Discrimination and Immigrants Rights

It scares me to death to think about the possibility of Trump with the power that being the US president would give him, and what he would do with it. After reading the news about two “white” men with extensive criminal records beating up a homeless guy and declaring that “it was OK because he was Latin” I started thinking about what this whole campaign circus is causing to our society. I don’t live in the US, in fact, I’m from Uruguay, a small country in Latin America. Even though, due to our strong Spanish and Italian heritage, we look more like European than Latin, we are part or Latin America and so I feel bother by this whole topic.

First I want to start by saying that we don’t need people encouraging crazy people. We have enough of those already. The last thing our international society needs is powerful people prompting more hate and discrimination. We need our leaders to set examples of tolerance and respect, we need to show people that we can’t develop as a society if any kind of discrimination is still happening everyday. And I know it’s a long process but c’mon people, this is the twenty-first century. We know we are all the same, we have the same rights and obligations and nobody should have the power to tell someone  they are inferior. Trust me I also live full of pre conceived concepts and clichés, but a few years back I realized how poisonous that is and started to change my way of viewing the world.

I hate the fact that people think that because we are from Latin America we are somehow inferior in any way. It’s true, our countries don’t have the same means, and we have a lot of problems with security and economy but we do the exact same things. We have internet access, we go to school and work, we have scientist, we have doctors, we develop lots of things everyone in the world use today, we have fast food chains, and malls and airports. We don’t live on the middle of the jungle, or the dessert, or between the dirt. I can’t count the amount of times someone from a developed country asked me if we watch tv here, or if we use Tumblr or go to college. THE FREAKING ANSWER IS YES! We do all the same stuff, we even have similar laws and religions and politics, we just don’t have everything developed yet, and probably won’t have for a couple hundred years more.

When I read what Trump had said about Mexican people, and what I believe is a generalized view on all Latin immigrants, I was sad and pissed. I was sad because it felt like a huge step backwards in the mutual understanding of our international society. I was sad because I know there is a lot of people, in the US particularly, that think like him. That they believe they are better than anyone else just because they happen to have been born there.I was sad because they are ignorant, they clearly don’t care to find out the facts and just go with what makes them more money. And I’m pissed because this is affecting us in more ways than we are able to see today. This crime I read about, opened my eyes to the notion that people are taking his words as a truth and are going to scary extremes.

As I read in another article, the illegal immigrants are about 4% of the working population in the US and they mostly concentrate in some areas or services. Imagine a pyramid and at the bottom of it are the "illegal" immigrants, you take them all out and the jobs nobody wants to do but are necessary to the functioning of a country are left without doing and you have a huge void impossible to fill. Besides the fact that it is virtually impossible to make disappear a whole 11 million people, but who’s counting.

My point is, every person who went to the US illegally risked their lives and are most certainly  trying really hard to survive, and make their dreams a reality. Something that sadly people take for granted, in other parts of the world is hard to envision. They are fighting for a better future, they don't want to take your jobs, or rob your house, or kill, they just want a better life. Don’t we all? The US would not be what it is today without the immigrants. One of the things that make the US big is the cultural diversity, the different languages being spoken, foods, jobs , and its people. As someone watching everything from outside, I honestly believe that if tolerance and respect were the norm and not the exception, the US and generally the whole international society would be a million times better.

I have so much more to say but it would require a lot of room and time. But this is basically  why I think we have to fight Trump and this whole train of thought. We have to make the world listen, and be loud. I know we can do it, after all we, the younger generation, are the future of this world, and we have to fight to make t better for everyone. 

L.D

"Life keeps getting in the waaaaay..." ♪

Hello internet! I'm just here for a quick update, I'm pretty busy with college and work but I decided that I want to make this blog kind of a priority. 

So, my idea is work out a schedule, maybe start with one or two days a week, and see how it goes from there. I was thinking maybe one day write about some life problem that is going through my mind or whatever and the other do a book or movie review, something that I enjoy. Let's see how everything turns out.

A little bit about what I've been doing, basically when I came back from visiting the US and Canada, I started college (International Relations) and went right back to work. As you can imagine working 6+ hours a day and taking 5 classes this semester was a bit hectic to say the least, but I made it through. Last friday I took my last exam of the semester so let's hope I ace them all. Anyway this is kind of why I'm not writing a lot lately, but I promisse to try harder..

So goodnight everyone and hope to find more people around here soon ♥

Travelling

Finally I was able to acomplish it. All my life I've wanted to travel and see the world for myself. never thought I could but right now I'm writing this on a train heading to Toronto, Canada. It's amazing the feeling of knowing that you are doing something you wanted to do all your life. 

Skating at Central Park, New York City

Travelling is so incredible. It opens your mind, it helps you understand, it gives you independence and freedom. I can truly say I love it. Of course, there is a downside of travelling, the long hours, the budget, airport security (ugh), missing friends and family and wishing they were there, but at the end it's all worth the experiences. 

View from the Empire State Building

I never want this to end, but sadly in a little less than two weeks I have to get back to work and college. Don't even wanna think about it though, just enjoying my time and the posibility that I was given. 

Flying over Miami

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Reading

Hello! Happy 2015.

Today I wanted to write some thought on the habit of reading. I was reminded of this because I had a talk today at work with one of my co-workers about how much I read, and why it was. 

I told her that, the way I saw it, my love for books come from a very young age. I remember that since I was six or seven my parents took me every year to this book fair that is held in my country and they let me choose one or two books that I wanted to read, with the only condition that I had to finish them eventually. It was like magic to me, I felt so grown up at the time being able to select what I wanted to get. I tried multiple kind of books: poetry, romance, adventure, etc, until I find what kind of books I enjoyed the most. Ever since then, I really believe that finding the kind of books that get your attention and keep you engaged is the key to enjoy reading. Had I stick with one kind of book, I don't think I'd be the avid reader I am today.

It also helped the fact that pretty much everyone in my family loves to read, so I basically grow up around books (not a deciding factor in my opinion because my brother was brought up in the same house and family and he doesn't read much) but I'm positive that it made my wish to read stronger.

Around the time I was eight or nine, my godmother gave me the first Harry Potter book as a gift. At this point I had read big girl books (as I refered to books without pictures or illustrations) but Harry Potter was like the top of it all. Here's the thing a lot of people don't get, Harry Potter (as have done so many other books after it) helped me through so much I can't even explain it. I remember my mom reading them right along with me, and after she passed when I was ten, I felt like I needed to finish the story for her too, and it really helped me cope. She was reading book four when she died, and ten years later that copy still helds a very meaningful place in my heart. 

Thing is, these are things you can't really explain, you have to experience to understand. The fact that a book can move me, make me laugh, cry, get angry and want to trash everything is amazing. To this day, when I find a book that touches me is like a whole new world opens up in front of me to experience. The fact that you can experience life through somebody else and you can escape, at least for a bit, your own life, problems and stress is something magical.


I truly believe there is a book for everyone, and it makes me so sad when someone says that they hate reading, or that it's boring to them, because I'm positive it is because they never found the right book. And all the same it makes me so happy tht new generations are reading so much more than my generation and are comenting and spreding the word about books,

If you know how and what to, reading can be one of your biggest companions through life.