Thursday, March 26, 2009

White Men Can't Rake

“There is no doubt that Mexicans, filled with dignity, willingness and ability to work are doing jobs that not even blacks want to do there in the United States”
–Vicente Fox (former President of Mexico 2000-2006)

Perhaps by virtue of my zip code or the silver spoons lodged firmly in certain residents’ throats, the number of home owners observed in gardening attire, bent ass-backwards to prune overgrown shrubs, pull weeds, or simply maneuver lawnmowers and spreaders across postage stamp acreage is negligible. In other words, white people in my neighborhood don’t stand in their grass. Presumably, they spend weekends listening to atonal jazz, reading English-translations of foreign novels, or maniacally shuttling children from practice to practice in the hopes of padding the family ego through competitive sports. So when autumn leaves fall or spring growth blossoms, I assume my token position amongst the affable Mexican day laborers.

Strangely, it feels disrespectful to strap on the leaf blower, as if I’m blatantly thumbing the eyes of these industrious landscapers, selfishly impeding their revenue stream with my amateur arsenal of tools. Just as a serial masturbator would anger the bible thumping right-to-life crowd with his wasted discharge of potential children, so must my presence in work gloves annoy the illegal squadron of lawn doctors. Either that, or I’m simply confusing them; effecting bewildered glances not only due to my melanin-challenged skin tone, but because these amigos can reshape multiple yards and grill a burrito in the time it takes me to blow leaves out of a small pachysandra patch.

Last Saturday marked a seismic event on the block, as two (count ‘em two) white men armed with dueling leaf blowers eradicated the last of the autumn debris in preparation for a new season of greenery. Me, and the realtor next door. Yes, the realtor, assiduously toiling to improve the curb appeal of his listing, yet taken aback at the way nature had reclaimed the property. Two white men slogging in adjacent yards seemed apocalyptic, almost dangerous, like we’d passed into some kind of dream nexus or Bizarro World worm hole; an affair nearly as foreboding as the crossing of proton pack streams in ‘Ghostbusters.’ Thankfully, witnesses were few and panic was averted.

But white men can’t rake. Not well, at least (see “No Money, No Problems” from Jan 14). Try as we might, I’m probably more suited to analyze the complexities of jazz, or trash my last semblance of dignity by shuttling random kids to track meets in a mini van: the end of the line for all Caucasians. That said, if faced with the reality of modeling seersucker pants on an afternoon yachting trip with uptight, gin drinking Protestants, I’d much rather hang with the Mexicans. They seem like a fun bunch, and the prospect of copious tequila while whistling at passing butt cheeks is a lot more enticing than croquet swing dissection. In between nacho refills, I can educate my compadres in the realm of financial discipline, and they can regale me with swashbuckling tales of navigating the Rio Grande in bathtubs.

Of course, this all begs the question: what can white people do? For one thing, we can swindle your money, hawking a complex alphabet soup of financial products like ABS, CDO’s, and CDS; analyzed, ironically, by a bunch of industrious back room Indians and/or Asians who see not in color, but in mathematical formulae and greek letters. Beware of people who have difficulty matching their socks, yet express flippant ease at destroying the financial landscape with instruments of byzantine complexity. And white people can sell this stuff, quite well I might add, due to our conversational breeziness and ability to look important in suits. Not only do we take pride in our wardrobes, but we conveniently jam toxic assets down the mouths of other white people who lack investment acumen or pecuniary sophistication. Then we get greedy, fuck it all up, and wait for cunning, stodgy white men (and one youthful half-white man) in the upper flanks of government to whitewash the scandal (excuse the pun) and bail us all out.

Now if you could pass the rest of those cervezas, it’d be appreciated. Just get that rake out of my sight. It’s really breaking my stride.

13 comments:

growingupartists said...

Have I told you today that you're gay? Well, you look like Paris Hilton, so same thing.

MVD said...

Although we appreciate structured feedback in this space (in addition to statements of lesser quality), the inanity of the above comment has extended well beyond the realm of belief.

Please read the post before splattering random droppings on the page. And if you do feel the need to relieve yourself, clean up afterwards.

Tina said...

Hahaha...white people aren't that bad.

MVD said...

White people "aren't that bad," you say? Personally, I have zero tolerance for the entire lot. Send 'em all back to Europe.

Oh, and thanks for perusing the site. Do check back often and always. It makes me smile.

Andrea said...

*laughing quietly*

growingupartists said...

No new post? I'm never checking back again. Felines!

blunt delivery said...

we can pretend to be vegetarians and care about littering. quite well.

Jen said...

This is what happens when you lose your job and have your Blackberry confiscated. One must start doing manual labor. 12 year old scotch is highly over-rated. Margaritas are much more fun.
And overpriveleged white people can do much more than just sell credit default swaps. They are great at designing elaborate ponzi schemes as well.

Matt Shea said...

Mike, with your new found gardening skills perhaps you'd like to take on the onerous task of mowing my lawns. Of course, due to the four years of drought there isn't much in the way of lawn to mow, but it makes it all the more fun when you get to spray the neighbour's cars with finely formed dust and hock the mud out of your sinuses afterward.

Suldog said...

Yup. I'll be back.

MVD said...

Hey Matt - Considering my pesky unemployed situation, so long as you cover my round-trip airfare, I'll mow your sandpit. Shall we arrange a bi-monthly landscaping plan?

formerly anonymous said...

wish i woulda seen this when it was posted.. hey im a busy girl... anywhoo if ur still looking for a job there are a few corners over there in Corona where "they" wait for the trucks to pick em up.. I'm sure if you brought a gift they'd take you in

MVD said...

I suppose I could distribute sombreros to that pack of corner loitering amigos, but it would seriously hamper the space in the truck bed.

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