Sunday in the Park with Jorge
At the big Hansen Dam Recreation Center in the northeast San Fernando Valley last Sunday afternoon, a couple of thousand people were gathered to picnic. This was no special occasion, just a normal Sunday.
The crowd was virtually 100% Latino -- before I arrived with my family, a friendly African-American guy selling funnel cakes was the sole non-Hispanic. While we are constantly lectured about the wonders of "diversity," Mexicans seem to prefer ethnic homogeneity and monoculturalism. Indeed, the scene was identical to ones taking place a thousand miles to the south, and the picnickers couldn't be happier about that....
Neoconservative commentators frequently assume that Mexican immigrants will automatically assimilate into American culture because our way of life is just so much more wonderful. In reality, however, Mexican culture is mature, stable, deeply rooted, and highly appealing to Mexicans. ...
The idea that Mexican immigrants will gladly give up Mexican culture wouldn't make much sense to the people in Hansen Dam park. They were having a lot more fun than gringos would have.
About a dozen small bands were blaring mariachi music, creating a festive (if clashing) sound track. Horseback riders wove in and out among toddlers. Vendors sold South-of-the-Border specialties such as watermelon chunks covered with hot sauce.
Of course, the reason for much of the fun at Hansen Dam was that the LAPD has apparently given up trying, under sheer weight of numbers, to enforce any of those maricon American laws.
I'm not even talking about immigration laws, but about the kind of health, safety, and environment rules that are the pride of American liberalism. In contrast, Fred Reed, the curmudgeonly columnist who recently moved to Mexico because
One of the conundrums of modern politics is that lax immigration enforcement is importing a vast class of people who hold many of the proudest accomplishments of modern American liberals in contempt, on those rare occasions when the illegal immigrants even notice them. Mexicans bring with them a macho culture, which has its strengths and weaknesses, but they aren't strengths that liberals admire when found in white Americans.
... Say you're sitting around in the park with your brand new cowboy hat on, pounding back a few cervezas, and it occurs to you that since you have got the hat, you should get the horse to go with it. What could make more sense than going for a horseback ride through a crowded park full of tiny children?
Well, at Hansen Dam, you're in luck!
In the American part of
But at Hansen Dam on weekends, there are horse-owners around everywhere who will rent you a horse, few questions asked. They don't have signs advertising their business because what they are doing is illegal, so you have to ask (in Spanish, of course).
If one of the many toddlers about happens to stumble under the hooves of your mount and get trampled, well, that's tragic, but who could have foreseen such bad luck?
About 50 feet from where we were sitting, two young men started punching each other as hard as their state of inebriation would allow. Their friends swarmed in and separated them, trying to get the hotheads to calm down. But every few minutes, one would slip free from the restraining hands and attack his rival again. This was quite entertaining, but the fourth time the fight flared up, I got concerned that eventually somebody might pull out a gun.
So, we took off, gingerly dodging the drunk drivers in the parking lot. ...
In summary, there's much about Mexican culture I like. Ultimately, though, while
I shouldn't have to. That's what having separate countries is for. [More]
I shouldn't have to. That's what having separate countries is for. [More]
My published articles are archived at iSteve.com -- Steve Sailer
You're a lot more tolerant and appreciative of vibrance than I am, Steve Sailer.
ReplyDeleteI refuse to go to the Fresno County Fair precisely BECAUSE a traditional Central Valley harvest festival has turned into a largely Latino extravaganza, and I simply refuse to appreciate that change.
But there might not have been a tremendous amount of danger that anyone would pull a gun during any of the incidents that you witnessed.
It was possible certainly, but based on my experience as a publicly-appointed criminal defense attorney who finds that Latinos make up the lion's share of his clientele, I would guess a knife fight or a beer bottle fight (i.e., the combatants throwing empty beer bottles at each other after finishing the beer) would be more likely.
