Monday, June 06, 2011

Up On The Rooftop

The sounds of Lance Armstrong level strong woodpeckers overhead are building my new roof.  Read into that what you will.   The roofing crew got here as I left for my white collar job.  They are still here as I type this while drinking wine in the comfort of the air conditioning.

How bourgeois.

And it occurs to me that this little house here in the People's Republic of Hillcrest, sitting here,as I am being my bourgeois self,  drinking wine while Mexicans work 14 hour days in the service of me and the insurance company, is a symbol of the national debate on immigration.

Young men going up and down on the ladders carrying-what?-bags of shingles that weigh a hundred pounds per bag.  In 100 degree heat. 

These guys on the roofing crew are here because nobody else will do this kind of labor.  The "Build the Wall" types are not opposed to the maids, agricultural workers or the guys on my roof.  As far as I can tell, they are opposed to providing government assistance to the children of these people who are "taking jobs away from Americans."

But what should I do?  Ask these guys to produce green cards?

I will do it whenever you ask your Caucasian or African American roofing crew to do the same.

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