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El Gallo · Joined: 05 Feb 2007 Posts: 318

Every day I am getting more and more discouraged about the rising anti-American racism in Mexico. Before the obvious (booing Miss America during her whole stay here, booing the national anthem, booing American athletes, and chants of Osama! Osama! Osama!), I noticed people were becoming less friendly. Three years ago in the streets, when I greeted people with smiles and "buenos d�as" they used to smile back and return the greeting. Now they scowl. In a restaurant the other day, a middle aged lady did not want to sit at the table next to us "porque el gringo" Some perspective students wince at having a gringo teacher "porque su reputaci�n es peligroso" (I think this one is because of the criminal John Attis who disguised himself as Canadian Charlie Pitterson here, taught English and was accused of murdering his Mexican family before he committed suicide.) People I meet at parties want to confront me with conversations about the wall, the war in Iraq and immigration, insisting that all gringos are bad.

Up to now I have enjoyed living in Mexico very much with a loving extended Mexican family. I don't know if I'm becoming jaded, disillusioned or part of the problem but I am beginning to feel most people here hate me because I am a gringo.

Help me Abby, should I stay here until George Bush is finally gone (casi 500 mas d�as de la plaga) to see if it gets better or should I go back to the States and teach English to Mexicans there?

Clear the Air · Joined: 09 Jun 2007 Posts: 21

Hey El Gallo,

Thanks for your feedback on the other post.

I haven`t experienced any anti-American sentiment since I arrived here over a year ago. I guess I should consider myself lucky. I live in a small town in central Mexico. There are very few foreigners in this town of 100,000, and maybe 10 Americans, if that. Mexicans occasionally do ask me about my thoughts on the war and Bush, and a couple of time students (an 11 year old, even) wrote down how much they hate Bush during a free writing activity. But none of it has ever been directed at me. I read about this anti-Americanism, but can`t say anything from experience.

Samantha · Joined: 25 Oct 2003 Posts: 2038 Location: Mexican Riviera

El Gallo wrote

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

thelmadatter · Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 1:34 pm Post subject: ignore

The anti-Americanism (actually its more xenophobia) I have felt here has been much more subtle than what El Gallo describes.. but its here nonetheless. Mostly its in the form of people wanting me not to exist. Im either ignored when I speak Spanish or I get a deer-in-the-headlights look. Despite asking a number of Mexican friends, all of whom say I speak the language just fine... I have to now assume that when I ask for something, the stranger listening will not understand what I say and either give me nothing or the wrong thing.

At work, foreigners arent really supposed to have any influence on how things are done. I started the self access center here and there (again subtle) resentment towards my "showing people up"

Certainly not all Mexicans behave this way. Mexico City is much better than Toluca and I have Mexican friends... but there are enough people who do act this way that it gets really really old.

I have to wonder about region too. I believe youre in Chiapas, El Gallo... and thats a whole nother world.

MELEE · Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 3:05 pm Post subject:

I haven't noticed any change in the amount of Anit-americanism where I live at all recently. If anything locally there is less as the town has finally gotten used to foriegners 15 years after the university opened. Infact this forum is the only place I've heard any mention about the Miss America thing. I have heard a lot of Mexicans apologize this morning for the selecion's performance yesterday--particularly Blanco's nasty jab.

Luckliy I work in an all foreign department, and actually the big big boss is a Spaniard and there are also foreigners in other departments at my university. From talking to teachers from around the country at conferences, I realize this is a unique situation and I fell priviledged to be a part of it.

Again, as I said in the leaving Mexico post, I live in a region that has a very intimate relationship with the US. Despite being miles and miles from the USA, almost every family has one or more members currently on the other side. The love the US--the hate the US--the need the US to survive. Most people have had good and bad experiences with Americans and most are human enough to recognize that the government is not the people.

sickbag · Joined: 10 Jan 2005 Posts: 155 Location: Blighty

Actually, yesterday for the first time in two years of living here I had somebody shout at me in the street. What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here etc.

