Intestinal Fortitude, who's got it, who doesn't.........

I wanted to comment on this about a week ago, but never got around to it, anyway…… I was watching the goings on in New Orleans on a Spanish television network with my wife over a week ago and man did we get a different viewpoint.

We did not see the Hispanic community complain about needing help, asking for handouts, and ripping on the White House administration, what we saw was something actually positive. We saw how the Hispanic community came together, helping each other out, and actually cleaning up the debris and NOT waiting for “the calvary” to come to the rescue. There was/is much work to be done and they were eager to do the “dirty jobs” that many others balk at. I wonder if these images will sink in with the anti-immigrant crowd that imagines that Mexicans come to the United States looking for a handout.

You know what they did? They did what immigrant always do: They relied on informal networks of family, friends and fellow countrymen, and pooled their resources to get out while they could. Fear of being deported was no doubt a big motivator for some not to stick around, but the loss of work probably played an even bigger role in their decision. Like so many others devastated by the storm, however, many of these Hispanics have lost everything. But for those who are illegally in the U.S., no federal help will be forthcoming. Illegal aliens are ineligible for the $2,000-per-family emergency cash, food stamps, job placement, and other federal assistance offered to Katrina's victims — rightly so.

What I didn’t know and thought was great is that The Red Cross, Catholic Charities and other groups weren’t checking green cards before dispensing aid, they were there to help anyone displaced by the hurricane. Even Mexico chipped in, sending some Mexican military vehicles in with supplies, food, doctors, engineers to help out.

With the cleanup just underway, there will be plenty of jobs to go around, and, as always, immigrants will be among the first lining up to do them. They will be there to work and help, not complain and ask for handouts.