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Monday, September 21. 2009
What Jesus is Doing
Life in these United States is curious. On Sunday my friend John and I had a late breakfast at a local pseudo-French restaurant. It’s a big chain actually, one you’ve no doubt heard of. They have French things on their walls, like pictures of what Americans believe to be authentic French landscapes and cityscapes.You remember the movies from the 1950’s, the first decade to really produce color movies enmasse. Movies that took place in France had the stereotypical settings: there would be quaint little cobblestone streets, street musicians playing the obligatory accordions, bicycles and vendors selling flowers from carts pulled by burros.
Well, this chain restaurant has some of that same stereotypical paraphernalia. Americans are quaint, we like things easily definable — hence the reliance on stereotypes — so French women have to be fashionable and French men all have to wear berets.
San Diego is a fairly conservative area so having to wait 30 minutes to be seated at a French restaurant seems odd. Don’t all those conservatives hate everything French? Apparently not, or least not when it counts. It’s a lot of fun to denigrate the French, call them names and question their masculinity and personal hygiene, but forego a trip to a chain French restaurant for Sunday Morning breakfast? Never. Their Eggs Benedict is to die for!
By and large, regardless of political bent, most Americans are tolerant and quite openly accepting. At least face-to-face. Letters to the Editor and posting messages on Internet blogs and message boards … eh … not so tolerant and accepting. Looking someone in the eye and calling him or her a terrorist or worse, that’s not so appealing.
Like at this pseudo-French restaurant Sunday Morning. Now, 90% of the diners in the restaurant are of the Caucasian persuasion. Most of the servers are the same. The bus staff, fairly Hispanic. Pretty much what we have now come to accept in Southern California. Maybe we even expect it, in a slightly bigoted sort of way. Every restaurant I frequent has a 100% Hispanic bus staff. These are the people who clean and set the tables, fill the ice wells, mop up the spills and clean up the broken glass and China when it all comes crashing to the floor. They do the shit jobs.
The common myth in the American zeitgeist is that any legal job is honorable, worthy of the respect of our fellow citizens. Not so. In the case of bus staff, well, here in California anyway, that’s for “Mexicans,” the broad term “we” use to describe all Hispanics. Parents wouldn’t want their teenage children bussing tables and washing dishes in a restaurant, not if it’s work meant for Mexicans.
Thirty-eight years ago I was washing dishes and bussing tables in a restaurant for an after school job. Hell, 27 years ago I got back into the work force washing dishes and bussing tables. What’s changed in the intervening years? Perception. That, and the fact that adult Hispanics can work full shifts and don’t have child-labor laws — not to mention concerned parents — dictating when and how long they can work.
The real factor here though is this: being in the clean up crew means doing the shit work and we as Americans, be we White (primarily) and now Black (although not entirely), just won’t do the “shit jobs.”
The only places you might find any deviation from that model: some Asian restaurants. But mostly, especially here in Southern California, even the Asian restaurants hire Hispanics for the cleaning and bussing jobs.
This came to mind Sunday Morning because John had to have a newspaper so he could do the puzzles. He does all the puzzles, the Cryptoquip, Wordy Gurdy, The Jumble and of course the crossword puzzles.
Man! That Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle was a Deusy! The theme: “Let’s Play Bingo.” In the middle of the puzzle is a bingo card and as you solve the other clues, they set up others that say “Mark Your Card!” John finished it, as he always does.
Me, I grab the sports section to see if the Packers are going to be on TV, check on how the San Diego Padres and Milwaukee Brewers are doing.
Damn Brewers! Had such an excellent start to the season and now they’re 74-75. I thought they would win their division. And let’s not even get started on the Padres!
Goddam Packers! Lost to the Cincinnati Bengals in Lambeau Field! I’m tellin’ ya, this is the last season I’m gonna be a Packer fan! I mean it this time!
And then of course I have to read the “Dialogue” section, where we find the editorials and the Letters to the Editors. In the Letters we got someone, apparently of Hispanic descent, lamenting all the illegal aliens taking jobs from Americans. Another, a Caucasian, judging from the name, says it’s all about the law enforcement and financial burdens caused by illegal immigrants. He’s not worried about taco stands and business signage in Spanish, just the violence perpetrated by the drug gangs and the cost of educating and medically treating undocumented workers and their kids.
We don’t really know the true cost of illegal immigration. We don’t even know how many illegals are here in the United States. But many experts say the cost of illegal immigrants is completely offset by the financial contribution of illegals — doing jobs most, if not all, legal Americans do not want.
How many Americans would really work as a busboy, or in a car wash or as a landscaping employee for minimum wage? How many Americans would pick produce for minimum wage? It’s honorable work, but would you do it? Hell, if we started hiring only documented legal employees to pick our fruit and vegetables, are you willing to pay more at the grocery store? If you can’t honestly answer, then I would suggest shutting your yapper and stop writing letters to the editor lamenting all the illegal aliens in our communities.Just enjoy your nice breakfast in the pseudo-French restaurant and be grateful Jesus (and his fellow Hispanics) are willing to do the jobs you don’t want your teenagers doing. After all, you and your kids are above that, right?
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