So do most Americans...
It's for my livestock, you understand.
Hmmmm...good. If their so happy, there should be many less of them coming over the US border illegaly next year.
My wife is from Mexico, and I've noticed many of the same things as in this article. We are supposed to be the free country, but as for the dignity of doing what one thinks is right for one's self or family - Mexico is head and shoulders ahead of us in practical terms. Now, of course, I don't live in Mexico and wouldn't ever want to - and neither does my wife. There IS a deep corruption like we don't have here, the place is mostly as poor as dirt, medical care really sucks (even if you can walk down the street and get your antibiotic of choice without a scrip), and crime is awful. As a gringo - forget it, you wouldn't last a week outside of the tourist traps. Oh, and you can't legally get a gun - on THAT score, the Mexicans are about as bad as NYC or DC.
One thing that Reed didn't mention: the reason for this apparent freedom in Mexico is simple: there's no money in it for the authorities to be repressive, certainly not as repressive as the laws in Mexico allow them to be. However, if there's a way to relieve someone of their money, rest assured that the policia will find it. There's little wonder why one of the past police chiefs of Mexico City amassed a fortune of something like $12 million on his annual salary of about $8,000, or why one of the past presidents of Mexico is worth well over $1 billion. If Mexico was a richer society, I promise you that it would be far more repressive. That's probably the reason that we have to get permission to do just about anything here: the application/permit costs money.
Suppose that you were subject to, say, horrendous sinus infections or earaches. In America, by law you would have to get an appointment with a doctor, $75, thank you-when he had time, how about day after tomorrow, whereupon he would give you a prescription for amoxicillin, fifteen bucks and a trip to a pharmacy. If this happened on a Friday, you would either slit your wrists by Saturday evening to avoid the torture, or go to an emergency room, however distant, where they would charge you a fortune and give you a prescription for amoxicillin.That's the way it was I visited France also on a college vacation. I got s minor intestinal infection by eating something no good, and I went to the nearest pharmacie and got an antibiotic in capsule form, after telling the pharmacist that I did not want the suppository form ;-)In Mexico, upon recognizing the familiar symptoms, you would go to the nearest farmacia and buy the amoxicillin. The agony would be nipped in the bud (presuming that agony has buds). The doctor would not get $75, which is against all principles of medicine. The pharmacist would not lose his license, as he would in the United States.
Good question. They will lead to a collective nervous breakdown.
oh, so THAT's where all the super-bugs are coming from - self-medicating peasants SOTB.
In Santa Maria, CA, with it's heavily Mexican population, BBQ stands are set up Saturday on just about every corner on Broadway.
I live in NC now and thought of doing the same thing here in our little town since I can't find a da*n job. So I made the mistake of visiting the County Health Department to see what would be required to get a permit to do that.
I would have had put up a screened enclosure with fly fans, hot and cold running water and a sink to wash my hands. The temperature of the water would have to be monitored. I would need a refrigerator (also monitored), and restroom facilities.
All food would have to be prepared in a Class A restaurant - no food prep on site. Neither could I sell any food containing mayonaise.
Needless to say, I have forgotten about that idea.
Oh yes, my brother told me that the city fathers in Santa Maria tried to do the same thing to the BBQ stands there. They were gone for about a month, until the local population revolted and demanded that they be allowed to return.
In fiesta season, which just ended, everybody and his grand aunt Chuleta puts up a taco stand or booze stall on the plaza.
What if Aunt Chuleta's tacos give you food poisoning? What if one of her 'secret ingredients' is rat droppings? What if Uncle Jose's booze stall is serving methyl alcohol? If one of your family members dies, can you seek revenge against Aunt Culeta or Uncle Jose? Is that legal?