From Xico

Good Guys and Bad Guys

Amurricans (or as a NY Times blogger called them/us, Amerks) exercising their rights:

  Foto Ap

Go Rick Perry Go!

Below you can find my translation of pieces of an article by several news agencies: Notimex, ap and Reuters which appears in today's La Jornada.

First a slight Rick Perry detour. 

Here is a photo of Rick Perry in glasses.

Perry may or may not need them,  but I suspect this pair is purely cosmetic.  There is no evidence of lense distortion of the eyes. Not even a tiny bit. They don't even magnify his eyes a bit the way glasses for presbyopia (older people's trouble seeing close--he surely needs some at 64. But he wouldn't want to wear THOSE in public). And you'll notice they are the um trendiest sort, the kind EVERYONE on TV is wearing.  Maybe he got the idea from Sarah Palin. 

On Sunday, Perry attended church at Clear Lake Evangelical Church in Iowa.  Notice the church is in Iowa.  In 2012 Perry soared and then crashed in Iowa.  At this church, according to the Washington Post, "He came for redemption.  . . . .  Rick perry held his arms across his torso and swayed as the choir sang. . . . He bowed his head while the pastor preached about 'God's perfect plan of salvation.'"

The Washington Post says that the border crisis "gives Perry an animating issue placing him at the forefront of Republican politics." The article goes on, "After church. . . Perry spoke about the influx of young immigrants in front of about 100 conservative activists who sat rapt inside a hot and steamy airplane hangar here.    When the governor said the words ´'securing the border,' he clenched his left fist, flexed his bicep and leaned his body forward. He paced side to side with a wireless microphone and no notes, bending his knees for emphasis. He looked like a Texas A&M football coach giving the aggies a pep talk.

.  .  .  .

"'I will tell you this,' he added, his voice growing louder.  'If the federal government does not do its constitutional duty to secure the southern border of the United States, the state of Texas will do it!'"  

"The activists rose to their feet and cheered.  Perry had scored a touchdown."

This is one of those situations where if I didn't laugh I'd cry.

 As I said, the following story is from a joint effort by news agencies in La Jornada. The translation is mine.

"Yesterday Rick Perry announced the deployment of a thousand soldiers in the National Gard on the frontier with Mexico to reinforce the security in the midst of a human crisis without precedent, in the face of tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors, the majority coming from Central America.

"The governor, a possible aspirant [I wish this were a joke.  Maybe a running character on Saturday Night Live if it still exists] for the Republican nomination for president, said that in recent months the security measures on the border had been seen to be overwhelmed by the arrival of some 57 thousand unaccompanied child migrants crossing into the US between October and June.

"The governor maintained that cartels and criminal gans were exploiting this situation in order to engage in trafficking in people and drugs.  

"Perry said that the National Guard troups would work together with state agents from the Department of Public Security to guarantee security to all residents.

"The soldiers will also help to combat the drug cartels and to dissuade the foreign criminals from entering.

. . . .

"Perry, critical of the White House response to this crisis, said that the State has the responsibility to act in the face of 'the vain words and empty promises' of the federal government. 

Democratic legislators accused Perry of militarizing the frontier.  'Militarization is the wrong reponse to the arrival of these children,' said Joaquín Castro, a Congressional representative [from San Antonio]I continue to hope that our state  can give a measured more useful response than to send armed soldiers to welcome the children seeking refuge from the violence," he said.

The chief of police of Cameron County [the southeastern most county of Texas, across the border from Matamoros.  It includes Brownsville] Omar Lucio said that he didn't know if the troops would arrive at that part of the border and asked what benefits it would bring in case it did.  'These people are trained for war, not for police work,' he asserted. . . 'I think the money would be better spent if it were given to agencies in charge of enforcing the law near the frontier.'

"More than 3 thousand agents of the Border Patrol operate in south Texas.  Perry has asked Obama on many occasions to send the National Guard to the border. "

+ + + + + +

And just so you can get further acquainted with this man Rick Perry who is governor of Texas and apparently still hoping to run for President, listen to him at athe Conservative Political Action Conference  of the United States this year in Washington DC.  

  

Good grief.  I hope you recognize what a fantasyland this man lives in with his followers.

 

And here are some pictures taken from La Jornada of kids.

 

 

A child at a demonstration in California. (Reuters)

 

An immigrant minor rests under a train in Arriaga, Chiapas, on his way to the US frontier (Foto: Alfredo Dominguez)

 

A child in a processing center in Texas. (foto AP)

 

Two small Central Americans play in a refuge in Tapachula [Mexico, I think.] (foto: Alfredo Dominguez)

These kids could be anyone's kids.  They don't need a system that batters and bruises them.

Detroit: What's racist?

Focus first on the white man lying, beaten up, on the ground.  Then focus on the black woman, armed, lying on top of him, protecting him. And the black child hit by the car the white guy was driving, but not seriously hurt. Then pan to the black men standing around him and the black crowd a bit further back. 

What happened: a white guy driving a truck accidentally hit the black kid who reportedly dashed out into the street.  A dozen black men beat him up.  A black nurse who happened to be there wielded her gun as she threw herself on him to protect him.

Charlie LeDuff, a reporter now for a local Fox news station, has written an op-ed piece in the NY Times called "A Beating in Detroit" about this incident.  You should read it.  LeDuff walks the line between black and white, siding with neither particularly, but showing a lot of insight as he goes.  