My interviews with clients who have been arrested after such incidents have a depressing similarity to them -- "Well f*** man; he tried to f*** with me, so I decided that I was going to f*** with him".
Sometimes this is a case of angry young man-children growing up without any masculine influence in their lives and trying to find their manhood, but often the youngsters are just taking after dad.
If Jr. is 20 years old and covered with bruises and tattoos, Dad is 40 and a little grayer and covered with still more bruises and tattoos.
This might be an example of the sort of family values that don't stop at the border. Another example -- that your "horse" example reminded me of -- would be that which I witnessed at Dodger Stadium many times before moving to Fresno.
I usually sat on one of the upper levels, and if one sits at the upper levels, one is likely to witness a little nino happily playing along a railing that is designed to separate him from a pretty dangerous drop beneath.
It astounds me that mama and papa and a series of tios and abuelos will watch the youngster playing along the rail without hastily pulling him away from the obvious danger, but it was something that I saw a number of times.
I haven't heard of any accidents of that sort taking place at Dodger Stadium so maybe such near-accidents aren't as commonplace as I imagine.
Yes, I figured a knife was more likely, but I wasn't looking forward to being a witness and having to go downtown a lot to testify.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I saw a drunk fall from the upper deck in old Comiskey Park in Chicago in 1983. Fortunately, he landed on a catwalk about 12 feet below and didn't kill himself or any fans below.
Why does this sound... depressingly... familiar?
ReplyDeleteOr is the theory of one of your readers (that because Spain was invaded by Arabs, their genetic profile was "tainted" by that influence whose accompanying dysfunctionality was then carried over to Latin America) true?
Nawww, it can't be... Or can it?
JD
Do the Korean or the Japanese have "family values" like these? How about the Mongolians? I'm not asking rhetorically.
I keep waiting for the penny to drop with people who go to Burning Man, and the large number of less publicized culturally white American festivals. Why is it desirable to drive a zillion miles out in the desert to do your drugs? *To get away from Mexicans.* The Pennsic War, polyamory conventions, same thing. Maybe when gas finally makes it too expensive for a large enough conglomeration to go be white at each other people will start to wonder why they can't have their own kind of fun in the local parks they pay for.
ReplyDeleteI think it's hilarious that these festivals which are so very very clearly the last gasp of white America are full of people who get unbelievably indignant when you point it out. "Look, here's five Chinese Harvard grads and some people dressed up like Africans! It's not about being white, dammit!"
By the way, I saw a drunk fall from the upper deck in old Comiskey Park in Chicago in 1983. Fortunately, he landed on a catwalk about 12 feet below and didn't kill himself or any fans below.
ReplyDeleteSo far this baseball season two people in New York, one at Yankee Stadium and one at Shea, have been seriously injured when obese drunken fans have fallen on them.
As for the partying at Hansen Dam, while it sounds a bit uncouth, in some ways it's nice that people can have fun without the nanny state nannying away.
I like your blog sometimes Steve, but posts like these don't really grab me. Mexicans today are like the Irish 100 years ago, the Germans 200 years ago. At some point we won't even notice the difference. It's always the same, Immigrants come to America, and people comment on their difference until the differences are no longer apparent. They end up adding a few strands to the cultural tapestry while basically assimilating over a few generations.
ReplyDeleteMexican and Mexican - Americans have always been a part of the America anyway, whats so new here? And like pretty much every ethnic group in America they also like being homogeneous. So what? Most people like living with people who are like them. Why would it be a surprise Mexicans here want to also?
There really isn't much too this post. I am somewhat disappointed...
"Do the Korean or the Japanese have "family values" like these? How about the Mongolians?"
ReplyDeleteCan't say much about the Mongolians (I doubt there are many in America, since there aren't even that many in Mongolia), but I can say something about Koreans and Japanese, of whom we have plenty here (Bergen County, NJ). The answer is "no". We really don't have any of the sort of lawlessness Steve describes at our public parks -- not even by our Mexicans, for that matter.
