity training overview which I volunteered to present to our department. Yes, my subject was "What are we suppose to look like?" I gave a presentation on people's misconceptions on what they assume people of various backgrounds/ethnic/religious backgrounds are too look like and act. It was a very interesting and engaging conversation. I attempted to make the conversation as un-threathening as possible and once I put it out there about even some of my pre-conceived ideas (because we all have them, it is just if you want to admit to them or not), the conversation opened up. Was it worth it to do, you betcha.
So yes, I am proud non-speaking Latino person of Mexican/Spanish and Caucasian heritage. And even though I don't look like one of Hispanic background, don't worry, there are many more of us that are like this as well. And we could be of Asian, African-American, Indian mix as well. What is the saying, "Don't judge a book by its cover"...............
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
What the Hell is Arizona Thinking?
I am totally disgusted with the Legislature and Governor of Arizona. How they could pass this immigration law they just did totally astounds me. Do they actually believe their law enforcement people are going to really know who is here legally and who isn't. Oh that is right, they will know who is here illegally based on "how they look, dress and talk". And this is not racial profiling, give me a break!!!! What else in the hell do you call it.
They are singling out only one particular group, those of Hispanic orgin. Now, don't we also have Asian, Russians, Arabs, Europeans, and other's in this country illegally? What about students, professors and professionals who have come over here to go to school or work and never returned back after they got done with school or their job. I get it that our borders need to be protected, but how in the hell did we end up with 12 million people here, who shouldn't be here? Someone is getting some payment at these borders and/or looking the other way.
We must do something about the individuals here illegally, but this law absolutely is not the way to do it. Unless they pass a law that says everyone must carry a National ID card which would prove you are a US Citizen or here under some other means (Work, School, Tourist Visa, Green Card, etc, etc.) Taking care of the illegal individuals means our lawmakers have to make some tough choices and also put it out there for everyone to know how they are going to vote on such a measure. But you know, they are too dam chicken shit to do this because they don't want to offend this group or that group.
I just hope the ACLU gets this new law over-turned and found to be illegal as it should be.....
Arizona, it will be awhile before I visit your beautiful state and spend money there. Others should think about boycotting Arizona as well.
They are singling out only one particular group, those of Hispanic orgin. Now, don't we also have Asian, Russians, Arabs, Europeans, and other's in this country illegally? What about students, professors and professionals who have come over here to go to school or work and never returned back after they got done with school or their job. I get it that our borders need to be protected, but how in the hell did we end up with 12 million people here, who shouldn't be here? Someone is getting some payment at these borders and/or looking the other way.
We must do something about the individuals here illegally, but this law absolutely is not the way to do it. Unless they pass a law that says everyone must carry a National ID card which would prove you are a US Citizen or here under some other means (Work, School, Tourist Visa, Green Card, etc, etc.) Taking care of the illegal individuals means our lawmakers have to make some tough choices and also put it out there for everyone to know how they are going to vote on such a measure. But you know, they are too dam chicken shit to do this because they don't want to offend this group or that group.
I just hope the ACLU gets this new law over-turned and found to be illegal as it should be.....
Arizona, it will be awhile before I visit your beautiful state and spend money there. Others should think about boycotting Arizona as well.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Why the Obsession??
Okay, I have ranted on about this with a couple of friends, however, I can no longer just wonder about this. What the hell is with the public's obession with Tiger Woods and other's marriage woes.
Tiger is a gift golfer, however, his private life is his private life. I don't care who he is seeing, bedding, texting or that his wife went after him with a golf club. Does his antics affect me or you, no way......... We seem to have this fascination with who is sleeping with whom. Then our TV lineup is all about this news for weeks on end. Just like Michael Jackson and others. Michael Jackson was also a gifted songwriter and performer however, he was a drug addict. His family had to have known what he was doing and they chose to look the other way. Now he is gone and he is made into a hero..... As to if he fondle little boys, I do not know. I would hope not, but it appears as if he did and his accusers accepted money settlements. So what do you say.
