On Mexico, Culture and The Hypocrisy of Cino de Mayo

It’s the fifth of May. That, of course, means it’s also Cinco de Mayo. Break out your limes and Coronas. It’s time to party.

I’m going to go on record as saying that I don’t fully understand why Cinco de Mayo is such a huge deal in the United States. I understand that there is a large population of Mexican people in the United States, but I don’t understand why the rest of us feel the need to celebrate Mexican culture and heritage with such drunken abandon.

Let’s be real. As a whole, Americans are not exactly known for their warmness when it comes to the people of Mexico. How many times have you heard some narrow-minded white guy talk about all the dirty immigrants slipping through the border? In fact, with all the silly swine flu news getting everyone all hot and bothered, there are people who once again want to close our borders with Mexico.

How much do you want to bet the people who would like us to keep Mexicans on their side of the border are the ones who will be devouring the most chips and salsa this evening? It kind of makes me sick.

On a selfish note, it also makes me angry. There is no way I’m going to go out for Mexican food tonight because there is no way I’m going to fight the crowds of drunk white people spilling enchilada sauce down their shirts. I’d love to partake of something delicious at my favorite Mexican restaurant, but it will have to wait until I can do it without sacrificing my sanity.

Cino de Mayo should be a day of pride for Mexican people all over the world. It should also be a day for the rest of us to celebrate a culture that, at least here in the United States, has offered much to the melting pot of cultures that makes this country so great. And yet, it’s now really no more than an excuse for people to get drunk.

And tomorrow, when the buzz of the margaritas wears off, they can all go back to hating the dirty Mexicans who steal their jobs and expose them to deadly diseases.