When our Koreans and Japanese are at our local parks, the older ones walk around the bike/running path in non-athletic clothes, while the younger ones roller blade. They also play tennis. Not so much with the picnics. You can also find them at the driving ranges and golf courses. BTW, Asian women in my county have the longest life expectancy of any demo in America: 91 years, if memory serves.
... these festivals which are so very very clearly the last gasp of white America...
ReplyDeleteCertainly the last gasp of liberal white America. But you clearly meant that without saying that. That may be why the Bush wing of the GOP feels it has to raise the banner of liberalism so often: because the Dem liberals are going extinct.
I like your blog sometimes Steve, but posts like these don't really grab me.
ReplyDeleteIt's apparent the emphasis is on "sometimes"; otherwise you'd know how tired and threadbare your arguments are.
Mexicans today are like the Irish 100 years ago, the Germans 200 years ago.
Why? Because you say so? I say mestizos are nothing like the Irish or the Germans, today, or 100 years ago, or 200 years ago.
At some point we won't even notice the difference.
Why? Because you say so? How are brown mestizos going to blend in with northeast Euros the way northeast Euro immigrants (Irish, German) do?
It's always the same, Immigrants come to America, and people comment on their difference until the differences are no longer apparent.
No, it's not always the same. Jews are still remarkably different from Euro-Americans, and they're nothing if not the quintessential American immigrant success story.
The Irish are still living out their revenge against the English in America, politically.
Blacks have been here longer than anyone, and they're still failing.
They end up adding a few strands to the cultural tapestry while basically assimilating over a few generations.
Everyone pretends conditions vis-a-vis assimilation are the same for mestizos and other non-whites today as they were for white immigrants a century or two ago. Why? They're obviously quite different, even opposite. A century ago the natives demanded assimilation. Today the natives are spineless weaklings more likely to demand their fellow natives assimilate to the aliens than the other way around. PC has infected the natives and turned them into lily-livered surrender monkeys - who'd want to assimilate to that?
Mexican and Mexican - Americans have always been a part of the America anyway, whats so new here?
I can think of about 20 million plus differences.
And like pretty much every ethnic group in America they also like being homogeneous. So what? Most people like living with people who are like them. Why would it be a surprise Mexicans here want to also?
So, which non-white ethnic group do you belong to?
There's a limit. We're past it.
There really isn't much too this post. I am somewhat disappointed...
Your feelings are irrelevant.
What's in letting America turn into the third world for us? Why should any of us be a surrender monkey like you?
Can't say much about the Mongolians (I doubt there are many in America, since there aren't even that many in Mongolia)
ReplyDeleteActually, there are quite a few in America, and not long ago they tried to erect a statue in honor of that great defender of liberty - you guessed it - Ghengis Khan.
Mexicans today are like the Irish 100 years ago, the Germans 200 years ago. At some point we won't even notice the difference/
The Irish and Germans were genetically almost indistinguishable from the base British population.
What about other groups? Jews haven't exactly assimilated. Whites in America vote, on average, about 60% Republican. Jews vote 80% Democrat. And should we even get into blacks, who have been here 350 years, been free for 140, and have yet to even approach assimilation?
If you really do like Steve Sailer's blog then you'll appreciate his one common theme: genetic differences matter, and races have huge genetic differences.
Grizzlie -- Why the disparity between Mexican and say, Japanese men in America? In terms of behavior?
ReplyDeleteI'd say it's pretty much like African-Americans. The hardest, most macho man gets rewarded with the hottest women. Which in turn does not engender respect for women among men (since that produces a few winners and a lot of losers).
IMHO Mexican and African-American culture derive their values and rewarded behaviors from the choices of men and women in the mating dance. African-Americans during segregation had radically different standards of sexual conduct, so it would appear that culture can change radically.