Maybe I am still in a funk on a comment someone made yesterday..... Now that comment and the hoopla that might create is just not worth putting into print. All I'll say is that everyone needs to understand we are all of different religions, colors, ethnic backgrounds and we should not judge one particular religious group based on the 15% who hate you because you will not follow their mantra.... If we did this, everyone who is not of the same religion or belief as the person who made these comments yesterday would not be allowed outside of their house. I can say that I told this person, "oh come on now, you cannot seriously believe or want this". Sorry to say they probably do. Which is probably why I consider this person more of an acquaintance than a friend... And then I have to say to myself we are entitled to our opinions and belief's, however, I learned a long time ago, you must say something if you feel that other person is being prejudicial. Because if you don't then we could go backwards.
Tiger is a gift golfer, however, his private life is his private life. I don't care who he is seeing, bedding, texting or that his wife went after him with a golf club. Does his antics affect me or you, no way......... We seem to have this fascination with who is sleeping with whom. Then our TV lineup is all about this news for weeks on end. Just like Michael Jackson and others. Michael Jackson was also a gifted songwriter and performer however, he was a drug addict. His family had to have known what he was doing and they chose to look the other way. Now he is gone and he is made into a hero..... As to if he fondle little boys, I do not know. I would hope not, but it appears as if he did and his accusers accepted money settlements. So what do you say.
Maybe I am still in a funk on a comment someone made yesterday..... Now that comment and the hoopla that might create is just not worth putting into print. All I'll say is that everyone needs to understand we are all of different religions, colors, ethnic backgrounds and we should not judge one particular religious group based on the 15% who hate you because you will not follow their mantra.... If we did this, everyone who is not of the same religion or belief as the person who made these comments yesterday would not be allowed outside of their house. I can say that I told this person, "oh come on now, you cannot seriously believe or want this". Sorry to say they probably do. Which is probably why I consider this person more of an acquaintance than a friend... And then I have to say to myself we are entitled to our opinions and belief's, however, I learned a long time ago, you must say something if you feel that other person is being prejudicial. Because if you don't then we could go backwards.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Old Friends
Well, over the last two years, I have reconnected with old friends and discovered family. Something must be in my karma lately as I recently reconnected from one of my oldest friends. Her name is Stephanie, aka Steff. We go way back. We've known each other since about 3rd or 4th grade. Went thru Jr High together and High School. We were kind of the odd ones in school as we came from homes where our parents were divorced and remarried. In the 60's that was so unheard of.
Even when I moved away (1963 to 1966) for a couple of years because my step-Dad was in the Army we still kept in touch by writing letters. Writing letters is probably old school to some but that is how everyone kept in touch at that time. We didn't always get a chance to talk on the phone because our letter writing was constant. We shared everything with each other in those letters, boyfriends, schools, etc. She would get my letters of being the new kid in school, being in a new location that I thought was so foreign. Today, I would call it a displaced Califorian living on a military base in Missouri and then Kansas. Stef was my savior to hear what was going on and what was "hip" in CA......
When we moved back to CA, she made fun of my new half-assed CA/Southern accent. I worked that whole summer to get rid of that accent. Even though I was gone for about 2 1/2 years it was like I had never left. Her Mom was still a character and Stef and I picked up our hanging out like it was yesterday.
Looking back on the things we did, boy we could tell some stories. However, we won't go into a lot of them.
I can share there is probably nothing worse than having a father watch over 2 teenage girls for the summer. Steff's Dad was the Harbor Master up at Lake Berryessa. This is where I learned how to ski. Looking back we probably gave him some more of his gray hairs than when we got there. But they were fun times.
We grew up, got married, had kids and then lost touch with each other. Over the years, I've wondered what she was up too and doing. As one of the last connections we had was my ex-husband, he had lost touch with them as well so I was not able to locate her. Well the internet defintely provides a way now for locating people and family. A couple of days ago, her name popped up on classmates.com finally. So I sent her an email and then also decided to check out facebook. Well, we have hooked up and I hope we are able to keep in touch.
Friends have history. It is also interesting to see how friends go through things that you don't necessarily go through with family. You also share things with friends that you probably don't with family.
I feel very happy to have reconnected with Stef and hope that we can regain our friendship again. Life is too short.......
