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Mark Fredrick
Guadalajara, Mexico
Christian-Anarchist
Recent Activity
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Mark commented on the article |Here is very simple fact, that many Americans don't know, but it brings us back to why what is happening along the border with the cartels is connected to immigration:
The ONLY consulate available to process visas for Mexicans and some other latin countries is in Ciudad Juarez, the most deadly city in North America -- because of everything mentioned above! If you want to LEGALLY get a residency or work permit from Mexico, you have to go and spend several days in Juarez -- and from experience, sometimes hours standing in the street outside the consulate, which is exactly where the consulate website recommends no one congregate.
Personally, I'd rather take my chances in the trunk of a car in the desert. -
Mark commented on the article |
WOW, this thread has gone way off track!
It started linking the situation with the Drug Cartels in Juarez to the ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Mexico, but as happens so often has turned angry -- on both sides. (And trust me, as a U.S. natural born citizen who can't get my wife a green card, I can be angry too).
I would encourage everyone, on both sides to think about the words we throw around so easily... "illegal", "unlawful", "criminals", "citizens", "amnesty", "diversity", "racist".... note: I'm not giving what definitions I think we should have, I'm saying we all need to think about the history and meaning of those words in different ways.
History is something we have too little of in the U.S., and reading this thread it's disturbs me that well-intentioned people on both side of this debate don't know much of the history besides the last 10 years, and then gross generalizations from the last few centuries.
Immigration "law" and "border security" are very recent developments in the history of humanity. Even in the U.S., we have not cared much about it until really the last 70 years. The first "immigration laws" were racist in their intent, they were to stop chinese immigrants from out numbering the europeans in the west. Later laws were more for census purposes, and they tried to keep a count of those coming in and going out, but did very little to restrict entry.
Many of us from distant European ancestry, have been told about Ellis Island. PLEASE go back and read the requirements for entry at Ellis Island! (Basically, if you turned up by boat, filled out a form, and didn't have any disease, then you were processed for entry).
I admit I have a very strong bias on this issue and i respect people who disagree, but whether you agree with me or not, please get informed -- don't just listen to opinions from the media, do some research.
Dave Bennion, does great work here as well, but mostly he is dealing with current events and evolving laws, I don't think he would claim to be a history professor -- but if it's like to write a blog on U.S. Immigration history, I'd love to read it!
In the interest of disclosure, I should put the link to my own blog... http://poli-theo.blogspot.com -
Mark commented on the article |
WOW, I go to sleep and this thread explodes!
There is too much here to respond well to any of it, but a few things stuck in my head.
To the other Mark... you are correct in saying that there are "two groups" of immigrants, but you are naive if you think it's as simple as "illegal immigrants" were just to lazy or rebellious to get into a line at the consulate and ask for permission. There is a very unjust and racist system set-up, which hurts our economy, our national security and the families of those who are here "legally".
On the "drug war" issues... my caution to all of us, is that we make sure that we see what is really going on. Some above said, "our citizens have been killed by the cartels", which to my knowledge is not true, unless those citizens were uncover DEA or actually members of a Cartel -- which raises another issue, we can never think of this as originating from Mexico! This is an American originated problem! And while I'm at it, there is an implication that it's a poor American problem, but I would challenge you to go out and find where most of the Cocaine is sold in this country -- my guess is it's not primarily in the inner city... at least historically it hasn't been.
Above all this... I have to say that the tighter the boarder gets, and the more in denial the average American is about what it takes to sustain their own way of living, the worse the tensions will get with Mexico, not because of Mexico, but because it is geographically stuck between us and the suppliers of what we want to buy. -
Mark commented on the article |
I appreciate that, Mary. And I wish the view you see was portrayed more in the Media. I see/hear too much of the "corruption is rampant in Mexico", and very little acknowledgement that Mexican elected officials and police are risking their lives fighting this mess.
The only thing I'd point out in what you said is that our immigration law in the US has been broken for a lot longer than 8 years. I didn't like the Bush administration much, but they didn't single-handedly break our immigration policy, they just didn't have to balls to fix it. -
Mark commented on the article |
I appreciate that, Mary. And I wish the view you see was portrayed more in the Media. I see/hear too much of the "corruption is rampant in Mexico", and very little acknowledgement that Mexican elected officials and police are risking their lives fighting this mess.
The only thing I'd point out in what you said is that our immigration law in the US has been broken for a lot longer than 8 years. I didn't like the Bush administration much, but they didn't single-handedly break our immigration policy, they just didn't have to balls to fix it. -
Mark commented on the article |
As an American living in Mexico, I appreciate you pointing out the imbalance of the coverage. I see this slant, in many ways, as an extension of the racism tied up in the immigration debate -- it's just another way to make Mexicans look "lower" or "inferior" to the rest of us. And even more so, this news coverage is a gift to the anti-immigrant lobby, since their "terrorism" scare tactics weren't working so well, now they can use the "drug cartel" scare tactics.
To me, however, this crisis sums up the inter-connectedness of our 2 countries. The Rio Grande and the line thru the desert are really artificial boundaries which make problems worse, not better for people on both side. -
Mark commented on the article |Well, I think some of it has to do with a political strategy of both parties, to divert attention from class conflict. If you don't want voters to focus on class differences then you definitely can't blame those differences for the flaws in the educational system. Then add on top of that, the fact that in the 90's there was a desperate need to "blame" somebody for the lack of change -- since politicians won't take responsibility, parents definitely can't be blamed, it must be the "horrible teachers".
Personally, I do think some teachers (unlike Jean), didn't take enough responsibility for years -- maybe the ones who were telling Jean that nothing you do matters. But our education issues are societal... there's no scapegoat, we all hold some major blame, mostly for putting up with low expectations for our own kids. -
Mark commented on the article |OK, so I'm going to cheat and nominate a group of women, the "Mujeres Libres" (The Free Women of Spain). They were anarchist women in the 1930's-1940's in around the struggle for really freedom and equal rights. They are very unsung in our mainstream versions of history but they should be taught to every girl, woman and men about the power of individuals working together (any gender) for the collective good of society. check out this link to get up to date: http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/ws99/ws57_mujeres.html
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Mark signed the petition | -
Mark signed the petition |
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