Posted on 11/22/2002 3:20:37 PM PST by Joe Hadenuf
The Mexican Consulate in Indianapolis will be open for business Monday. It's an office that will serve a group of people that's growing rapidly in our city and state. Mayor Bart Peterson's office has worked for about two years with the Mexican government and the state of Indiana to get this consulate opened.
You don't have to look hard to see why the consulate is needed. Drive down Washington Street a few miles west of downtown, and you'll see the fruits of our Hispanic and Latino community's labor. Shop after shop, sign after sign in Spanish. There are now some 34,000 Latinos and Hispanics in Indianapolis, and 60% of them are Mexican.
"We have an education system that welcomes the immigrants and we like the way we are treated because we find that the American community is welcoming in general," said Roberto Curci, La Guia Magazine.
The city even has two publications geared toward this growing community. "The Voice of Indiana," a bilingual newspaper and "The Guide of Indianapolis," a magazine for Hispanics and Latinos. There's even a new Hispanic and Latino yellow pages.
Local businesses are forging ties with that community. Kroger just donated a van to the Hispanic Center of Indianapolis to thank them for translation help that the center has provided for the grocery chain.
"As we change and we are changing as a city, I think it was important for business to recognize that and we have recognized it," said Jeff Golc, Kroger.
The change will continue. Just ask the woman who helps run the grocery store on West Washington Street. New Hispanic and Latino customers come in for her authentic products all the time.
"Like once in a while there will be somebody new that comes. You know, like, "Oh, we just moved here and we came to see how it is." So yeah, we always get new people that come here," said Irasema Delgado, store manager.
The Mexican Consulate will serve three states: Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. It will serve as the Mexican government's primary link with those states on issues such as immigration, trade and economic development.
Back to my tortilla chips.
I didn't mean you aren't an American but you seem to have an awful lot of respect for Fox and his demands over this country. Instead of reforming Mexico, all he has to do is tell us we must take whatever number of his citizens he doesn't want in Mexico and so many believe that must be a good plan that will somehow help that country and ours too.
Indiana is full of all sorts of people, most of whom are learning English as quickly as they can. It also has lots of people studying Spanish, Chinese, and Russian.
You don't know a darn thing about my state, and I will agree with CWOJackson that this story about my home town was a poor one to use to illustrate the evils of Mexicans.
I assume that you have not read the Homeland Security bill yet, have you?
Fox isn't. He's only demanding more from the US. He has no plan.
It's the politically cofrect spelling police! Now this is the big issue in Indiana.......LOL. I wonder if all those signs in Spanish will get it right....
Good smoke and distraction, go after spelling errors!
So predictable!
I am studying Spanish. My son has learned it. The guys he works with are learning English.
This is actually not a bad thing, but of course I do not expect you to agree with me.
Now I am leaving for the evening. Adios!
I have to admit I have a fondness for Harp. It's a by-product of all those blasted Irish Immigrants. Now if you want to look at anti-immigrant bias read some of the histories of the Irish immigrant.
Most of America was up in arms over the waves of Irish invading this country just because of a famine back in the old country. Most people thought the Irish to be uneducated, lazy drunken louts who did speak a form of English anyone could understand. They were worried that the Irish were going to come over here and take jobs away from decent hard working Americans, take over their neighborhoods (and ruin them of course) and keep their heathen ways. And to make matters worse, the Irish were Catholics and had kids like rabbits...pretty soon the Irish would drive the decent folk out of their own country.
Yep, we see how terrible that worked out. Every St. Patrick day there they are parading up and down the streets out east.
Damn, it's the Irish all over again.
Oh, and I'll save them the trouble...yes, the Irish mostly came over legally. Their desparation, impact on their communities and eventual influence on this country are history.
It's become a vicious cycle. As Mexico encourages it's harder working people to leave (the elite there don't work hard), Mexico actually becomes worse off. Mexico is quickly losing what could have become it's middle class but it doesn't want to allow that ---or it would.
Wait a minute, If you and your son are learning Spanish, why would the guys your son works with learn English? And What about your Chinese neighbor? Are you not going to learn Chinese?
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