The article reminded me: racism isn't always obvious at first glance, and sometimes what is called racism isn't.  

I'm sure I've mentioned that when I was a psychiatric social worker in southern Illinois, racism among the white staff was rampant.  And it was acceptable among the whites.  People believed that the views they held which I call racism were really an accurate measure of what blacks were.  Being racist also was a way of drawing the white staff together, a badge of belonging.  And it had been passed down from parent to child.  It was deeply entrenched in people's very souls.   But this shouldn't be surprising. Scratch the surface and you will find that pretty much all of us harbor a streak of racism, if unconsciously.

Here is a good definition of racism:

 "Racism is the belief that characteristics and abilities can be attributed to people simply on the basis of their race and that some racial groups are superior to others. Racism and discrimination have been used as powerful weapons encouraging fear or hatred of others in times of conflict and war, and even during economic downturns."

The article continues:

"Racism is also a very touchy subject for some people, as issues concerning free speech and Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights come into play. Some people argue that talking about supporting racial discrimination and prejudice is just words and that free speech should allow such views to be aired without restriction. Others point out that these words can lead to some very dire and serious consequences (the Nazi government policies being one example).

"[T]he American Anthropological Association says race is a powerful idea and an enduring concept, invented by society. It has also fostered inequality and discrimination for centuries, as well as influencing how we relate to other human beings."

Sometimes in the US at least, whites accuse blacks of being "reverse racists" and in some strange way manage to use this as a justification for continuing to hold their own beliefs.  

As I said, everywhere you look, racism has a grip on hearts and minds.  For a good global look at it, check out this post on Global Issues.

Here in Mexico, I'm always surprised to run into gringos who hold really terrible racist views about the Mexicans they live amongst.  Yet I'm sure such people would deny that they had any negative, unfounded views.

 Possibly some of ou white guys are starting to get all squinty eyed and grouchy at me for mostly discussing white racism.  Well, I am white and don't think I can get all holier than thou about non-white folks.  Most of the time, our prejudices don't seriously affect other people, and sometimes they are even a step or two towards understanding.  When it comes to the twelve black guys who ganged up on the white driver, I don't know if that's racism or simply hatred of a symbol of the group that has most hurt them.  A big point to bear in mind are the roles of power and the need for group membership play in racism.  For it to be reverse racism there has to be a racism on the other side that is identified with putting people down and causing harm to them.

I sometimes think speech shouldn't be politically correct.  Polite maybe, but not politically correct.  When PC rules, it's easier to deny problems and hide from responsibility. On all sides. For instance, it wouldn't be PC for me to say how irritated it made me when a car driven by blacks in St. Louis would stop in the middle of a street to talk to someone and not move out of the way when he saw me.

There are all kinds of subtle (more or less) expressions and consequences of racism against blacks.  For instance, statistics show unconscious biases among physicians can affect black vs. white treatment.  This article offers one example  and this one another. Ironically, the effort to avoid bias can also lead to problems.  This article discusses actual genetic differences which affect health.  

As you might guess, the situation was historically pretty bad, too.  Here is an article which describes white vs. black medical treatment of soldiers in the Civil War.

So now read Mr. LeDuff's article and its interesting conclusions.  Also look for his book, Detroit: An American Autopsy which is really a great read. And it sure is not knee-jerk liberal.

Gotta have that education in Mexico

Here is articulate commentary on the need for better education in the US -- and better technology education and the importance of online learning.  Applies as much to Mexico if not more than the US.

Mission: Broadband Internet Access in my Colonia

As I have written before, I cannot imagine why a man like Carlos Slim, the man who is sometimes the richest one in the world, the head of Mexico's telephone and DSL service cannot do more to insure that people outside the big cities of Mexico have access to the internet.  Then I got an idea: I'll look into the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, headed, with his wife, by one of the rivals for richest man title.  Here is what the Foundation says on its web site about the importance of access to the internet:

Access to the Internet can change people’s lives.

Northern or southern hemisphere, big city or distant village—the Internet provides opportunities for people to improve their lives. When people go online, they can get health facts, use government services, manage finances, look for jobs, do research for school and work, and keep in touch. In the United States, where Internet access has been more widely available, going online also enables people to participate more fully in the social and economic fabric of their communities and make meaningful contributions to society.

I looked further on the web page and found, miracle of miracles, that there is in fact a program in my very own state of Veracruz of the Bill and Melinda Foundation which embeds computer learning and training in a school project.  It is called the Vasconcelos program:

It is directed towards more rural areas than the one we live in.  We live near towns that do have broadband.  But colonias like ours are ripe for computer training and internet accessibility, too.

Today is Christmas.  Discovering this Vasconcelos program is like a Christmas present because it gives me a concrete place to get started.

More, I HOPE, soon.

In the meantime, check out the site for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  It is a paragon of clarity and accessibility.  If only we could trust more very rich people to be as wise as the Gates are.

Laptops available, internet connection not

Here is an ad from Amazon.com.uk.  It is for the program "One Laptop per Child."
The laptops cost $199.00 and you get a second one free.  As you know, in Mexico, internet access  -- reasonable internet access -- is not only not cheap, but it is not available in many areas.  How to paralyze your budding work force!  Some people and some communities who don't have Telmex's DSL have satellite access.  This is apparently in a grey area of legality.  And it is also very expensive.  The laptops are not, especially with donors providing them.

Here is a picture of the one laptop per child laptop from Amazon.com: