Posted on 01/08/2005 6:51:49 AM PST by SandRat
Making mincemeat of the Mexican government is easy.
It's a hobby for border dwellers - on both sides of la linea - to laugh and cry over the actions of out-of-touch Mexico City bureaucrats. We've witnessed too many gaffes and missteps to remember.
So when critics howled over the Mexican government's newest blunder, I didn't wince. What's another dumb move, I figured.
Last month the Mexican government distributed more than 1 million comic books that advise what and what not to do when crossing the border - illegally.
Mexico bashers north of the border had a conniption fit. The pocket-size comic book is proof of a Mexican conspiracy to invade the United States, critics suggested.
My first thought was no, it's just Mexico City bungling it again. And I thought about piling on the Mexican government myself.
But then I did something I suspect the critics did not do. I read the guide.
What do you know?
The 32-page color, poorly drawn comic book is more than a step-by-step how to illegally cross the border.
It's a common-sense advisory on how Mexican citizens should comport themselves when they are in this country, legally or not. The instructions are more mundane than sensational.
But that didn't stop the usual suspects.
"This is not the action of a friendly neighbor," Colorado Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo told the New York Times.
"What would the Mexican government say if we encouraged our citizens to violate Mexican law?"
Being a congressman and chairman of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, Tancredo apparently can twist and distort the guide.
It doesn't encourage Mexicans to illegally cross the border. It repeatedly states that border crossers should enter the United States with proper documents.
But if Mexican citizens make the difficult and dangerous decision to cross illegally, the guide warns readers of real dangers crossing rivers, deserts and mountains. And it lists do's and don'ts if Mexican citizens are stopped by American law enforcement officers.
"If you choose to cross the desert, make sure to cross during the hours when the heat is not intense," states the Spanish-language guide.
The guide, published by Mexican Foreign Relations, contains similar directions to those we Americans hear at airports or receive from the Department of Homeland Security.
Do not trust smugglers, do not take packages from strangers, do not leave children with strangers, do not cross with false papers, do not lie to American immigration agents, do not resist arrest, do not carry guns or knives, do not attend loud parties.
It contains more "do not" than "do."
Where's the encouragement?
What probably irks critics is the legal advice the booklet provides.
It lists basic human rights for Mexican citizens if detained or arrested.
They can ask to speak to a Mexican government representative. They can request medical care, and food and water. They do not have to sign documents in English. They should be accorded dignity regardless of their legal status.
Darn that Constitution. That would be ours, not Mexico's.
There's much to criticize Mexico about, however.
Its ruling class ignores the poor and powerless. The privileged elite is more concerned with the ups and downs of the stock exchange. And some people in government and business are corrupt.
But critics of the comic book should read it to the end.
This guide does not encourage Mexicans to cross into the United States without proper legal documents. Its purpose is to identify the migrants' risks and rights.
œ Ernesto Portillo Jr.'s column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Reach him at 573-4242 or at eportillo@azstarnet.com. He appears on "Arizona Illustrated," KUAT-TV Channel 6, at 6:30 p.m. and midnight Fridays.
Notice how these articles are never written by someone named Klemaszewski, Reinhardt, O'Malley, Jurgenson, Fung, etc? No bias involved here.
Ernesto, mi amigo, you seem to have forgotten where your loyalties should lay. Wait a minute! Has anyone researched his legal status. They are, afterall, everwhere - as they keep reminding us.
Correction it was SirLurkedalot that sent me to the parody.
Take a peek at this. It ain't funny.
Its purpose is to identify the migrants' risks and rights.
Oh so commiting an illegal act against America and Americans you have "rights" now?
Keep saying to self..........I am a Christian woman.....I am a Christian woman......in an attempt to control temper.
Yeah I know. Read yours first (heard about it already), got pissed all over again, then saw the parody.
[Wink, wink, nudge, nudge]
shouldn't that read illeagal status?
Should I send him a link to the parody that's been posted?
That's about the cleanest response I can come up with at the moment. I will give some thought, though.
Oh I was thinking more along the lines of some of the other email thrashings that have been handed to Dan Blather, Tom Brokejaw, Peter Lemmings,......
God bless you and your beliefs. What does God think of someone who allows himself to be used, abused and cheated? I am not challenging you. Just pointing out that God's will is not victimhood.
bttt
We must invade and conquer Mexico ... again!
-We must invade and conquer Mexico ... again!-
Yeah, but what do we do with it after we've "won"? Sounds like a win-lose to me. We need an Isreali fence.
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