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Emigration ⎜Opinion
Mexicans Are Shocked We Left the United States and Do Not Plan to Return
Encounters with Mexican Americans and Mexicans leave me with the bitter reminder and taste of nationalism
In the last two years, I’ve had a few encounters while emigrating to Mexico from the United States that remind me how easily patriotism can devolve into nationalism when expressed beliefs and attitudes convey pride and superiority over others’ cultures, governments, and people.
“Mexican” Americans
In 2020, we moved from the US to Mexico and I needed time to learn the process and what documentation I needed to bring my belongings from the US into Mexico. We kept our belongings in storage in a border town in Texas called Pharr (where over 90% of the population is Hispanic — whose heritage is naturally Mexican).
We hired movers to help us unload all our belongings from our “UBoxes” into a storage unit. During this time I had a disturbing conversation with the supervisor.
She asked me, “Are you moving to Texas?”
“No,” I explained, “we have moved to Mexico, but are in search of where we will be living permanently.”
