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tony

Dec 28, 2005, 7:39 AM

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Materialism? The locals are consumed by it. No less so than Gringos or Canuks.

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Yo Miguel,
Maybe this is probably the wrong time of year to claim Mexicans are materialistic as the rest of NOB.
Since this part of your last thread got over looked, I figured to break it out on its own. I look the the
US as the ultimate consumer society - why? because we spend the maximum amount of time making money.
All of our holidays have been moved to Fridays and Mondays so as to minimize the impact the WORKING WEEK.
We have less vacation time than most of the world. Ironic isn't it?

IMHO if Mexicans were that interested in making money they wouldn't have so many fiestas. If you add up all
that time they waste ;>) celebrating life, they could be rich by now! If you consider the
thousands of Mexicans who are taking off from their low paying US jobs to celebrate, yes celebrating may be
considered materialistic. This is not to mention the other events in life ie weddings, 3 year old birthdays, communions
quinceanos, patron saints day where they take time off work to celebrate. I do have to admit that alot of money
is spent during these celebrations so the title of materialistic may be noted but is not the underlying motivation.
tony

"We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are."

Papirex

Dec 28, 2005, 9:58 AM

Post #2 of 9 (1512 views)

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Re: [tony] Materialism? The locals are consumed by it. No less so than Gringos or Canuks.

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Just to do a little nit picking here, I don’t believe the average Mexican is as materialistic as folk’s nob. The majority of them simply cannot afford it. We know some people here that can’t even afford cable TV. Often their phone service is cut because of non-payment. If they were given a computer, they could not afford the Internet access fees, etc. Many people here cannot afford to provide a full high school education for their children.

My wife comes from a middle class family here. Most of them are far better off than most of the Mexican population, but they are above average financially. I don’t believe any of them are particularly materialistic. They don’t flaunt their possessions to anyone.

I remember when the law was passed in The US consolidating some holidays, and moving most of them to either Friday, or Monday. I remember that as a current event, not as history.

The goal was not to minimize the impact on the workweek, but to create three-day weekends, so people could enjoy their days off to the fullest. That law, which was passed in the 1950s I believe, eliminated some of them, when there was a movement to create a new holiday for President Franklin Roosevelt’s birthday.

President’s day was created, consolidating Presidents Washington and Lincolns birthdays, and to honor any future presidents that might distinguish themselves. A few holidays were left to fall on specific dates or time periods, Thanksgiving, The Fourth of July, Christmas, etc.

At the time the law was being debated in The US Congress, it was pointed out that ancient Rome had more holidays than working days. The law was passed to try to control the unfettered proliferation of new holidays in the future.

Rex
"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved" - Victor Hugo

Bubba

Dec 28, 2005, 12:20 PM

Post #3 of 9 (1479 views)

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Re: [RexC] Materialism? The locals are consumed by it. No less so than Gringos or Canuks.

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RexC:

If memory serves me, as it sometimes does, Presidents' Day was created so that Martin Luther King, Jr. Day could be created to honor Dr. King without actually establishing another holiday. In the deep south, some states created a Martin Luther King/Jefferson Davis consolidated holiday so as not to piss anybody off.

As to this debate concerning who is and who is not materialistic, it strikes me that it is human nature to seek material comforts and wealth with the measure of comfort and wealth being relative to one's experience. Buddhist asceticism and Mother Theresa are anomolous to the normal human condition. As for the famous story about the Mexican fisherman who simply catches what he needs despite the capitalistic urgings of a gringo observer, wealth accumulation and preservation carries with it certain responsibilities some people simply can't handle. I had a guy who worked for me at odd jobs back in California and worked his butt off but would never let me discuss what or when I should pay him because, once I had committed to pay him, he was obligated to finish the job. Of course, he always finished the job anyway but he didn't have to do so. That was so important to him that he would become infuriated if I even suggested I would pay him. Then , when the job was done, I would play along with the charade as in; "Wow, Billy Bob, that is great work, here is a tip and thank you very much." This guy never accumulated anything and, if he did, he immediately gave it away.