In theory, you'd expect "Americanization" if the number of immigrants to native Anglos was small enough that social forces made the male-female choices change. But of course there's a tidal wave of immigrants and re-inforcing culture from Mexico (unlike Ireland or Italy) right next door.
Why the Macho-ness, the drunkeness, the tatoos and bruises? Because that's what gets rewarded by the hottest barrio women. Just like Mayor Tony's "power" got rewarded by a string of Latina and Korean mistresses, allegedly.
The law-breaking that Steve cites, it's all connected to what gets rewarded. While generally nice Japanese, South Korean, and Chinese women prefer men who are professional, law-abiding, with good incomes and a profitable career.
I suppose you probably *could* in theory change Mexican men's behavior if you could establish a reward system like that, but the practical difficulties seem impossible.
Liberal America? No. Absolutely not.
ReplyDeleteWhat is going on there would be obvious if we didn't have effective birth control. It's like salmon swimming upstream to spawn, except in this case, it's the children of the generation that was ethnically cleansed from the cities and inner suburbs by forced integration coming together to mate.
It's not about politics, and it's only marginally about drugs - it's about sexual display in an environment where the women feel safe. You could make an argument that this is what really caused the sexual revolution - one dominant ethny making a large enough chunk of the world safe enough for their women that the party could really get started. Just imagine, if the Immigration Act of 1965 hadn't passed, we could all be living a Heinlein novel. OK, I can't stop laughing now.
Karen,
ReplyDeleteYoung white lefties don't need to drive out to the desert to be with other young white lefties. They can move to Williamsburg, Brooklyn and similarly gentrifying neighborhoods in cities around the country.
A city like New York is great for lefties who can afford it, because you can have lots of diversity there with little adverse impact on your quality of life -- it's almost an illusion of diversity. There may be Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, African Americans, and myriad other groups walking around, but you're not really hanging out with them as an affluent lefty. Aside from a few token highly-educated African Americans, your diversity is limited mainly to WASPs, Northeast Asians, and Jews. Those are the groups that frequent your coffee shops, restaurants, and bars; those are the groups that go to school with your kids, at private schools or ultra-selective public schools.
"African-Americans during segregation had radically different standards of sexual conduct, so it would appear that culture can change radically."
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the most cherished lies among conservatives. It would be more accurate to say that "African-Americans during segregation had radically different standards of sexual conduct than white Americans." The idea that welfare and liberalism caused the "collapse of the black family" is BS. The "chaotic" family arragnements seen among blacks today are a continuation of African traditions.
You need to read a book called "The Promised Land" if you think blacks' standards of sexualy morality and family structure were like those of whites until liberals messed things up.
Why do you think Burning Man is full of lefties? Or Pennsic? Or any of the other dozens you haven't heard of? If they're anything, those people are libertarians.
ReplyDeleteSteve, this was one of your most insightful VDare columns in a good while.
ReplyDeleteTell us, Steve, if Jorge Castaneda visited your park-mates, would he fit right in, or would he (and many upper-class Mexicans) quietly think "Thank goodness we're rid of this bunch! I can't believe how lucky we are - not only does no one call us out for cynically shooing them out of Mexico, but we even get to manipulate the gringos into bending over backwards by claiming THEY are the racists!"
Actually, the British people are remarkably distinct genetically from the Germans and the Italians. The Vikings, Normans, Angles and Saxons had very little genetic effect and it's rather remarkable.
ReplyDeleteI think Steve had a column on it.
The Irish generally did assimilate fairly well. One of my ancestors came speaking only Gaelic and remained illiterate, however he learned English very rapidly and all his descendants could read and write English. Mexicans can remain in Spanish-language radio, tv, newspapers, and never have to learn English. Shameful.
As for family formation among Blacks, yes under segregation while illegitimacy rates, teen pregnancy rates were higher, compared to whites, there was nothing like the illegitimacy plague we have now. I don't think it was the Welfare State either though that made it worse undoubtedly.
