I grew up in the Mississippi river delta just outside of Memphis. We used 100% hispanic labor at our cotton gin for that reason. They were here legally on work visas, and they were here to work. We never had to go wake them up in the morning like the "native" workers in the past. (by natives, I in no way mean Native Americans, rather good old lazy citizens) They never left our houses torn up like the afore mentioned "natives". We had the same people year after year, and they were truely a pleasure to work with.

Regarding the illegal aliens, I feel very strongly in principle that they should do things the legal way. However, I find it hard, morally speaking, to fault a person for doing whatever it takes to better themselves and to take care of their families. I think that is what we all as humans do just by our very nature, no?

I live in a very heavily Hispanic populated area where some major industries including agriculture, construction, and hospitality rely probably 95% on Hispanic workers. God bless them for the hard work they perform, often in blazing hot 105+ temperatures. Whether they are here legally or not is not that big a deal to me. I understand that there will always be illegal immigration so long as there are jobs to be done and wages to be earned. I accept that as a reality and a necessity. I guarantee you that NONE of the vegetables on your table would be there without them, or at least not unless you want to pay $10 for a head of lettuce. They work damn hard for the little they earn and I respect the hell out of that. Just like the Chinese who built the railroads that tied this country together, these people are building the houses we live in and putting food on our tables.

My only gripe is against those who commit crimes. I know citizens and those here legally can commit crimes too but it irks me more when they're here illegally and then get arrested. Keep a low profile if you're here illegally! Try to not to draw the attention of The Man. Then their lawyers complain that if they get convicted they'll be deported. Duh! In a perfect world no one should be committing crimes but since we're talking about illegal immigrants....

I don't mean to offend but this thread reminds me of a funny story. I was on the phone with one of my many Mexican friends. I pulled into my driveway to see a gardener I didn't recognize. I rolled down the window to say hello and ask if he was covering for my regular guy. I'm still on the phone, by the way. I ask him "is Roberto on vacation?". He responds "yes, he is". I then said "oh, is he in Mexico?". I know Roberto goes to visit his family there every year around that time. The guy says "no, he's in San Francisco". My buddy on the phone hears the whole thing and starts giving me a ration of sh1t, saying "oh, just because he's Mexican he can only go on vacation to Mexico, is that it???". He was just giving me a hard time. I thought it was funny and totally harmless.

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I agree with you wholeheartedly. I found the video funny in a sort of "punk'd" kind of way. That's it. I have all the respect in the world for Hipanics that "do whatever it takes" to earn enough money to put food on their families table. Hell, I even learned their language, because quite honestly, I was a minority in CA. That wasn't the only reason though. I used to travel down to San Carlos Mexico very often when I lived in Tucson, AZ. I feel that if you are going to spend a lot of time in another country where english is not the primary language, then you should show your respect by learning their language. Now with that said, one of my few pet peeves with respect to illegals or even naturalized hispanics, is that they should take the time to learn our language. Many of these folks live here 10, 15 years plus, and still don't speak any english. Their kids translate for them because they learn it in school. In addition; I will go out on a limb and say that I was not in support of California's proposition to issue CA drivers licenses to illegals.

Just my 2¢, no flames please

Have a great weekend,

SG

Believe it or not I actually could not watch much more than the first couple of sentences out of that idiot's mouth to the group of hard working guys looking for employment.

I think the millions of lazy Americans who sit back and collect welfare becuase they are unwilling to do labor-intensive hard work is disgusting and degrading for our country.

I have a lot of respect for the Mexicans and Latin Americans who are in our country on Visas and doing the work that our low-skilled workers are UNWILLING to do. My tax dollars are hard at work paying for US laziness (some receiving welfare) while my other funds are gladly spent for Mexican/Latin guys who work their butts off.

Mr Monkey: Thanks for the thought provoking post.