Crt. Reflection 2 quotes
Sabrina Needs Her Identity Back
“‘You know the reason why he took you? It’s because you don’t sleep with your head covered.’ That’s a four-year-old’s explanation” p-184 Have loved-ones who went through similar situations with family members, resonates personally, humanizes narrator (undocumented immigrants)
“I remember that by leaving, that meant we got our mom back, but we would be losing our second mom…I vividly remember how heartbroken my grandma was.” p-185
“I wanted to kick the INS agents, because I was thiniking, we are good people; people that get tied up are bad people.” p-186
“…one of the workers that was in teh same situation got herself documentation and decided to make problems for everybody else.” p-188 why would you turn against those who were once in your situation?
“My parents didn’t want me to go…my bosses at the time…didn’t want me to go either…putting myself at risk for something that wasn’t necessarily valuable.” p-190 I admire her resolve to do something more than what was expected of her
“…a lot of these families, they didn’t even know what pesticides were.” p-192 Growing up my mother never fed us anything with pesticides in it, always made sure we were eating healthy. Things like this make you appreciate your parents a lot more.
“one toilet per fifteen people…one shower-head per ten…barracks-style homes…just a bed…mattresses are years and years old…bloodstains from other farm-workers that have been injured or even died.” p-194
“I’m all for speaking English. I’m all for respecting this country, because I love it. It has given me opportunities that I couldn’t have.” p-198 Goes to show appreciative and hard-working attitude of immigrants, twisted by media to be largely negative
“I’m very proud of being Mexican, but being Mexican now is almost taboo. I don’t describe myself as Hispanic…or Latina…”p-198/199 The atmosphere of xenophobia in America creates another of self-stigmatization in immigrants
“As a result of the law, farmers had to provide a shaded area…water for farm-workers…not be penalized for taking breaks if they felt sick.”p-200 Shows the passion for change, helping fellow immigrants, does work to help enact positive changes, big or small
Valenzuela
“I conclude that…rush to claim a new identity renders them marginal not only with respect to the academic mainstream, but also with respect to their families’ social identities.” Reinforces claims made in “Illegal”, that trying to Americanize usually leads to negative outcomes
“I next asked Nalda which subjects she liked the most in school. This question sparked an immediate intellectual exchange.” p-180 Children are intelligent, born here or anywhere else. Goes on to impress the author with articulate comparison between the wealth gap between Mexico and the US mirroring Anglos and Americans in Texas where she lived