I think it was birth control and preference for violent tough guys over steady wage earners by women. During Segregation (and without birth control that was reliable and effective) women of all races selected mostly for steady, reliable, and dependable wage earners mostly who would stay out of trouble.
With the ability to have sex without kids, women were free to choose who they wanted. For reasons I don't understand, African-American women (like Mexican women) prefer violent hyper-macho guys over steady earners. Which carries over to when they decide to have kids. That women would have three separate kids with separate fathers should be a huge indicator in these groups that something radical is going on with womens' selection criteria.
By the way Steve, I’m here to tell you that the LA Times was at the park, too, and they didn’t see ANY of the stuff you claim to have seen. So who should we believe? (Yes, this is a parody.)
ReplyDeleteIn the Aftermath of Citizenship Vote, Migrants Raise Questions
By Shylle García-Hanky
SAN FERNANDO VALLEY - Latino migrants who gather on Sunday for a pleasant afternoon at Hansen Dam Recreation Center expressed uncertainty about their future after last week’s cloture vote in the Senate failed to win the 60-vote majority needed to bring the bill to the floor for final passage.
At first glance, the vibrant atmosphere at the park made this sunny, balmy weekend seem like any other.
Teresa López, 21, enjoyed savory elote – piping-hot corn on the cob lathered in salsa and mayonesa. But as she kept an eye on her son and two daughters frolicking with other children, she wondered what had happened to the country that had promised her a better life.
“Sometimes when I’m by myself I just start to cry,” she said, a tear rolling down her cheek. “What will happen if there is a raid and my children can’t find me?”
Just 100 yards away, Mariachi Los Gallos de Tijuana performed a lilting serenata as the tantalizing scent of grilled steak wafted over from an impromptu barbeque. Lead singer and musical director Eufemio Dorantes, 55, finished the song with a flourish and bantered with his customer, a soft-spoken young man who listened intently as Dorantes gave him sage advice on the ins and outs of love.
Dorantes has been coming to the park for 15 years and says politicians are out of touch.
“The Americans need us here. We are hard workers,” he said as he sipped from a bottle of refreshing grapefruit-flavored Mexican soda.
After the serenade, the customer, Juan Fuentes, 18, tried to make sense of the machinations in Washington D.C., a city he’s only seen in movies. He expressed a fondness for American culture, breaking into a shy smile as he talked about his favorite TV show, The Simpsons.
He’s had friends and family get robbed, arrested, and shaken down at the border. He hopes he can stay in the U.S. where he dreams of studying to become a lawyer.
“Maybe I could help people who’ve had the same problems I’ve had,” Fuentes said. “All I want is justice. Just like on ‘Law and Order.’”
--30--
i say we support immigration of grizzly bears from canada. bears have 2/5 of the skills required for success in the world, as defined by the eminent tyler cownen.
ReplyDeletei'm sure the bears could pick up the other skills within a few generations. plus, bears are woefully under-represented in America despite the fact that they were the original inhabitants.
they live in marginalized federal preserves and it just isn't fair.
So Mexican guys have a propensity for getting into fistfights? To modify a very true thing that Michael Moore said not long after 9/11 (yeah, I know, but a broken clock's right twice a day), if there had been more Mexican men as passengers on the hijacked airliners 3,000 lives might have been saved.
ReplyDeleteAs "let's!" mentioned, the reporteress for the Los Angeles Times -- in her otherwise incisive and complex analysis of a controversial issue -- somehow failed to notice the same incidents at the Hansem Dam Recreation Center that Steve Sailer noticed.
ReplyDeleteBut she DID remember to use the "V" word unabashedly!
There are stirrings in my head right now of an idea for an empowering, consciousness-raising, self-absorbed paean to untrammeled Latino immigration -- to be called "The Vibrant Monologues".
That's brilliant, Peter.
