Word: mexicanization
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...from San Diego so I am in a position to confirm her observations. She is correct; people of Mexican heritage, both citizens and aliens, dominate the bottom of San Diego's socio-economic ladder. But that is not the whole of the story...
...live just north of San Diego, in the area Miss Grossman describes, but I must say that I have not seen the "huge mansions surrounded by acres of rocky terrain" she frequented on her vacation. Apparently, everyone Miss Grossman spoke to had a Mexican maid and gardener. But after living in San Diego for 10 years I know only one family with a Mexican servant, and this family lives in Boston...
More importantly, we must consider the economic need that drives Mexicans to cross the border and seek work in California and other southwestern states. Widespread corruption and government control have wrecked the Mexican economy to the point that jobs are simply not available. Jobs available for Mexican immigrants in the U.S. are perhaps poor by American stan dards, but pay and conditions are vastly superior to what is available in Mexico...
...seems that Miss Grossman's main objection is a common one: the sight of Mexicans working as servants and in other lowly positions makes her squeamish and uncomfortable. Perhaps she would prefer that the workers simply "go away," so their presence will not offend her liberal sensitivities. Miss Grossman does not realize that what for her is a source of irritation is for the Mexican worker a means, often the only means of survival. To stay "out of sight and out of mind" in Mexico would probably mean remaining unemployed, or at best accepting work at much lower...
...real terror in California for Mexican migrants is not their "opulent" employers, but the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The INS uses harsh policies and a heavy hand to keep Mexican migrants out and deport them if they manage to enter. In this way the INS, like Miss Grossman, forgets the economic necessity which drives both employers and employed...