Charlice M Drexler
LTCS 165
week 2 Assignment

Quote1 from The “Cactus Blood”

“It was a video-tape documentary. Vociferous men looked like the wild chimpanzees I had recently watched in a National Geographic program, which, feeling threatening…they flapped their arms, made shrill sounds, and gnashed at the photographer to give the impression that surely were fearless beasts, determined enemies to be reckoned with…The boisterous, aggressive behavior of these men made me curious…what could this film have to do with Sonny’s suicide? The men’s vicious insults slapped my ears, “C’mon!, C’mon! you’re just a dirty Mex’can! A fucking commie! You’re not an American! You’re a slimy commie!”…”Kern County Sheriffs were macing and dragging and beating and choking Mexican American men and women with their sticks while they battered the farm worker’s spirits with a barrage of dirty slogans. “Beaners, Frito-banditos, greasers” “Lucha Corpi”

I know this is a long quote, but every sentence captures my attention. As an immigrant in this country, I can relate to this horrific harassment Mexican minorities are experiencing. Personally, I have never experienced bullying, nor being harassed by white men or policemen, but I have witnessed these incidents almost everyday. This country is a land of immigrants, a land of multiracial. People come here to pursue a better life, not to cause any destruction. It just breaks my heart to see that immigrants/farmworkers are being harassed, beaten, chocked, and even killed for no reason. After reading this quote, I understand why Sonny did commit suicide. Is this the correct way to address the issue? I don’t think so. Still now, we have witnessed police brutality among the Mexicans and black people. Protesters are being arrested and beaten for trying to have their voice heard. Weeks ago I watched a video post on facebook showing a white woman going to people’s house and leaving a note saying, “This is not your country… go back where you came from… you are not wanted here…” I did find it very hard to watch. Despite protests against police abuses. Despite the Civil Rights laws since 1964, racism and prejudice against minorities are still alive in the United States.

Quote2 “We are Field Workers”

“We dedicate everything to the fields, we are field workers. We are workers; ever since we’re born we’re planting… Poor people from Oaxaca come here; we come here to give away our strength and everything and they don’t do anything for us… Because of our will this government survives.” Seth M. Holmes

What I take away from this quote is that farmworkers played a huge role in the food production in the states. It is beauce of them that we can go to grocery stores and buy affordable fresh fruits and vegetables. Things that we take advantage of every day. Majority of these poor farmworkers are undocumented immigrant from rural Mexico, leaving their homeland and come to the United States to work. They sacrificed their education and dedicated their lives to work in the fields in order to provide for their family. They rarely spend time with their children, some work 6 days a week and have to report to work very early. Agricultural work is not an easy job, it’s required a lot of strength and energy.The fact that they are illegal, they don’t have access to health insurance. What happens if they get injured from work? How can they go to a hospital? Who will pay their hospital bill? Will they get deported back to their country for being illegal? Don’t you think they deserve respect and appreciation for their hard work? These are some questions that I would like to get answers to. During the Trump presidency, Many Mexicans got deported back to their country. It has been reported on NBC news a man left Mexico I believe since he was a teenager, after spending decades in the U.S, he was captured and was sent back to Mexico, leaving his children and his job behind. He has never committed any crime. Couldn’t the government protect him? I think it’s unfair what happened to him. In conclusion, food is so important in the survival of American people, workers like Mexicans who facilitate food supply should be treated with respect and dignity.

Quotes 3: Farmworker Food Insecurity and the Production of Hunger in California

Food security is define as “the access for all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life” “farmworkers are experience particularly high rates of food insecurity” Sandy Brown and Christy Getz

Food security vs. Food Insecurity

Some people have a lot of money, they can have access to all kinds of healthy food, whereas, others can spend days barely with any food. I can use myself as an example. I used to experience food insecurity a long time ago, nothing to be ashamed of. Now every day I have access to enough food. Health wise I just prefer not to eat certain food, also because I tend to gain weight fast. At the same time, in my country, all of my family on my dad side barely have access to any food. There is no job, no food assistance program, no support from the government, and everything is expensive. Majority of them depend on family members from the U.S, like myself for financial support. According to Tony Castleman and Gilles Bergeron, “food insecurity is a global problem that runs deeper than hunger and undernutrition.” This quote gives highlights on how food insecurity can seriously impact the lives of Americans. Even in the U.S “the richest country in the world” has food insecurity. Even though school provide kids with free or reduced lunch, and the government provide food stamp (snap) to help low income families, food insecurity is still an issue.

B) I shared my ideas with the group on slack about the Cactus Blood that wanted to take a quote from to do my reflection on. Jacob gave me his suggestion. He said that “he wasn’t sure about using it for quotes cause it’d be hard to relate but it definitely looks more interesting pf a read.” I ended up using it anyway because as I continued reading, I saw some quotes that triggered my attention.

C) the concrete ideas I have from the reading is how many Mexican farmworkers were expelled from their land in Mexico and immigrated to the U.S to perform the same kind of work for very little benefit. Often they build their own communities. They live in a substandard life. Many of them can’t even afford the quality of food they help produce. They are discriminated against, even called names like: “Beaners, Frito-banditos, greasers” “Lucha Corpi” These farmworkers are sacrificed so much that they should be an integral part of our society. If we can trust them with our food, we should be able to trust them in our community. The barriers of racism and injustice in the food system should be dismantled considering how valuable those Maxican farmworkers are to us.

D) The keyword I searched was “food insecurity in the United States.” in an article about food insecurity and public health, Tony Castleman and Gilles Bergeron stated, “food insecurity is a global problem that runs deeper than hunger and undernutrition.” This quote gives highlights on how food insecurity can seriously impact the lives of Americans. Food insecurity is the lack of access to healthy food which causes malnutrition.

E) being hungry is a feeling that all human beings experience. Even the richest people in the world could at times for a reason or another experience hunger. However, food insecurity is a much deeper problem. The source of food insecurity in a society like the one in the United States could be found in racism and lack of access to resources.