Should Mexicans go back to Mexico?

Cultural Blends…

I was in class with a young man who embodied the beauty and mirth of youth.

Ahhh…I remember it well…the bright eyes, the bright smiles, the merriment. He was smart, funny, happy and Mexican.

I enjoyed seeing him there because he had one of those faces that lights up a room.

One night on my way home I saw him walking and offered him a ride. On the way to his house he said he might not be able to continue school and he described his frustrations (sadness really) with the anti-mexican rhetoric being promoted by our then president and some of his supporters. There was a lot of hate speech and you know how it is – people Say they don’t like that stuff, but they keep tuning in to watch it, thereby perpetuating more of it.

He talked about how he and his family didn’t feel safe, I think there were also some legal issues and that reality was unfolding in his life.

I felt really bad for him, especially since he was so young and so bright. It was a short ride to his house so the only thing I could tell him was: Listen dude. You’re a Mexi-CAN not a Mexican’t. you can’t allow other people to define you. Furthermore you are from this country. This land is your land, this land is my land, humina humina… He was pretty sad to even hear it.

So…should Mexicans go back to Mexico?

Well, they are already here in Mexico.

And if Spanish language is the problem, ask White European Spaniards why the natives in the lands they appropriated speak Spanish, instead of their native tongue?

Could it be for the same reason why the Natives in America speak English, instead of their native tongue?

Native Americans were not speaking English prior to European settlers forcing their culture upon them.

Likewise, in the southern parts of the Americas those Natives were not speaking Spanish before the Spanish settlers forced their culture upon them either.

So whose land is it anyway?

Well if you want to be technical, they were “here first” so this is their land.

Just because you moved in does not mean they disappeared into thin air, because they are still here.

So if anyone were to “go back” how could it be the people who are from this land?

If anyone were to “go back” it would have to be the people Not from this land…

Right.?

Where are your ancestors from? Because Brown people lived in these parts…Canada, North America, Central America, South America, Hawaii, Alaska, the Islands…

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So maybe it is time to reevaluate territorial ideals of who should live where.

We have this song we used to sing. Ironically, it is a very American song:

This land is Your Land.

This land is My land.

From California to the New York Island

From the Red Wood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters

This land was made for You And Me.

History did what it did and the past is in the past and cannot be undone. The value of learning and understanding our american/native/mexican/spanish/french/portuguese heritage is that it can offer clarity on how we arrived at a set of beliefs and remind us of where WE actually come from. Because sometimes we forget. For example, if I believe Mexicans should “go back” to Mexico, after doing some research, that would mean they would remain right where they are. If I were trying to “rebalance” things and make them how they used to be…

then I would be the one who would actually need to go.

So.

But we are smarter now in many ways. So it is time to take a fresh look at old beliefs about who should live where.

After all, what’s good for the goose, is good for the gander.