“The Sleeping Mexican” has been portrayed as a symbol of a lazy Mexican. If you haven’t heard about it Lacy Young and Mari Hall describe it in their article, “The lazy Mexican: A damaging stereotype that’s far from the truth”, by stating, “The image of a farmer reclining against a cactus, his sombrero pulled over his eyes, his posture evident that he is asleep. [...] It exudes a passiveness and has come to symbolize the accepted image of the lazy Mexican” (Young,Hall,2017).
The characterization of “The Sleeping Mexican” can be depicted by people as a way to stereotype the Mexican population. Many may see Mexicans as “idle” and characterize them as dependent of government funding and illustrate those who do work as “non-energetic”.
However, Mexicans aren’t at all what the image of “The Sleeping Mexican” demonstrates. According to Young and Hall, “Twenty-eight percent of Mexican employees work very long hours, one of the highest in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development” (Young,Hall,2017). In my viewpoint, someone who gets up early in the morning and goes home late at night isn’t at all what I would use as a definition for “lazy”. They also move on to stating, “[...] the average Mexican worked 2,246 hours in 2015, [...] The average American worked 1,790 hours that same year” (Young,Hall,2017). Mexicans worked 456 hours more than American workers that year, which goes to show the unreasonable portrayal Mexicans are given.
One of the most important things that are left out when describing how Mexicans work is the conditions they have to work through. Those who work out in the fields, the ones that work in construction, or in any environment outside sometimes have to go through the cold winters and hot summers. In an article written by Andrea Hopkins, “Hispanics do jobs others in U.S. ‘won’t stand for’”, Landscaper Fred Hollmann states, “They’ll work in extreme temperatures, in 115 degree (46 Celsius) weather, and most people won’t stand for that. They do it because they really want to feed their families” (Hopkins, 2007). Many Mexicans, for example my father, have to work through the harsh temperatures and are mostly always in uncomfortable positions for many hours. They endure the pain and struggle to earn the minimum wage to bring food to the table.
Young and Hall state, “There’s a saying in Mexico that describes their working culture: ‘Sé a qué hora entró mi trabajo, pero no sé a qué hora salgo,’ or, ‘I know when I go to work, but I don’t know when I leave’” (Young,Hall,2017). In my household my father, a beekeeper, leaves every morning at five and doesn’t come home sometimes until six in the afternoon. I would never consider him as a lazy Mexican nor the Mexicans that work with him. Working thirteen hour shifts, having an hour lunch, working in high degrees with heavy suits, risking getting stung every day, and traveling away from home only creates an image for me of what a dedicated worker is.
It is time to create a new image of what a Mexican worker is. A new symbol that proudly manifests the dedication and hard work of these people. Never again should the sculpture of “The Sleeping Mexican” be viewed as a stereotype to see Mexicans as lazy. “The Sleeping Mexican” is the image of the Mexican after working intensively, that is the thought everyone should think when viewing it.