Distraction provided by Trump & Fools:From Steve Lopez of the LA Times.http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-0904-lopez-taco-trucks-trump-20160902-snap-story.html.Last week, GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump made another tough-guy speech about deportations and immigration. Then Marco Gutierrez, a founder of Latinos for Trump, got nearly as much attention for a comment he made in defending his candidate of choice..“My culture is a very dominant culture and it’s imposing and it’s causing problems,” Gutierrez said on national television. “If you don’t do something about it, you’re going to have taco trucks on every corner.”.Well, here in Los Angeles, we can tell the rest of the nation what that’s like..First of all, it smells really, really good, all the time. Let’s say you can’t sleep, so you roll out of bed and decide you’re hungry, but it’s 2 a.m..No problem..Open a window, take a deep breath and follow the scent of sizzling meat, onions and peppers to the nearest taco truck..Taco trucks are like palm trees here. Part of the landscape, and not hard to find..I’m not saying you’ll be able to sleep after you eat, but for just a couple of bucks you’ll have a full belly and a smile on your face..Clearly, though, some people are going to remain terrified at the prospect of proliferating taco trucks — because the real message isn’t about more tacos, but more Latinos..
That’s the whole point of identity politics. Create villains. Draw lines. Reinforce fears..
Lopez goes on to interview some of the people operating taco trucks. They are small business people, working long hours, sometimes 7 days a week..Just the kind of people the republicans supposedly support..
I figured I needed to hit one last taco truck and order lunch, so I drove west. When I got to MacArthur Park, I spotted a brightly painted truck with religious figurines propped up in the front window. The name of the truck?.“Love & Peace Seafood and Mexican Grill.”.It was parked outside a Bank of America. I moved in close enough to hear the owner speaking in Spanish to his customers, and when he was free for a moment, I asked if he had heard the taco truck comments..“No,” he said. “I’m too busy working to pay attention to politics.”.I asked if he was from Los Angeles..“No,” he said. “Egypt.”.He told me he came to this country seven years ago, learned to speak Spanish and made friends with someone who taught him how to cook Mexican food. Three years ago, he said, he bought his own truck, and the woman cooking at the grill was his Guatemalan wife.,
I ordered two carne asada tacos — which were excellent, by the way — and thought to myself, I know what would truly make America great again.
Distraction provided by Trump & Fools:From Steve Lopez of the LA Times.http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-0904-lopez-taco-trucks-trump-20160902-snap-story.html.Last week, GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump made another tough-guy speech about deportations and immigration. Then Marco Gutierrez, a founder of Latinos for Trump, got nearly as much attention for a comment he made in defending his candidate of choice..“My culture is a very dominant culture and it’s imposing and it’s causing problems,” Gutierrez said on national television. “If you don’t do something about it, you’re going to have taco trucks on every corner.”.Well, here in Los Angeles, we can tell the rest of the nation what that’s like..First of all, it smells really, really good, all the time. Let’s say you can’t sleep, so you roll out of bed and decide you’re hungry, but it’s 2 a.m..No problem..Open a window, take a deep breath and follow the scent of sizzling meat, onions and peppers to the nearest taco truck..Taco trucks are like palm trees here. Part of the landscape, and not hard to find..I’m not saying you’ll be able to sleep after you eat, but for just a couple of bucks you’ll have a full belly and a smile on your face..Clearly, though, some people are going to remain terrified at the prospect of proliferating taco trucks — because the real message isn’t about more tacos, but more Latinos..
That’s the whole point of identity politics. Create villains. Draw lines. Reinforce fears..
Lopez goes on to interview some of the people operating taco trucks. They are small business people, working long hours, sometimes 7 days a week..Just the kind of people the republicans supposedly support..
I figured I needed to hit one last taco truck and order lunch, so I drove west. When I got to MacArthur Park, I spotted a brightly painted truck with religious figurines propped up in the front window. The name of the truck?.“Love & Peace Seafood and Mexican Grill.”.It was parked outside a Bank of America. I moved in close enough to hear the owner speaking in Spanish to his customers, and when he was free for a moment, I asked if he had heard the taco truck comments..“No,” he said. “I’m too busy working to pay attention to politics.”.I asked if he was from Los Angeles..“No,” he said. “Egypt.”.He told me he came to this country seven years ago, learned to speak Spanish and made friends with someone who taught him how to cook Mexican food. Three years ago, he said, he bought his own truck, and the woman cooking at the grill was his Guatemalan wife.,
I ordered two carne asada tacos — which were excellent, by the way — and thought to myself, I know what would truly make America great again.
More taco trucks.