It’s that time of year again. Yep, Christmas songs all over the radio on an infinite loop. It pisses me off and makes me want to cut power to the stations’ transmitters (and I know how!). Of course that’s illegal and impossible, but you can’t stop a guy from wishing, right?
Anyway, there are countless Christmas songs that come out to play for the season. Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas is You“and Shakin’ Stevens’ Merry Christmas, Everyone, for example.The list goes on and on, but one song that probably sticks out is Feliz Navidad, by Puerto Rican singer Jose Feliciano.
That song was recorded in 1970 and you can’t have Christmas without it. Not everyone, however, sees it that way. There are at least a few people who see fit to disrespect the song to the point of disgust. There is a parody song called Illegals in My Yard. Its lyrics are vile and offensive, and it’s not easy to offend me when it comes to racial jokes and such. And yet, they accomplished that.
That parody was released in 2009. I won’t give its authors and performers the honor of being named on my site.
I’m not one to be easily offended when it comes to racial and ethnic jokes. Hell, I readily admit that I make ’em myself. But this parody goes on and on and it implies a lot of things. I don’t think they intended to, but in the beginning, they actually compliment Mexicans by saying if one throws them some pesos they’ll “work real hard.”
Let’s face it: most Mexicans really do work hard and they do the things we Americans refuse to do. They meant it as an insult, but they accomplished the direct opposite. But sadly, that’s where the positive things end.
As the parody progresses, it just becomes more and more vile. The song seems to indicate that Mexicans are all drunkards and that they all drive drunk.
Sadly, the song does point out some legitimate things. An illegal doesn’t have a green card. That’s why they’re illegal. Illegals might exploit our laws by having “anchor babies,” meaning that they have a child on our soil and they get to stay.
But all in all, this song fails where it could have succeeded. The song could have pointed out valid things about illegals. They sneak into our side of the border. That’s true. Again, that’s why they’re illegal. But the song could have been a little less harsh.
Make no mistake. I do not like illegals. They need to be sent home regardless of children. The children should actually be sent with them, but if they’re born on our soil, they, unfortunately, automatically become citizens. We can’t send them back to Mexico, but we can split their ill-gotten families up and send the parents home. And we should.
I’m just concerned that this song paints people who are of Mexican lineage and who are here legally in a negative light. That is to say that the song comes dangerously close to saying all Mexicans are all of the things mentioned. I have some experience here.
At one point, I almost married a woman, whom I met in church while my divorce from my first wife was in progress, of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage. I got to know her parents, and they were not only here legally, but they were hard working and never touched a drop of alcohol.
They paid taxes and they didn’t hurt anyone. I also learned a lot about the Hispanic culture. At first, I was afraid of what her parents would think of their daughter being with a White guy. They welcomed me and, when they learned we were engaged, accepted me into their family.
Unfortunately, a couple of months before our intended marriage day, she died at the hands of a drunk driver, taking our unborn child with her.
The guy who murdered them was Mexican (he was killed too) and was, in fact, here illegally. But in the time we spent together, I found that the stereotypes were just that. Stereotypes. However, she did have a wild sense of humor and wasn’t too shy to make jokes about Mexicans and Puerto Ricans.
But back to the point at hand. Feliciano is an American, thanks to President Woodrow Wilson, who granted automatic US citizenship to anyone born in Puerto Rico on and after January 13, 1941. They may not pay federal taxes and they may not be able to vote in federal elections, but they are Americans.
Some people don’t know that. But then again, too many people think Americans need a passport to get onto the islands of Hawaii.
It comes as no surprise that the singer was outraged when the parody came out. It was at that point that the authors, a team of two radio show hosts, took the song down. The internet being the internet, the song will live on and on. In other words, the damage has been done.
This parody goes far beyond poking innocent fun and runs into the territory of racism and hatred. Yes, they have freedom of speech. Yes, parodies are protected under the First Amendment, so they have the right to say what they did.
But I’m sure that’s of no comfort to those Hispanics who find the song hurtful and demeaning.