SB1070 and Mexico

Hey peeps.

Its been weird watching the SB1070 news here in Mexico. One Mexican politician after another has come forward all swagger and bravado about the parts that were killed in the bill.

So these men in ties rumble into the microphones. But on the whole, there’s no accountability for Mexico’s economy. An economy that’s as thin and fragile as the last potato chip in the bottom of the bag.

There’s no talk of the intersectionality of the issues. There’s no talk about the correlation between the numbers of undocumented Mexican immigrants and the Mexican off-key melody that forces them to dance across danger to the U.S.

And of course, there’s no talk about the racial profiling that exists here in Mexico. That someone with darker skin like my husband gets followed by security in a department store like Sanborn’s.

So weird is the word when I watch the dirge-like progression of the events around SB1070 from here in the Global South.

Because the Mexican government’s official reaction to SB1070 feels and looks like a cheap suit.

Señores, your seams are showing.

The Dream of This Deportee’s Wife!

Hey kids. Happy Monday:)

Today is the kick-off for The Dream of the Deportee’s Wife fund raising drive.

*FINAL UPDATE* Thanks to your generosity, $1,366 were raised from the campaign.  Now that the campaign is over, I’ve removed the videos for safety and privacy reasons. But it was a great ride! Gracias!

I want to raise two thousand dollars between today and Sunday, August 8th. I’m going for broke!

*UPDATE* I’ll now be taking the campaign through to Sunday, August 22nd.

The funds would provide the gift of time and financial peace of mind for my calling: That is, to talk about immigration issues through the lenses of race, class, gender and sexuality. I want my writing, performance and analysis to be out there more powerfully so as to create more positive change.

I want to dig deeper with  social media, technology, my writing and performance of my show, The Deportee’s Wife and enter to public dialogue on a more visible level. Bust some stereotypes. Put my unique perspectives to work. Get more people talking with, and not at each other.

And of course, you get some things for donating:

1. A postcard of R’s artwork mailed to you with a personal message from R and myself.
2. A public thank you on my upcoming video blogs. (vlogs:)
3. The knowledge that you helped this immigrant activist’s dream to come true. (Hey, no small potatoes!)

Here’s what I’m going to do:

• Blog every day between today and Sunday, August 8th. I promise!

*UPDATE*: I’ll be blogging every day until Sunday, August 22nd.
• For every 20 dollars I receive, I’ll video blog for 2 minutes. Show you a little more about me and my life. Ideally, I’ll be video blogging more than writing:)

• With your donation, feel free to ask me questions that you’d like me to answer on camera/request video that you’d like to see.

Kind of like a clean-cut peep show into my life:)

During these complicated and difficult times, I want to be more publicly and visibly out on the front lines on immigration reform.

40 people could donate $50. 100 people could donate $20…y’all get the idea, no?:)

Pesos and pounds are accepted as well!

So I hope that you’ll visit and say hello to the PayPal button here.

If you don’t have PayPal, contact me at thedeporteeswife@gmail.com and we’ll work something out.

Gracias, peeps. Be an Activator for my dream!

Whistling Dixie in July

Hello kids.

The expression “too little too late” is banging around my head this morning.

It comes up when I think about President Obama’s speech last week on immigration combined with the US Justice Department suing Arizona over SB1070.

There’s this big and obvious push to make it look like Obama and the US government finally woke up.

But I truly believe that it is all about a focused and concentrated political strategy for the upcoming November elections.

Once again, undocumented immigrants and their families aren’t at the center of this issue.

As I’ve stated previously, Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) passing this year is about as likely as one of my cats standing on two legs and belting out a Lady Gaga song.

So why all of the sudden intensity?

Kids, it feels to me like an ex trying to win us back.

You know how it is. Once you’ve made the decision to walk away, the other person wakes up.

But it’s too little too late.

President Obama, you know that ring of hope that you placed on my finger on Election Night in 2008?

I just pawned it for some much-needed cash.

This English Teacher is On Strike

Hello peeps.