ReplyDeleteThe next time that you learn of an airplane flight that's scheduled to be hijacked, feel free to arrange for large numbers of feisty Mexican men armed with knives and beer bottles -- or even with their bare hands -- to be stationed upon it.
But their presence doesn't necessarily enhance the overall quality of everyday life in one's neighborhood.
Howard Stern's perspective -
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=kciCBSiHwkY
Let's:
ReplyDeleteBravo. That was a brilliant parody.
Or was it?
(I particularly liked "the ins and outs of love" and "enjoyed savory elote – piping-hot corn on the cob lathered in salsa and mayonesa." Priceless!)
The problem is not that the Mexicans are Spanish but because they are Indians. Why the problems you point out won’t be as bad as one might think:
ReplyDeleteAssimilation:
Many Mexican girls are quite attractive. Many of the most attractive Mexican girls will marry non-Mexicans.
The most successful Mexican males will marry non-Mexicans.
The great barriers intermarriage between whites and blacks does not exist between Mexicans and others - although the tendency of Mexicans in the USA to get fat is a problem and could slow the rate of intermarriage.
The birthrate in Mexico is plummeting.
Catholicism is dying in America because it cannot compete. The Mexicans will not save Catholicism in America. Mexicans are rapidly becoming evangelical Christians. Learn why at this link: http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2006/10/the_economics_o_7.html
Some upper-class Mexicans are also coming to America.
The main problems are the welfare state and the fact that Mexicans vote democratic but in as much as they intermarry and become protestants this is reduced.
although the tendency of Mexicans in the USA to get fat is a problem
ReplyDeleteAnd white Americans don't have that tendency? A field trip to the nearest Wal-Mart should clear up any doubts.
The next time that you learn of an airplane flight that's scheduled to be hijacked, feel free to arrange for large numbers of feisty Mexican men armed with knives and beer bottles -- or even with their bare hands -- to be stationed upon it.
ReplyDeleteA little off topic, but how would you distinguish the Mexicans from the Muslims?
Especially if the Muslims were weaned on a healthy diet of Richard "Cheech" Marin or Ned Arnel "Carlos" Mencía, so that they knew how to say things like Beaner and Wha Sap-pen-ing?
Maybe throw some bacon at them? Ham? Pork chops?
"Why do you think Burning Man is full of lefties? Or Pennsic? Or any of the other dozens you haven't heard of? If they're anything, those people are libertarians."
ReplyDeleteI can't comment on any festivals I haven't heard of, but I have heard of Burning Man and know a few people who have attended. None of them, to my knowledge, is in favor of scrapping OSHA, Medicaid, reducing regulations of business, or other common libertarian positions. All think government should do more, not less, to provide affordable health care to Americans. The only libertarian position these people hold is that pot should be legalized.
Admittedly, I am working with a small sample size, so it's possible that the people I know are an exception, and the vast majority of attendees at Burning Man and other festivals are small government, dog-eat-dog libertarians. Absent any evidence, I'd be inclined to doubt that.
"That's what having separate countries is for."
ReplyDeleteThat's also what having different states, cities, and even neighborhoods is for. Which raises a question I haven't seen anyone ask here yet.
Los Angeles has had a large Mexican population since when? Decades? A century? No one is forcing you to live there, Steve. Aren't there parts of L.A. or Orange Counties you can live without so many Mexicans?
"Let's", I'm not sure it counts as parody when it is exactly the same as the object you are attempting to parody...
ReplyDeleteBut whatever it is, it's brilliant nonetheless.
