Note-This blog entry isn't about my politics. It's about a couple of things I've seen lately that I just could not believe. And then when I could believe them, I was so frustrated and sad.
Thing 1: The Arizona Minutemen.
Here's the issue (briefly): After 2001, border security increased in Texas and California, where it's easiest to cross. Why is it easiest to cross the border in those states? Ciudades gemelas, and there's no desert. Ciudades gemelas means twin cities, like Ciudad Juarez/El Paso, Tijuana/San Diego, etc. Once a person reaches Ciudad Juarez, they are pretty much set. The only obstacle is border security. They walk or ride in the trunk of someone's car from one city to another. It's easier to hide in the city, easier to find food and water.
This is not the case in Arizona. People who make it to the border between Mexico and Arizona still have days of walking through the desert ahead of them until they reach Phoenix. Imagine walking for days with little food and even less water. After a while, all the mountains look the same and you start to pray that you aren't walking in circles, that you wont end up back in Sonora where you started. And if the rattlesnakes or dehydration doesn't kill you first, then there's vigilante justice. Enter the Arizona Minutemen.
According to the Minutemen themselves, they are American heroes. They do not break the law, in fact, they have immense respect for the law, and especially law enforcement officials. The founder of the Official Minutemen Project (http://www.minutemanproject.com/) is a Marine with a purple heart. So what's my problem? How could I argue with a guy who has a purple heart?
Well. I am just getting started. After 2001, the good people of Arizona began to notice that there were a lot more Mexicans walking around on their ranches and hiding in their barns, because it's pretty tricky to find a place to hide from La Migra in the middle of the desert. After repeated attempts to bring this problem to the attention of the federal government, the Arizona ranchers got fed up. Being red-blooded Americans, they decided to take the situation into their own hands. What could go wrong? After all, they're just enforcing the immigration laws that already exist. According to the Official Minutemen Project website, a Minuteman simply apprehends the "illegal alien" (I have SO MANY ISSUES with this term, but I think that's another subject for another evening when I'm feeling rant-y) and turns him/her in to the authorities. The Minutemen are protecting their private property; who could argue with that? And what would you do if a group of Mexicans walked through your backyard in the middle of the night? Actually, I would invite them in for tacos, but we all know I'm a little bit odd.
And what happens if one of these gun-toting protectors of the homeland gets a little too trigger-happy? http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/eades/2009/06/minuteman-leader-arrested-in-a.php
This Minutewoman killed a nine-year old girl. What, did the little girl threaten to steal your cattle? And that's not the scariest part. This woman and two of her cronies murdered a man and his daughter in the process of a home invasion. According to the mother of the accused, "She sat here and said that she was going to start a group where they went down and start taking things away from the Mexican mafia. She was going to kick in their doors and take away the money and the drugs."
Unfortunately, this lady is not the only psychopathic Minuteman. But really, what do the American people care if in the process of apprehending a few "criminal aliens", some folks get buried in the backyard. Your finger slipped on the trigger. It was dark and you couldn't see properly. After all, they're nothing more than criminals. Illegals.
So, I have a problem with vigilante justice. What else do I have a problem with?
Thing 2: Racist video games.
This game is called Border Patrol. The objective? Shoot the "wetbacks" as they run across la frontera. Oh, and double points if you shoot a pregnant woman because she's a "breeder." She wants to come to America so her baby will be a citizen, then she wants to steal your tax dollars to pay for WIC and welfare for said baby.
I really have nothing to say, except that I don't want to believe people are capable of this level of ignorance. If you dare, scroll down and read the comments of the game website. I want to believe these people are joking. They're just spouting horrible, insensitive, racist jokes. But then a little voice in the back of my head says, "These are not jokes, these are your countrymen." And in moments like those, I have never felt less proud to be an American.
That's all for tonight. I miss you guys, but sometimes I don't miss the United States. Sometimes I don't miss it at all.
One thing that saddens me is that, contrary to his campaign promises, the Obama administration has done nothing to reverse the "surge" in immigration enforcement begun in Bush's last year. I know, we have Afghanistan and Iraq and health care and the economy and any number of other crises, but I was hoping for a little more than lip service.
ReplyDeleteTake a look at the figures here.