You know, something that I didn’t realize when I first moved to Mexico was how easy it was to get a job teaching English.

Now let me be clear – “easy” is relative.

In my situation, English is my first language, I had a B.A. when I arrived here and I eventually got a Masters.

Depending on the institution, you can often get a job teaching English with all of the above and without any teaching experience at all. None.

I didn’t have any training or studies in education when I first started nine years ago.

My first teaching job in Mexico in 2001 was pretty cool. I taught mainly adults and I really liked the program.

But the honeymoon teaching English and the job ended there in 2002.

And what resulted was a knotty string of English teaching jobs.

When I came back to Mexico last fall after my US tour, I jumped into another teaching job at a private school. We needed the money.

I left that teaching job in January for a freelance writing job that ironically didn’t work out.

One of the issues that I’ve been truly struggling with in Mexico since this past January is how to make a living in Mexico and not teach English.

Particularly not to elementary through high school kids. School jobs are a dime a dozen here.

But I can’t do it anymore.

For some of you who read this blog and I was your teacher, I don’t think that comes as a shock to you! lol

Sure, I had some great students who made my day, particularly at my last teaching job in Mexico City. You know who you are:)

But most of the time I was just very sad. Felt completely and totally useless. A babysitter with a Masters.

And it doesn’t matter the school. I always felt and feel the same way.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m the main breadwinner here in Mexico. I’ve made my peace with that.

But what I haven’t made my peace with is how me and R’s whole economic world shakes if I don’t teach English in a private school setting.

That’s the reality of the Mexico’s economy. It wobbles on broken toothpick legs.

Within that painful reality I have a lot of privilege in this broken economy, I know.

I could go and work in the States. But I’ll be there without R.

Many of us spouses of deportees do make that decision to back to the US; oftentimes, the economic decision is made for us. I’ve previously done it for temporary periods of time. I’d like to try to not do it again.

So what happens now that this deported man’s wife is “on strike” about teaching English in Mexico’s private schools?

Stay tuned kids, stay tuned.

Radical Love from Where We Least Expect It

Hey Kids.

I’d like to post some words by Thich Nhat Hanh today. They come from his book, Peace is Every Step. Thank you to S for sharing it with me.

These words resonate for me in light of what I’m going through personally and what I’m witnessing right now from both sides of the immigration movement.

I feel that President Barack Obama is very clearly using the immigration movement as a political football. I walk around with a lot of anger and sadness about this issue, as well as other issues in my life.

But what if those of us in the immigration movement met him and the others in government with love? Radical love?

What if we all met each other with radical love?

What if we actively meditated on loving thoughts for Governor Jan Brewer?

What if we actively meditated on loving thoughts for Sheriff Joe Arpaio?

What if I send you loving thoughts and you sent them back, no matter how we feel about the immigration debate?

A Love Letter to Your Congressman

In the peace movement, there is a lot of anger, frustration, and misunderstanding. People in the peace movement can write very good protest letters, but they are not so skilled at writing love letters. We need to learn to write letters to the Congress and the President that they will want to read, and not just throw away. They way we speak, the kind of understanding, the kind of language we use should not turn people off. The President is a person like any of us.

Can the peace movement talk in loving speech, showing the way for peace? I think that will depend on whether the people in the pace movement can “be peace.” Because without being peace, we cannot do anything for peace. If we cannot smile, we cannot help other people smile. If we are not peaceful, then we cannot contribute to the peace movement.

I hope we can offer a new dimension to the peace movement. The peace movement often is filled with anger and hatred and does not fulfill the role we expect of it. A fresh way of being peace, of making peace is needed. That is why it is so important for us to practice mindfulness, to acquire the capacity to look, to see,and to understand. It would be wonderful if we could bring to the peace movement our non-dualistic way of looking at things. That alone would diminish hatred and aggression. Peace work means, first of all, being peace. We rely on each other. Our children are relying on us in order for them to have a future.

Kids, I’d love to hear your thoughts about this.

Love,

The Deportee’s Wife