If you're a racist at home, it's very likely that you'll still be a racist while traveling abroad. Case in point: A group of young Americans who felt compelled to vocalize their support for President Trump's border wall while vacationing in — you guessed it — Mexico.
An editorial published in The Yucatan Times last Friday slammed a group of American spring breakers who began chanting "Build the wall!" at a tourist ship off the coast of Cancun.
Why would they think this was a reasonable thing to do? Because of American entitlement and xenophobic attitudes. That's why.
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"This is just one of the many blameworthy behaviors that young spring breakers have shown recently in Cancun and that are described as acts of xenophobia and discrimination against Mexicans within their own country, which is (or should be) totally unacceptable," the editorial reads.
The incident was originally reported by Anaximandro Amable Bruga, a Peruvian man who went to Cancun on honeymoon trip with his wife in early March. He shared his experience in a lengthy Facebook post.
"As some of you my friends know, today I was with Suly, my wife (a Mexican native), watching an entertainment show off the coast of Cancun aboard a boat. Really fun," Amable Burga wrote in Spanish. "At the end of the show, a group of Americans (I don't know if under the influence of alcohol, or sober), began singing the infamous rubbish "Build the wall" chant."
He goes on to say that even though he has tried to stay away from debating what's happening in the U.S., the incident was deeply hurtful.
"Latin Americans: We can't tolerate, or be conciliatory or flexible, with these nefarious attitudes, just as we can't be tolerant with lies or the attacks against the dignity of people, of a nation," he wrote. "They didn't tell me about it: I lived through it, and it hurt, and it fucked me up, and it filled me with anger, sadness, and impotence."
To see that a person feels that way in their own home because of a bunch of idiots is absolutely heartbreaking.
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Despite what American exceptionalism and the Monroe doctrine would have you believe, the U.S. is neither superior nor the owner of the world. Going abroad and acting like you are entitled to disrespect an entire nationality just because you are from the U.S. is moronic, and it's one of the reasons people in other countries don't like Americans.
The behavior of these spring breakers is not just blatantly xenophobic, it's outright offensive. If you hate Mexicans so much, then maybe don't go there on your next vacation. We hear Florida is good this time of year.
Editor's note: Anaximandro Amable Bruga's Facebook post was made private after the publication of this story. We preserved a screen shot of the original posting, and have added that to the article.