A Response to Dan Savage from All the Mexicans

gozamosBy Jennifer Patiño, Gozamos

Below is a response to Dan Savage’s column today. Click link to read Savage’s portrayal of Mexicans.

“A lot of immigrants from Mexico—documented and undocumented—work in restaurants in the United States…[more]“

Dear Dan Savage,

So glad you got to work with Mexicans in kitchens at some point. (Hope you got to work with them in other places too.) But wherever we are, (documented or undocumented, because I know white people need to mention our status) we find that we have to work with a lot of racist and clueless white people who assume problems we run into are a result of being far from our native land and that it is their white man’s burden to show us the ways of A-MER-ica–(can you say A-MER-ica?). They might be encountering the same relationship issues faced by many, including white people, such as finding out a person you are dating is married. However, when retold by the white people whose advice was sought, it sounds so much more charitable to say they helped a Mexican and that it was a cultural issue—so understanding! Well, that’s racist. And it’s an especially insidious kind of racism that pretends to be culturally enlightened. I can’t tell if you were kidding or being sarcastic when you said Mexican wives don’t cheat because they are loyal and honest and eager. I hope you were kidding. In general, you need to get a HUGE handle on your white privilege.

Sincerely,

All the Mexicans

This article was originally published in Gozamos.

[Photo by soundfromwayout]

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