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The U.S situation In calif is very dire,without Mexican Labor this state could not Provide almost all the produce the country gets.
You cannot get anglo american young people to do back breaking work in the fields for low wages without paying them $25/ Hr and have a wifi setup
Maybe things are a tad different here in Arizona, but most of the produce we buy here is from Mexico.:shrug:Quote:
Originally Posted by pixelfixed
It all comes down to options. The most destitute will do the "lowest" work. If you provide options (i.e. money), then why do the hard work? Before/during Mexican labor there were Okies (my dad). Him and his family grew up in camps, very poor conditions, backbreaking labor, just like we see with Mexican labor now. That was their way of getting food on the table, so they did it. They were straight out of Grapes of Wrath.
If that was the only way for Anglo teens to eat today, they'd do it too. But, if we say, raise the minimum wage such that working at McDonalds provides a comfortable living, then why would you pick grapes?
I'm just guessing, but I would assume that if/when the migrant workers become legal, and reap more benefits, in time they too will not want to do that work.
I'm not trying to take one position or the other-just pointing out that I think it comes down to economics.
Well you do not pick grapes,you cut grapes with a curved blade on your ring finger.Been there, done that.
at any rate, you do not have to be destitute to do menial work,if you take pride in what you do,any work is good work.
Thats what todays youth have no concept of.
When I worked In a car wash at 13, I was going to be the best car washer the world has ever seen.
Same when I pumped gas for 80 cents an hr.
Same when I cleaned morter off of bricks for 3 cents a brick.
I had work ethics,my dad always told me, any work is good work.
Ok so this is a bit out there and I am by no means supporting one side or another but... back in Canada there was a time when "boat people" were coming in in droves by boat as well. Of course Canada isn't immune to hating illegals. I recall going to a club in Toronto back in the day and watching these guys - The Forgotten Rebels. They were a minor punk band on the scene that if anything, got people excited lol!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimbo
Here is a link to a performance - terrible audio, but it'll give you an idea: Forgotten Rebels - Bomb the boats - YouTube
Here are the words - very negative... very negative. But it goes to show and speaks to the issue that you don't really need to boarder a nation.
Bomb the Boats and Feed the Fish - Forgotten Rebels
I don't want no foreign pricks to take my job away from me
My tax dollars paid their ransom, would they do the same for me?
I don't, I don't want them in my home
I don't, I don't want them finding me alone
They're commies, sub-human subversives
They're commies, human living curses
They got nowhere to go so let them drown
I don't want them around so let them drown
Let's bomb the boats and feed the fish
Gulls peck flesh from rancid stiffs decaying on the deep blue sea
Bits and pieces here and there, bomb them far from my country
Do you, do you want them in your home
Do you, do you want them finding you alone?
They're commies, sub-human subversives
They are commies, human living curses
They got nowhere to go so let them blow
They got nowhere to go so let them blow
I don't want them around so let them drown
Let's bomb the boats and feed the fish. Bomb the boats and feed the
fish.
Bomb the boats and feed the fish. Bomb the boats and feed their f**king
flesh to the fish.
Oh yeah I know - when I worked the fields I didn't need it or otherwise starve, but it was still honest work all the same. And agriculture is about the only work available when you live on a raisin farm.Quote:
Originally Posted by pixelfixed
Grape knives at that time anyway, and now, have a handle at least with a little leather strap for your wrist :), and if the black widows didn't bite you, you could always count on a nice cut from the trays. We weren't 1/10 as efficient as the real workers but at 25 cents a tray it was still decent money. But man it's tough any way you slice it.
It'll all be moot anyway, the mechanization that started 20 years ago is only becoming a bigger part of how they pick now.
I remember shaking raising and standing amongst all the bins thinking "who eats all these raisins" lol
Small tarancelas (SP) were also an issue when we cut grapes in Kerman Calif,than the family would move our trailer to shafter to bag spuds.
Back breaking work, but good work, we always had food to eat.
Ahhh good ol Kerman!
I would opine but I'll stop getting the thread off course :)
I was not going to get into this. I am really not as I just tell my personal observations. Within 20 years, my area has gone from white to mostly brown and now black as a result of Katrina. I dig all people, but our schools where we went have signs in Spanish at the front. Nice, new schools with LED signs out front. State of the art paid for by a bond election.
Teachers must be bilingual. Lone star card (food stamp) banners everywhere and ALL apts are government subsidized.
House next door was bought from greedy kids after the old folks died by Ali, who moved in an illegal family (nice folks) and put up a 6 foot high rusty chain link fence from an old junkyard. Now, there are 6 18 wheeler tires piled against the side of the garage. Sigh..... I like lots of them. From Lebanese to Salvadorian, to Vietnamese, to Indian, Nepalese, Mexican, And so on. . Hell, I even have a friendly local merchant from Ivory Coast! My barber is from Malaysia (She's legal! And HOT!)
Here's the facts.. They like it the way it is. Call them invaders, immigrants, whatever. They do not wish to assimilate, nor pay taxes, nor give up the free healthcare, childcare, breakfast, lunch, DINNER for their kids. Wic cheese, milk, Obamaphones. Lots want it to look like where they come from and get the benefits. Tip of the iceberg. Everyone speaks foreign wherever I go. Bulk of unassimilated folks are getting a check for being a refugee or political asylum. Then we have our own precious citizens who vote 3 times and are on the dole. Who can blame them? The Government has created them. They love it. They deserve it!
On the other hand. Who can blame a community for doing what it must to preserve it'self as it wants to live. By the vote and enforcement?
Pic or it didn't happen!Quote:
Originally Posted by sharptonn