Dear Americans
I watched a video of a senator claiming that without the US, “Mexico would be eating cat food out of a can and living in a tent behind an outback.” This statement is false and disrespectful. Do most Americans really think that Mexico would be screwed without the US? I have met many positive Americans in my life, but this senator’s attitude is condescending and offensive.
Here’s the video for some context
25 comments
I mean he’s being an asshole.
I do think the US are better off as neighbors with a large trade interaction. It’s better for both places.
But no, Mexico would not be eating cat food.
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Mexico is a victim of the US and benefits from us.
He literally misses the point that there are drug cartels because US supplied those drug criminals with so many customers.
LOTS of people share his views. Also, lots of people do not.
In that exchange is started with “figuratively speaking” which is a part you left off. (for those that want to just see this part of the exchange its at 3:30). It was never meant to be taken the way you are taking it. The senator was making a point that there is an imbalance in power between the two countries and Biden has not exerted that power to urge Mexico to eliminate its cartel problem.
This might shock you, but some people are assholes who say rude and disrespectful things. That doesn’t mean one person’s statement or opinion is representative of an entire population of people.
Mexico is both helped and hurt by the US. Mexico has gained tons of manufacturing jobs that wouldn’t be there without the US or NAFTA. On the other hand the Cartel issue is almost exclusively caused by the US War on Drugs and Mexicos geography of being the connector between the growers in South America and the US market
I don’t know about common but there are definitely some trashy, ignorant people who look down on Mexico and Mexicans.
In this case, a lot of GOP/Republicans are frustrated with Biden being pretty weak on the border and ignoring the issues that stem from beyond the border.
And so, this guy is just letting his steam out and revealed his ignorance, in the process.
That said, you’re not going to pretend there aren’t Mexicans who feel a similar way lol? AMLO and some of his supporters have said some condescending things about America and Americans, as well.
Sucks that we keep getting these populist types but hey, what can you do about it except try to vote for a better guy?
No it is not common.
He’s pandering.
A life lesson for foreigners to learn is a politician is rarely representative of what everyday Americans believe. Remember they’re rich elites who only care about what their rich donors think and want.
I think many Americans who aren’t of Mexican descent may view Mexico as worst off but nothing as outrageous as that senator.
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He was speaking figuratively, so he doesn’t mean Mexico is like that. But being figurative doesn’t change the harshness of his description that Mexico would be like that if not for the graces of the US. Him speaking figuratively is just a smokescreen to fool people into assuming he’s being reasonable. You can see examples of that in this post.
He’s still a dick and many people do think that. It’s not a majority, and those that do probably aren’t dicks about. It’s an example of jingoism, which is a term that can mean this casual “America best” comparison to other countries.
No.
John Kennedy is a professional attention whore; none of the things he says are common opinions. He’s gotten what he wants out of this whole deal
No, even if he was “speaking figuratively” this Senator is being an asshole about it. Sorry that you had to hear that and I hope you don’t take it to heart.
Some context for this video to help you understand why this happened:
First, this man is 71 years old. The older generations are not representative of how the younger generations feel and behave. I assume there are similar generational divides in your country? In fact, a lot of Americans are angry that all our politicians are so old and criticize them for being out of touch.
Second, this man is a 71 year old white conservative from the US South. He grew up under Jim Crow, so he’s going to be even more out of touch and less representative of Americans than old people in other parts of the US.
His party is anti-illegal immigration because their base lives in border states that have to deal with the large influx of border crossing migrants. So, he’s going to feel compelled to make a show of strength for his voter base.
Last, the US South uses a lot more dialect and colloquialisms in their speech than other parts of the country. So, he doesn’t mean that Mexicans would actually be eating cat food. He’s using a figurative expression that sounds forceful, which is common in his English dialect.
So, in summary: This politician is trying to sound forceful and confrontational so that his voter base can feel like he is taking a stand against the illegal immigration that they feel is hurting them. His dialect of English makes it more common for him to use descriptive expressions to illustrate a point. He picked an offensive colloquialism either to make a show for his voter base or because he’s too old to realize how offensive it is.
Does that make sense?
I suspect the way people are treating OP in this comments section is, in and of itself, an answer to the question
Is it common? Yes. Are there an equal or greater number of people who also disagree with this or agree with parts of it? Also yes.
“Most” Americans agree on very little, very very little.
Both Mexico and Canada benefit more from a relationship with the US than the US does with either of them.
You taking this comment wildly out of context doesn’t make his actual point wrong.
Unfortunately, I’ve found this kind of opinion about Mexico pretty common with the Trump supporting portion of the population in my part of the country.
I don’t plan on watching the video so I’m taking the OP at face value.
Behind an outback? How the hell did they work Subaru into their speech?
I assume the Senator is talking about NAFTA. IDK I feel like Mexico did pretty well without it. But now we have cheap avocados. That alone should be proof enough that Mexico is more than capable of feeding itself
A lot of Americans have a bad view of Latin American countries. They have no idea how much of our food comes from there. And where do you think Valentine’s Roses come from? They are no roses blooming in the US in February. But, in Brazil? Tons.
Mexico is lit af. Don’t forget that Mexican Americans are the second biggest group in the US and basically the majority in California, which is the most populous and prosperous state in the the union
FWIW, I think most cats prefer canned to dry.
Before even clicking the link, I knew there’d be an (R) after the senator’s name. Republicans get elected by inciting outrage. Their views are fabricated and facetious.
So is it common? In those that follow those sorts of politicians, probably.
Yes.
It is a common view among Americans that Mexico is exceedingly poor and benefits greatly from its connection to the US. And, for the record, there are people in Mexico today who would probably jump at the chance to eat that cat food. There is poverty there like you rarely see in the US. Not everywhere, of course, but it’s there.