I was taking a couple of photos in the market (not of anyone in particular).
It was a bit surprising but I've had worse shouted at me (and more often than once very two years) in England.

There are rude people all over the world and I find there are more at home than here.

Samantha · Joined: 25 Oct 2003 Posts: 2038 Location: Mexican Riviera

Did you take that to mean that you shouldn't be there in Mexico or that you shouldn't be there taking pictures in the market? Sometimes things get lost in translation or the language barrier, and also our photo taking can be a sensitive issue with some locals. This I have learned.

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

This thread has me thinking: would things be any different for a foreigner in our home countries? I doubt it. If you were an obvious foreigner, say an Asian or African who spoke English awkwardly or with a strange accent, how well would you really be treated if you were visiting the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, etc.? I suspect not as well as Mexicans treat foreigners.

sickbag · Joined: 10 Jan 2005 Posts: 155 Location: Blighty

MikeySaid · Joined: 10 Nov 2004 Posts: 509 Location: Torreon, Mexico

El Gallo · Joined: 05 Feb 2007 Posts: 318

Based on my experiences living in the Southern US, I would much rather be an American living in Mexico than a Latino living in Virginia in regard to discrimination and racism displayed.

thelmadatter · Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2007 1:36 pm Post subject: usa

I have a friend from my grad school days (not that long ago.. only 4 years) who is finishing her doctorate in that less-than-most-liberal state of Arizona. She is from mainland China. She was commenting to me that Americans are the MOST tolerant and accepting people she has ever had contact with. She is not looking forward to going to Singapore even tho she has a job waiting for her because of racism.....

J Sevigny · Joined: 26 Feb 2006 Posts: 161

This is a very interesting post. I wonder how much of this is psychosomatic, that is, some kind of US-guilt complex over what's going on in our own country. For example, it always makes me scratch my head when people say "I'm not going back to the States until Bush is gone." Jeez, I don't like Bush either but it's not like life in the city where I come from has gone down the drain during his administration. It's not like fleeing from Castro or Pinochet.

But I digress widely.

In five years in Mexico, I've gotten a few random "pinche gringo" type comments, but far more often I've met people who are just curious about the United States and what I'm doing here. Generally, they seem willing to reserve their judgements until they've spoken to me.

There's definitely a "we-hate-gringos-but-we-want-to-be-just-like-them" complex in Mexico. Feelings in this country about people from the United States are very complicated.

What annoys me most are the subtle stereotypes. We are rich. We are cold-hearted. We have no culture. We are all racists. Those stereotypes all come from somewhere but none of them apply to yours truly, so it gets a bit irritating.

Johnny T. · Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:06 am Post subject:

At the risk of repeating some things I said on another thread, throughout my year here in Aguascalientes I have felt a lot of anti-American (which not being American, I have just interpreted as "anti-foreign) sentiment. I have foreign plates on my car and I have had the air let out of one or two tires on several occasions, been yelled at from passing cars as my family and I walk down the street a few times and every time we are out in public we receive mostly resentful stares - especially if we speak English to each other. Recently I've been feeling that the anti-foreigner sentiments are part and parcel of the incredible Mexican chauvinism that seems to be part of the culture. If you eat anything here, someone is breathing down your neck saying "yes, you're eating MEXICAN food." If you're anywhere where there is music, people always come up to you and say "You see how good our MEXICAN music is!" On a few occasions I have mistakenly identified a student or a fellow teacher that I hadn't met as being from someplace else and I've never heard such a row: "No, no, he (or she) is from MEXICO, teacher!" Every day on the radio, every 10 minutes there are ads. saying how wonderful life, and especially the political system, here in MEXICO is. My daughter received a book at school on the Mexican revolution and in the prologue written by Vicente Fox, the word MEXICO occurred more than 12 times on one page! Noam Chomsky said that the United States was the most indoctrinated country in the world. I think that honour belongs to Mexico. And I think that has a lot to do with anti-American, anti-foreign, what-have-you.