Certainly everyone was their own master, but I think America quickly became disillusioned to Martin and the Mexican immigrants when they saw how anti-melting pot the U.S. really was. Martin came to America to gain insight and inspiration on how to create a better Cuba. As I watched Latino Americans in class on Tuesday, I realized these people had so much hope when they left their countries to pursue a better life in America. It was the prodigal land. A country you could succeed in simply by working hard. My heart went out to the millions of Mexican laborers who received such poor treatment and racial inequality here. They lived under a constant threat of being plucked from their home and deported back to Mexico. During the show, I kept thinking about how bitter and resentful I would feel if I was a Mexican immigrant during the 50's. Not to mention scared. We heard a few testimonials; such as the story of the woman who, after the deportation officials visited and demanded her family's expulsion from the United States, watched her father put his tools in the back of their family car along with the few clothes they all had. Then she joined her brother in the cramped backseat to return to Mexico. She even said when they reached the checkpoint she was offered by a social worker of sorts to stay in America if she pleased. I found her response profound: "No, I want to stay with my family." Being born in America, she was expected to find solace in fellow Americans. But how could she when said Americans were throwing her and her family out of the only home she has ever known?
Right! America is often called "the melting pot" of the world but I've never thought about the paradox of that term before, considering our anti-melting pot attitudes.
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