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Is Cinco de Mayo Off Limits for Trump Supporters?

May 4, 2017

Cinco de Mayo is tomorrow, and like clockwork the tweet threads and think pieces about everyone being racist and white people being demons have started rolling in. Every time around this year, liberals pretend that a) Mexicans actually care about Cinco de Mayo b) that Americans won’t find any and every excuse to drink and throw a themed party and c) that this has anything to do with race.

One of my best friends in high school was Mexican. And not in the way that Elizabeth Warren is “Native American” – she was actually Mexican. She grew up there and everything. If I’m remembering correctly, she had an avocado tree in her backyard there. Her family immigrated (legally) to the United States when she was a kid. She explained to me that Cinco de Mayo was celebrated more in America than it was in Mexico, and that its American equivalent would be something closer to President’s Day than the Fourth of July.

Like St. Paddy’s Day, Cinco de Mayo is celebrated with much more enthusiasm in America than in its country of origin. So why are we pretending that a holiday that’s only significant because of the way Americans celebrate it is off limits to 3/4 of the American populace?

I don’t know if people have changed or I’ve just become more aware, but it seems that as we’ve embraced this culture of offense and faux outrage, both fun and logic have suffered as a consequence. We’ve become so ideologically obsessed that we’re willing to convince ourselves that this holiday is some kind of sacred, integral aspect of Mexican identity when Cinco de Mayo is really about as Mexican as a burrito? (Burritos were invented in America, in case you don’t know what I’m talking about.)

If people that aren’t Irish are allowed to wear Leprechaun hats and drink green beer on St. Paddy’s, people that aren’t Mexican are allowed to wear sombreros and drink margaritas on Cinco de Mayo. And yes, that includes Trump voters.

There is nothing hypocritical about supporting secure borders and celebrating a holiday that originated in Mexico. I didn’t vote for Trump because I hate Mexico or Mexicans or don’t value the contributions they’ve made both to America and the international community. I voted for Trump because I believe that American citizens of all colors, creeds and backgrounds are endangered and disenfranchised by an immigration system that favors the lawless. I don’t care if someone is from Mexico, Canada or the Czech Republic – I expect them to come here the right way. If you conflate being Mexican with illegal immigration, how exactly am I or other Trump supporters the problem? If you’ve reduced an entire population to a crime how am I the racist?

Tomorrow I, a Trump supporter, am going to get black out drunk off of margaritas. Because loving my country doesn’t mean hating another. Because “illegal” isn’t a race or nationality, and I never said it was. Because I’m an American and I can do what I want no matter how people choose to interpret it.

But mostly for the gram.

7 Comments

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7 COMMENTS
  • Tina
    6 years ago

    Really interested. Thanks for sharing

    Reply
  • SeekAndRead
    6 years ago

    This is very difficult situation … Mexicans are good people like tequila

    Reply
  • Abhinav
    6 years ago

    Agree… Relevant to the times and the diversity can work as a strength as well. Celebrating cultures brings more fun and unity. Have Fun!

    Reply
  • Adrian
    6 years ago

    • Mexicans as a whole country might not celebrate Cinco de Mayo, but for the people of Puebla, Cinco de Mayo is a big celebration as it represents an important part of their history, which is the Battle of Puebla. In this battle, the Mexican army successfully defeated the French in 1862.
    o This means that for Pueblans, this holiday is a sacred, integral part of their identity as Pueblans. This also means that this holiday is uniquely Mexican.
    • It has everything to do with race. The false equivalency of St. Patrick’s Day and Cinco de Mayo is wrong because St. Patrick’s day is an Irish day, and although I understand that the Irish were marginalized immigrants long before Hispanics and Muslims, they are now more accepted under the umbrella of “White”. However, for Cinco de Mayo, it’s basically just White people (and other Americans) co-opting the culture of a now-marginalized group of people.
    • It’s more celebrated in the United States because of the fact that alcohol companies decided to commercialize a traditional, niche holiday for Mexican-Americans in order to sell their products.
    • The fact that one of your friends was Mexican weakens your argument. Your friend is not representative of Pueblans or Mexicans and does not have the answers to everything related to Cinco de Mayo. Generalizing Mexicans into the actions of one person is just foolish.
    • It’s hypocritical to support a wall, defamatory rhetoric against Mexicans uttered by your president, and the harmful policies that follow from your president all while you simply absorb the parts of Mexican culture that conveniently don’t involve the Mexican people that your vote has harmed.

    Reply
    • The Pretty Patriot
      6 years ago
      AUTHOR

      I don’t agree with you said and feel that I’ve already said everything I have to say, but thanks for your input!

      Reply
  • Isaac
    6 years ago

    To: The Pretty Patriot-

    It’s laughable.. The moment you’d undoubtedly prefer to read the material written in the comments than the drivel being spewed onto this page.. Or any page on this website for that matter. Thanks for the good read, Adrian. Clearly, you have a more significant comprehension for the multi cultural world that we reside in. ” Um.. I had a friend..umm..she was MexiCAN..umm..she has an avocado tree in her yard!! Um…I’m dense!”. It’s mindnumbing.. In what world does her having an avocado tree qualify as being even remotely relevant. If it isn’t already evident, there isn’t anything wrong with stronger border security but supporting a wall which acts as a clear conduit of animosity and represents a monumental pillar of disdain is just sickening. The wall can only do so much and everyone knows that but it’s the symbolism behind it.. It’s a representation of a group of people’s disheartening ideals. Fortunately, idiocy and hate is difficult to mask behind a shroud of supposed policy and filler.
    Do us all a favor and refrain from writing about topics you ‘think’ you understand. I enjoy your millennial-like writing style but I don’t favor your support of a President who comes off as a complete imbecile..Which I understand, going against the flow is your crutch but it’s tiring to watch the dumb supporting the dumb.
    You better hope Donald is done colluding with Russia or that dagger is most definitely going to hurt when it’s plunged into your back.

    Sincerely,

    The Embassy of Spain

    Reply
    • The Pretty Patriot
      6 years ago
      AUTHOR

      Pointing out an avocado tree in a mexican’s backyard provides context in the same way that pointing out a peach tree in a georgian’s backyard would. Though I’ve heard respectable arguments in opposition to the wall, it being “symbolic of animosity” isn’t one, or even close to one. A wall is a very straightforward and logical approach to illegal immigration by way of border crossing. If people would prefer to be offended than to be logical or reasonable that’s not my (or Trump’s) problem. And have fun being strung along by mainstream media hacks for the next three years. Good luck with that Spanish migrant crisis though.

      Reply

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