Quote Originally Posted by Weednuts
Nice post. I agree with everything except the last two bits. I feel where you're coming from though.
Thanks for the reply without insult! I appreciate it.

In regards to 9/11,I guess I should clairify that I am just desensitized to it.Yes,it was horrible and destroyed many lives.Yes,it rocked the country to have such a brazen attack on U.S. soil,but when you go through history,humans are very good at one thing: destroying each other in the name of money,land,politics,religion, and power.
We are the only animal that kills for sport,greed,lust,retribution,moral conviction,etc. After a while,I just can't "feel" much except dismay and resignation that this is what we do to each other.We all have our defense mechanisms to keep our sanity.

On the illegal alien issue: I am just speaking from experience here and fully understand the reasons why so many are totally against it,but as a chef and 15 years in this industry,I have worked with quite a few illegals and it boils down to simple humanity.When you hear their stories and what they went through in their own lands and what they did to get here,it really changes your perspective.

Perfect example being a dishwasher or prep person.Now,in a corporate setting,everyone is legal,but the privately-owned places are another entirely.In over a decade,the Mexicans,Guatemalans,Peruvians,etc I have known worked harder than any American doing the same job.The work ethic they have is amazing.

They never complained [like Americans do..lol!],were willing to learn anything you wanted to teach them,never were late, never called in sick and were always very nice and respectful to all fellow employees..they busted ass right along with the rest of the crew 12 to 15 hours a day,6 to 7 days a week.

I don't care if it's a mom and pop place or The Ritz-Carlton,Americans will complain about the work,call in for stupid reasons,have an attitude about doing some job [this is not a glamorous profession;it's HARD WORK] because they feel it's beneath them,took excessive smoke breaks or were always on their damn cell phones.I have had to confiscate many a phone at the start of a shift because people seem to think that it's ok to be paid to socialize.

As a female in a male-dominated industry,I have a tremendous work ethic and expect co-workers and employees to follow suit.I have just experienced more problems with fellow Americans than the amigos who were doing the same job for the same rate of pay....that's all!