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April 8, 2008
Bits and Bobs
A girl in Texas was assaulted when her history project was passed around the school.
Melanie Bowers and her classmates were asked by their teacher to make a sign for or against an issue and the thirteen year old settled on illegal immigration. Her sign, "If you love our nation, stop illegal immigration" was was passed around at lunch and it angered some Latino students, several of whom attacked her; others threatened to rape and kill her, and one even put her in a choke hold and pushed her face into the bricks in the lunchroom. When she tried to get help, she was told to not call her parents and sent back to class.
Her parents are understandably upset. I don't know which I find more upsetting, the fact that they told her to go back to class and not call her parents, or that a school official wasn't horrified and moved to action by her story. I'm sure if she had hit someone for whatever reason there would have been talk of whether or not it was a hate crime and racially motivated. Of course, everyone knows a white American can't be the victim of a hate crime, right? Threatening to rape and kill a pre-teen because she opposes illegal immigration - it's against the law, that's why it's called illegal by the way - is going to be tolerated because obviously her inflammatory sign hurt someone's feelings. This is how sick and twisted this issue has become; where we defend lawbreakers and anyone who points out how wrong their actions are is fair game and is threatened or called a racist.
If you think justice will be done in this case, raise your hand. I have my doubts.
Absolut is pulling an advertisement showing North America pre Mexican-American war. The ad, showing what is now California, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas as parts of Mexico has angered Americans. Absolut, predictably, pulled the ad with a feeble explanation that it was not meant to make a statement, etc etc.
The Mexican-American War was of Mexico's own making. It allowed English speakers into the Texas territories because the area was only sparsely populated, but the settlers became disillusioned with Mexico's government. Despite overtures from the United States to buy Texas (Mexico refused), and Texan's growing frustration with the situation - many members of the military were felons who opted for service over jail time and their capital city was 500 miles away, which many believed only fed local corruption - initially most English speaking residents wanted to stay part of Mexico. As problems compounded however - a requirement to pledge adherence to Roman Catholicism, the government dictating what crops you could plant and new rights that allowed the President of Mexico to suspend Congress and the judiciary - several states, including Texas, rebelled.
Mexico still hasn't learned its lesson, nearly 160 years after the war; corruption and oppression leads to unrest. There is one way that the government HAS become smarter. Preying on many American's fear that they are somehow responsible for all the world's ills, Mexico has helped its restless and deprived lower classes illegally immigrate into America, thereby alleviating the cauldron of malcontent that could potentially result in an uprising or action. Americans, so ready to believe in the absolute moral bankruptcy of their own country, have welcomed this as our 'penance' for interference in Mexico's affairs and as a worthy expenditure that wealthy Americans should endure.
The good news of the day is that the Olympic torch relay has been repeatedly interrupted by pro-Tibetan protesters.
I don't agree with pelting the torch bearers with fruit and empty bottles, but I do applaud the protesting otherwise. Ancient Greece was one of the birthplaces of democracy and it's a travesty that the Olympic Committee awarded China the games. Its suppression of Tibetan culture and threats against the Dalai Lama, it's sabre-rattling towards Taiwan, abysmal human rights record, oppression of its own people, imprisonment and execution of political dissidents make it the antithesis of democratic principles. Having the games in China tries to put lipstick on a pig; China has an ugly government and no amount of Olympic kum-ba-ya will change that.
Posted by hanyap at April 8, 2008 9:47 AM
Comments
.... good god.... what a horrible story....
Posted by: Eric at April 9, 2008 6:41 PM