In Haiti, deportees' grills are considered the mark of, well, a thug:
In Haiti, where deportees are widely thought to fuel gang violence and kidnappings, the struggle to assimilate is a perilous one. A misplaced pronoun can give you away, subjecting deportees to outright hostility. But no physical trait advertises a deportee's status more loudly than grills, which are virtually non-existent here except in the mouths of youths who have lived in the United States.
...
Haiti's roller-coaster ride through rebellion and lawlessness has included reports of deportees popping up in the ranks of insurgent gangs."They are killing us," said Gregory Basile, standing at a lottery ticket stall in Port-au-Prince, expressing a common view of deportees.
"They should not send them here. These guys are very good. They know how to use firearms. They can just lean against a car and open it without using a key."
Understandably, El Salvador doesn't care for our deportees either.
Posted by floridacracker at December 30, 2006 09:53 AMHi,
Long time lurker. I normally read your blog at work, where I can't comment. I'm home today so here goes....
The link raises more questions than info that it gives:
1. Why were they deported? The reasons may have been given, but I missed them. As we all know, you have to screw up pretty bad to get kicked out of the U.S. these days. They are using their "knowledge" back in the home country.
2. Such actions got them kicked out of one country and they jump right back to it in the one place that will take them back?
3. Even if they have changed their ways. Did they ever think that -before getting the grill work- a flashy, gaudy, set of teeth that sets you apart from one society will not set you apart from others? Unless, of course, you want to fit in with a world filled with people with flashy, gaudy teeth.
4. Are they so stupid as to believe that there is such a world outside of their gang?
5. Why are they being portrayed as victims of people who don't "get" them, and are shunned by the very societies who's norm they want to bypass?
Thank's for letting me rant. Great blog you have here. I have a (I think) funny grill story if anyone want's to hear. I can reduce it to PG-13. No, I was not involved, I'll just report.
Good points. The writer meant for readers to feel for the plight of begrilled deportees, but the Haitians have their number. They also noticed the correlation between the big, muscular physique of deportees and time spent in the prison gym.
Tell your story any way you like. I'm always happy when someone finally delurks.
Posted by: Donnah at December 30, 2006 12:32 PMWe've got enough MS-13 types around the DC area, particularly in VA, that they are on their way to becoming a demographic of their own. I, for one, would like to see deportees become a leading export.
****On a completely unrelated note - Donnah, have you seen the movie, "Night in the Museum"? You may want to wait to rent it but there is a part in it for you. Ben Stiller has to break up a fight between Union and Confederate troops and while I don't want to give it away, reading your site helped me feel like I recovered some of my cost of admission. Not the popcorn though, Christ that stuff is expensive.
Posted by: tfhr at December 30, 2006 12:55 PMthe joke in Homestead that was popular 'back in the day' had a punchline...
"Don't leave Chrome without it"
Does anyone know or want to guess the lead in ?
Donnah, I think you are exempt from guessing.
Posted by: csason at December 30, 2006 01:24 PM"Tell your story any way you like"
Okay, you asked for it.
I wanted to give back to the community. Unfortunatly, this feeling came upon me during the Clinton years when all was perfect with the world. No need for my help. Thankfully, I was still young and dumb enough to drive recklessly and create a situation in which I was "compelled" to "volunteer" for community service. Sometimes, it takes a village (and judge) to raise a man/child.
So I had my choice of places to "volunteer". I picked the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium (Memphis). My plans were to pick up trash that my brother or I had left behind after the last game- or the biggie.... help on the field. Yes, I was willing to give up my free time to help sod the field so that the Memphis Tigers would have great turf in which to win their next ball game.
But like hoping for a Tigers win, it was not meant to be. The Liberty Bowl was where you signed in. After that, it was to wherever the truck went. I sent my three work days on the banks of the Mississippi. Downtown on the bluffs of the river. There is even more to the story, but I'll get to the point of this one:
I made quick friends with everyone. They were employees and I was the "volunteer". They treated me like I was one of them. They were great. Lot's of fun, but we worked hard. They were/are black- I'm white.
We where all male, so all topics led to women. Someone asked me if all "guys like me" liked to uh.. er.. do the oral thing. Of course my answer was OH%&$heck@#fricking YES!!!!!!
Everyone laughed. One guy, who had a serious gold grill, said that his lady wanted that the night before, but he declinded.
Another guy said..."fool, you know you spent this morning pullin hair all outta your grill!!!
"Once you go grill...."
Posted by: tfhr at December 30, 2006 08:07 PM"...nothing else will thrill."
AmeriDan, did you learn nothing from the suffering and righteous anger of Anita Hill?
Consonant Dude, I'll add it to my Netflix queue.
Owen, they might not know our cultural centers.
