The last nasty thing I am going to say about New Mexico
I know it doesn’t sound like it, but I actually like New Mexico. However, some of what jumped out at me during my trip there during the last two weeks wasn’t too flattering to our eastern neighbor.
One thing — and I know we have these here in Arizona too, in spades — was a sign I saw at a Tea-Party rally in Alamogordo. The rally was to show support for Arizona’s new immigration law, SB 1070. One of the folks in the demonstration was wearing a bold red, white, and blue shirt and waving a sign that said simply, “It’s Time to Take Out the Trash.”
That sort of thing sends shivers down my spine. It makes me wonder if lynchings aren’t just around the corner.
I don’t care what you might think about immigration policy, the vast majority of undocumented workers/illegal immigrants are people who have come here seeking a better life for themselves and their families, just as my own ancestors did a short century ago. They work very hard for very little pay, and they send huge portions of their earnings back home to their families. These people do not seem to warrant the term “trash” to me, and seeing a person gleefully and proudly waving such a sign in public was pretty unsettling. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
Luckily, the beautiful Capitan Mountains are right next door, and I spent the night camped at 9,000 feet in the pines, watching huge thunderclouds roll through the hills. It was magnificent.
–Erik Ryberg
August 3rd, 2010 at 8:25 pm
Erik You should know by now New Mexico is full of far right as well as far left nut cases. Every group has a few of those. I fully support Arizona’s immigration law and you are right , there is no place for that kind of behavior. We all know who the trash is in this case, but please lets not compare Illegal with Legal immigrants. We all know some of the best Americans our country has are immigrants. That is not the case here and now, we should not confuse that issue. Don’t let one nut job allow you to turn and run toward the Capitan Mountains.
August 4th, 2010 at 3:50 pm
Don, they may be here illegally but they are not trash. No human being is trash. Saying that this person was referring to illegal immigrants instead legal ones does not make it ok. The debate over immigration has spawned some incredibly scary actions and words from many people in this country.
August 4th, 2010 at 9:15 pm
Are you sure that’s what the protester meant? My first reaction when I read this is that he was referring to elected “trash” – especially since this is election season and all, and the tea-party bunch are primarily concerned with removing those politicians with which they disagree.
August 5th, 2010 at 12:35 pm
Hi Scott,
Well, I guess it’s possible, but the entire rally was centered around calling for NM to enact its own version of SB 1070. That was the point of the rally. About 2/3rds of the signs said something along the lines “Honk if you support the Arizona law” and that sort of thing, and the remainder were explicitly about immigration complaints.
EBR
August 5th, 2010 at 3:07 pm
I guess there’s a lesson in here for the kids – if you’re going to protest something, it’s more important to be clear than clever with your signage. Because if your sign or slogan can be interpreted in more than the way you intended, it probably will be.
Either way this whole thing is still sad, because not only does 1070 not actually change anything (up until now if a local LEO suspected a detainee of being in the US illegally they would need to call ICE to come out and check papers – all this law really changed from the detainee’s POV was to cut down on being detained ’til the feds show up), but the worst and scariest aspects of such a “papers, please” society have nothing to do with immigration, Mexicans, or racism. If the Democrats had passed this one first all the right-wingers would be going apesh*t over the jackbooted-thuggery of it. Party loyalty (within both parties) has long since replaced logic and ethical consistency.
August 5th, 2010 at 8:06 pm
Now, (in Dallas) the best neighbors I have are Mexicans and the worst neighbors I have are Mexicans. In Chicago the best neighbors I had were black and the worst I had were black. Before that the best neighbors I had (in a Dallas suburb) were white and the worst neighbors I had were white. See a trend here?
People are awful regardless of race or sex. The best we can do is embrace the ones we love and the people that make our communities better. I’m not sure what the Tea Partiers problem is – maybe they’ve closed themselves off to love and become embittered and fearful? to quote Bill Hicks – but I can tell you one thing: no Tea Party member has ever invited me onto his back porch, where twenty of his best friends were huddled around a small TV watching Mexico v. whoever football, and shoved a cerveza in my hand simply because I’m their neighbor and they wanted to celebrate the good times with me. THAT’S community.
August 6th, 2010 at 11:42 am
Dear “O”, clearly the man wearing the shirt was trash in my opinion , as in “white trash”, as Bryce notes there are all kinds in every race. “Do not judge a book by it’s cover” sort of thing. Frustration is running high, the people are not happy with government right now. Try to maybe give the guy with the shirt the benefit of the doubt. As Scott says, poor communication is not a good thing. Bryce I can tell you the “tea partier’s problem” is government. Not the people. Scott we have always had a papers society, that has not changed. Try flying, driving, buying anything over $50 with a credit card, I could go on and on. Papers please only (as to immigration)applies to criminal investigations or valid police follow up while investigating other offenses, and that has always been papers please…. If nothing else, 1070 has our country talking and people on both sides are opening their eyes, waking up and taking some interest in America.
August 22nd, 2010 at 7:21 pm
I have a shirt with an aztec warrior on the front saying “Who’s the illegal immigrant here, Pilgrim?”…..’Nuff said…..