Perhaps I am being naive but it seems to me most people who are dirt poor would rather not be dirt poor.

(This post was edited by Bubba on Dec 28, 2005, 12:31 PM)

Papirex

Dec 28, 2005, 12:55 PM

Post #4 of 9 (1465 views)

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Re: [Bubba] Materialism? The locals are consumed by it. No less so than Gringos or Canuks.

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Bubba, presidents Day was established several years before Martin Luther King did all his great work and earned the respect of his nation. You are right though, much of the resistance to establishing a national holiday for Dr. King was to avoid creating still another national holiday. And much of the resistance was just plain racist.

Wow! Another nit I got to pick.

Mexico seems to cope pretty well with their plethora of holidays though. (Sneaky, but on topic. Concerns Mexico.)

Rex

"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved" - Victor Hugo

Bubba

Dec 28, 2005, 5:50 PM

Post #5 of 9 (1412 views)

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Re: [RexC] Materialism? The locals are consumed by it. No less so than Gringos or Canuks.

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Actually, Rex:

You are both right and wrong.

Until 1971, Lincoln's birthday was celebrated on Feb. 12 and Washington's birthday was celebrated on February 22nd. In 1971, these holidays were consolidated into President's Day in order to create a long weekend no doubt. MLK's days was started in 1983 so President' Day was not started when the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday was established. Since Dr. King was assasinated in 1968, he had obviously done his great work before President's Day was established.

You are not the only nit-picker around here.

Thank God for Google.

By the way, I hate all holidays now that I am retired. People not working on my behalf at all times irritate and inconvenience me greatly.

(This post was edited by Bubba on Dec 28, 2005, 5:52 PM)

manda405

Dec 28, 2005, 8:07 PM

Post #6 of 9 (1379 views)

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Re: [tony] Materialism? The locals are consumed by it. No less so than Gringos or Canuks.

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I am puzzled a bit by something I have seen here in Nogales. There are houses all throughout town that barely have the right to be called houses. They are made of carton and tires and pieces of sheet metal and other random objects. But the thing that is puzzling is that these "houses" have 2005 Ford Lobos in the driveway.

What happens down in Mexico...Stays in Mexico.

Papirex

Dec 28, 2005, 8:08 PM

Post #7 of 9 (1379 views)

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Re: [Bubba] Materialism? The locals are consumed by it. No less so than Gringos or Canuks.

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You’re right Bubba, I just did a Google search myself and thought oh, oh; I better put up a correction right away. Too late, you beat me to it. Anyway, MLK day was established after Presidents day was.

For a Mexico connection, I don’t know if President Nixon ever visited this country, but I’m pretty sure he knew where it is.

Rex
"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved" - Victor Hugo

Esteban

Dec 28, 2005, 9:39 PM

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Re: [manda405] Materialism? The locals are consumed by it. No less so than Gringos or Canuks.

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the auto market is so bad, anyone can get credit. They are practically paying YOU to commit to the payments.

manda405

Dec 29, 2005, 7:45 PM

Post #9 of 9 (1284 views)

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Re: [Esteban] Materialism? The locals are consumed by it. No less so than Gringos or Canuks.

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Funny thing about that, Esteban. My husband and I recently went to the Nissan dealership to see about getting a new car. He wasn't working yet and so I brought my bank statements from the past three months and they wouldn't qualify us because we didn't have Mexican income!
So they told me to take the money out of my bank and put it in a bank in Mexico and then to bring back the Mexican bank statements for three months and they would consider it. I couldn't believe it. Why do they care where the money comes from as long we can prove we have it?
Now I understand why most Mexicans pay for everything in cash. Less hassle and you get better service when you whip out a big stack of bills.

What happens down in Mexico...Stays in Mexico.