Wednesday, September 12, 2001
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Wednesday, September 12, 2001 |
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Mexicans are just like us: We all came here from elsewhere After reading your letters to the editor in today's Citizen, I found myself compelled to respond, primarily to the letter signed "Name withheld." "Name withheld" complains that the Mexicans are "invading the streets, playing soccer, riding bicycles, playing very loud music, parking cars, trucks and golf carts so that it is almost impossible to get to his or her own home." I guess my first question is, is this person upset over the overcrowding of his or her street, or the fact that its overcrowded by Mexicans? I live on a small cul-de-sac in Peachtree City (a total of six homes), where there are 10 children in all, ranging from preschool to college aged. My street sounds very similar to that writer's. We always have children riding bikes and playing soccer in the street and there's always extra cars and loud music from the teens. Personally I love it. It shows happy, healthy activity between neighbors. What I believe that writer has forgotten is, unless we are born of American Indian heritage, we are ALL from somewhere else! ALL of our families came here at some time to create a better life for themselves and their families. Why shouldn't the Mexican population have that same right? I feel that sometimes people that speak in ignorance are simply afraid of the unknown. I wonder if that writer has ever taken the time to actually speak to any of his Mexican neighbors, to introduce himself and get to know them as people. On a whole, the Mexican folks that live in Peachtree City seem to be good-natured, pleasant, soft-spoken, hard-working, Christian people. Just because their skin may be a little darker and they speak a different language doesn't make them bad people, just different, as our own families all were at one time. Maybe the writer should learn some compassion and offer his assistance to help his foreign neighbors to adjust to a new country and new customs, or maybe volunteer at a local school to assist in English classes to help them learn the language. Maybe then he or she would have something intelligent to write about and wouldn't be afraid to sign his or her name. Also, in reference to Bill Gilmer's letter: I'm glad my grandparents' generation didn't have the same outlook as Mr. Gilmer, a "guest work program" where immigrants would be allowed to work here, but then take the money back to their own country. My mother's parents were from Italy and my father's parents were from Ireland. If this were to happen only two generations ago, my parents would have never met and I wouldn't be here having the opportunity to write this letter or enjoy my life as an American of Italian-Irish decent! I wonder if we'll ever see the day that we can all look at each other simply as human beings, all made in God's likeness, all with obvious similarities and desires and all with our own differences that contribute to the whole picture. I hope so. Debbie Pitts gapitts@mindspring.com
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