Even when I moved away (1963 to 1966) for a couple of years because my step-Dad was in the Army we still kept in touch by writing letters. Writing letters is probably old school to some but that is how everyone kept in touch at that time. We didn't always get a chance to talk on the phone because our letter writing was constant. We shared everything with each other in those letters, boyfriends, schools, etc. She would get my letters of being the new kid in school, being in a new location that I thought was so foreign. Today, I would call it a displaced Califorian living on a military base in Missouri and then Kansas. Stef was my savior to hear what was going on and what was "hip" in CA......
When we moved back to CA, she made fun of my new half-assed CA/Southern accent. I worked that whole summer to get rid of that accent. Even though I was gone for about 2 1/2 years it was like I had never left. Her Mom was still a character and Stef and I picked up our hanging out like it was yesterday.
Looking back on the things we did, boy we could tell some stories. However, we won't go into a lot of them.
I can share there is probably nothing worse than having a father watch over 2 teenage girls for the summer. Steff's Dad was the Harbor Master up at Lake Berryessa. This is where I learned how to ski. Looking back we probably gave him some more of his gray hairs than when we got there. But they were fun times.
We grew up, got married, had kids and then lost touch with each other. Over the years, I've wondered what she was up too and doing. As one of the last connections we had was my ex-husband, he had lost touch with them as well so I was not able to locate her. Well the internet defintely provides a way now for locating people and family. A couple of days ago, her name popped up on classmates.com finally. So I sent her an email and then also decided to check out facebook. Well, we have hooked up and I hope we are able to keep in touch.
Friends have history. It is also interesting to see how friends go through things that you don't necessarily go through with family. You also share things with friends that you probably don't with family.
I feel very happy to have reconnected with Stef and hope that we can regain our friendship again. Life is too short.......
Monday, April 5, 2010
Luggage and 4 Adults
Well last week Cathy and Dennis headed out this way from NM and spent about a week with us. It was good seeing them as always and it also gave us a chance to talk about our trip.
As we are renting a car for our land travel portion we have been discussing over the last couple of months about what size luggage we need. At the beginning, Cathey mentioned they had 29" suitcases. When Ron and I went to check out that size we were blown away as those are really, really big suitcases. I looked at Ron and said "don't believe that would fit into our rental car" at least not 4 of em. So we have been discussing what size is it we really need.
So last week we headed down to the mall and checked out luggage. Now, I don't like to shop that much and Ron accuses me of being an emotional type of shopper, however, he will compare until there is no tomorrow. It gets down right embarassing sometimes with his comparsion shopping and all. Well, I was surrounded by 3 of these type of shoppers last week. Day 1 we went to Target, Wal-Mart, Costco, SAM's. Day 2 we went to Penney's, Macy's and a upscale luggage place. We found a good sale at both Penney's and Macy's however, the deal at Penney's was the best. We now have 4 27" pieces of luggage for our travels. Then after buying these pieces of luggage we went over to the VW and Mazda dealership's and yes you are right, we placed our luggage in the bag of these vehicles (which are similar to what we will rent) to see if they fit. They did, so we are now happy campers.
As we are renting a car for our land travel portion we have been discussing over the last couple of months about what size luggage we need. At the beginning, Cathey mentioned they had 29" suitcases. When Ron and I went to check out that size we were blown away as those are really, really big suitcases. I looked at Ron and said "don't believe that would fit into our rental car" at least not 4 of em. So we have been discussing what size is it we really need.
So last week we headed down to the mall and checked out luggage. Now, I don't like to shop that much and Ron accuses me of being an emotional type of shopper, however, he will compare until there is no tomorrow. It gets down right embarassing sometimes with his comparsion shopping and all. Well, I was surrounded by 3 of these type of shoppers last week. Day 1 we went to Target, Wal-Mart, Costco, SAM's. Day 2 we went to Penney's, Macy's and a upscale luggage place. We found a good sale at both Penney's and Macy's however, the deal at Penney's was the best. We now have 4 27" pieces of luggage for our travels. Then after buying these pieces of luggage we went over to the VW and Mazda dealership's and yes you are right, we placed our luggage in the bag of these vehicles (which are similar to what we will rent) to see if they fit. They did, so we are now happy campers.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)