No One Expects the Spanish Imposition!
Oct 12 Bahama Natives discover Columbus of Europe lost on their shores, 1492
Surprise is the key element.
I once parroted Monty Python at The Pizza Place. “Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!”
Jorge, a middle-aged man with wry wit and a little boy, who was waiting tables in California because of age discrimination in Mexico, reminded me that “The Indians do.”
I thought a moment, and offered that if the Indians had, they might still be around. He smiled and agreed.
Of course, in Mexico, the Indians are definitely still around. Unlike the English settlers, the Spanish came as conquerors. A mighty empire felled by a fairly small group of pale men, armed with little more than ambitious zeal and some mighty impressive technology. What they neglected to bring in their quest for gold was a supply of pale women.
So, in Mexico, most people are still Indian, even if most of them are also European. And they’re migrating North to fill the vacuum left by all the Indian blood that we have squeezed nearly dry from our own nation. In my heart, they are entirely welcome. Our Great American Melting Pot still tastes somewhat bland, and our friends from south of the border are bringing their hot sauce to help us out.