Thats funny,I had a similar experience Sunday,'cept on a much smaller scale. The little town of Highwood,Il,has a long tradition of an annual summer carnival-like any other parish carnival-encompassing music,games and rides. It has long been a white,and Italian,gathering. Gradually it has become more Mexican. Its not dangerous,as it is small and well policed. This year the climax of the fair was a visit by a Mexican musical group,playing to a big crowd that was almost entirely Mexican! The "roots rock" 50's and 60's bands,not to mention the Italian crooners,are either getting 2nd billing or are gone! The strangest thing tho was how at precisely 9:00 PM Sunday nite,the band said 'adios',everything was turned off,and the heretofore dancing,happy laughing Mexicans quietly and efficiently picked up their kids and hurried off with as much dispatch as any well-scrubbed white suburban soccer moms! Of course there were a few guys in sombreros staggering around 'baracho',but they were harmless. I wonder how long that will last? I mean the orderly part?? :O
ReplyDeleteI have heard of Burning Man and know a few people who have attended. None of them, to my knowledge, is in favor of scrapping OSHA, Medicaid, reducing regulations of business, or other common libertarian positions. All think government should do more, not less, to provide affordable health care to Americans. The only libertarian position these people hold is that pot should be legalized.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, they're not libertarians but libertines. This is Bill Maher's frequent mistake. He's fond of calling himself a libertarian when all he wants is the Three P's: pot, porn and prostitutes.
Actually, the British people are remarkably distinct genetically from the Germans and the Italians. The Vikings, Normans, Angles and Saxtus had very little genetic effect and it's rather remarkable.
I was speaking of relative differences. Compared to Arabs, Bantus, Orientals, and Amerinds, the genetic differences between British and Irish, Germans, and even Italians is negligible. It's a bit like saying that because Granny Smith apples and Golden Delicious apples taste fairly similar to each other that therefore an orange won't taste much different, either.
It's scary: 2,000 years of "invasion" altered the British gene pool by a mere 20% or so. But a mere two generations of so of modern "immigration" have altered the British gene pool by 10%. Which were the immigrants and which were the invaders?
Svigor can you explain this statement you made: "The Irish are still living out their revenge against the English in America, politically." Or could someone else explain this. I would appreciate it if someone could explain the mechanics of how this is occuring if it is ocurring.
ReplyDeleteMany Mexican girls are quite attractive. Many of the most attractive Mexican girls will marry non-Mexicans.
ReplyDeleteThere's a growing Mexican population where I live. Not too many Mexican women are what you'd call stunningly beautiful, unlike the case with, say, Eastern European women, but many of them are quite cute. They're perfectly acceptable as wives if not necessarily as trophy wives. I guess that's by and large a good thing.
The little town of Highwood,Il,has a long tradition of an annual summer carnival-like any other parish carnival-encompassing music,games and rides. It has long been a white,and Italian,gathering. Gradually it has become more Mexican. Its not dangerous,as it is small and well policed. This year the climax of the fair was a visit by a Mexican musical group,playing to a big crowd that was almost entirely Mexican!
The city where I used to live (Waterbury, Connecticut, population ~100K) has had a big, multi-day "Italian Heritage" festival each summer for decades, honoring what had been the city's biggest immigrant group. Over the years it gradually had less and less to do with Italy and Italian heritage. It became more like a generic carnival (not-too-safe rides, booths selling fried dough, rigged games, etc.), and more recently has attracted a largely black and Puerto Rican crowd.
I take it that Fred, the proud father of a Latina Squattie, is somewhat like Jeb Bush in believing that he can improve his class standing by marrying the daughter of a wealthy Mexican despot.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that chalupas and tequila are the cuisine that accompanies the life of the mind. There's hope yet for the millions of Americans who consume this stuff daily.
I would like to point out to Fred that that bite he ascribes to American women is not so much a result of feminist indoctrination but of the parenting practices of our American fathers. Mine expected me to defend myself verbally. He also discouraged drinking until I reached legal age and would've considered the imbibing of tequila unladylike. (I have yet to touch the stuff.)
The man responsible for raising me would never abandon this country for another, especially not if that other were Mexico. And though I may not be the sloe-eyed femme fatale that Fred has raised. I was never in any danger of ending up a drunken pole dancer.
Perhaps I should give up my opposition to the war and subscribe to the National Review like my much classier old man.