Border Studies

In english class we read Gloria Anzaldua's perspective of the U.S.-Mexican border. Gloria considers herself to be Mexican and American. According to her, "Borders are set up to define the places that are unsafe and safe, to distinguish us from them." She also mentions that the U.S. Southwest consider people who live in these borderlands to be "aliens." The way Mexicans are being treated by the U.S. is obviously bothering Gloria; the same way anyone else would be upset if they were looked down upon. My belief as to why people of the U.S. might respond to Mexicans this way is because many people either fear or dislike anything that is foreign/different from themselves or what they are accustomed to doing. And when your not accustomed to something, you are usually out of your comfort zone. I have noticed this many times with people and also with myself. For example, people might see Mexico's way of living in a negative mannerism because it is different from the way the U.S. way of living. When Mexicans move away from their homeland to the U.S., they are shunned for taking low paying jobs; making it difficult for American citizens to receive jobs. Everyone might have many different reasons as to why the U.S. looks down on Mexicans, but this is my psychological reasoning for the U.S. negative perspective on Mexicans.