Analysis Of Labor And Legality By Ruth Gomberg-Munoz

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Labor and Legality by Ruth Gomberg-Munoz is an intense ethnography about the Lions, undocumented immigrants working in a Chicago restaurant as busboys. The ten undocumented men focused on in Gomberg-Munoz’s are from Leon, Mexico. Since they are from Leon, they are nicknamed the Lions in English. She describes why they are here. This includes explaining how they are here to make a better future for their family, if not only financially, but every other way possible. Also, Gomberg-Munoz focuses on how Americans see “illegal aliens”, and how the Lions generate social strategies, become financially stable, stay mentally healthy, and keep their self-esteem or even make it better. Gomberg-Munoz includes a little bit of history and background on “illegal” …show more content…

Rene has some stereotypes of what people think a Latino is and how they act. He is extremely hard-working. He cares about his family. He wants a better life. He sees American workers as hard-working, but only to get ahead. They also “kiss ass” so they can get ahead. Rene believes that through hard work, respect will be awarded to you, no “kiss assing” necessary. The typical stereotypes of a Latino are present in Rene, but that is not a bad thing. Rene resists the racial stereotypes on him by proving that he is a hard worker, not because he is good at low paying jobs, but because he is a family man. He wants a better life for his children. He puts up with the constant jokes comedians or coworkers make about Latinos only being able to work low paying jobs that Americans typically do not want. This includes jobs like maids, sewer workers, farm laborers, and restaurant workers. Rene is able to not only take on the task of proving those stereotypes wrong, but he is able to keep his faith in himself while he does this. Like Rene, the other Lions are hardworking and able to push past stereotypes so their families can have a better life. They are able to work those low paying jobs so they can get an education. They are able to ignore those distasteful looks shot at them when they are working. This not only shows that the Lions are an …show more content…

In my opinion, the most interesting part of Labor and Legality was “Meet the Lions”. Learning about each of the ten male Lions was so interesting and insightful. It opened up a new lense in my worldview. Obviously, I have not had experience with undocumented immigrants. I know nothing about what they do to get here, why they come here, etc. By reading personal accounts, my worldview was able to shift in a new direction. Not only do I now see that undocumented immigrants are needed in America, but they are people just like any citizen here. As said before, undocumented immigrants, like the Lions, do the jobs that most Americans do not want to do. Low paying jobs are the ones people steer clear of if they are older than 20 years of age. They are NOT stealing “our” jobs, they are taking the jobs that you do not want. They are hard working people who will work in stench, who will clean the dirtiest of bathrooms, and who will slave in the sun picking tomatoes for a better tomorrow for their families. I know nothing about the politics involved when it comes to immigration, but I do know that it is extremely difficult for an undocumented immigrant to get citizenship. I believe that if they are “found” here, they should be given the right to try to obtain citizenship, especially if they have lived here for so long. In one of the videos

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