Saturday, November 24, 2007
And two news stories. Here in southern Arizona a border crosser saved a 9-year-old boy whose mother lost control of her van and drove off a cliff and died in the wreck. He stayed with the boy overnight, kept him warm, and waited until help arrived. He was returned across the border by the Border Patrol, since he had crossed illegally.
Immigration is a hot topic here, at least among conservative, far-right-thinking individuals. Most are recent arrivals from out-of-state. They have a pathological fear/hatred of anything Mexican. The comments that appeared online after a local newspaper article covered the story are fairly representative of how many people here view our neighbors to the south:
"the illegal is a criminal, get rid of him. now all we will hear is the goodie,goodie left saying hes a hero, hogwash!!!"
"The whole illegal immigrant saving kid was just a set up so that the criminal could get a free visa. Mexicans are encouraged by their president to cross illegal. A RIVER OF FLAMING OIL PROTECTING OUR BORDERS IS THE ONLY WAY TO SAVE US FROM CRIMINALS AND TERRORISTS! AND CANADIANS!"
"hope most people would do what this man did, and I would praise him for it, but he is not a hero."
The internet allows people the anonymity to say things they truly believe- the kinda stuff they probably won't say out loud because they know most people would look upon them as idiots and racists. You wonder if these people have any compassion in their hearts?
Another article, about the rural poor in Maine made me grateful for the things I have. Many elderly people in rural areas never earned enough to qualify for good Social Security checks. The recent rise in heating oil prices and the government cutting back on funding of social programs make these people live in increasingly difficult conditions. I listened to the audio portion of the story and several of the women focused on the good parts of their lives and noted that others were worse off. I looked up the addresses of two of the women in the story and I'm sending them each a card with some cash in it,I'm sure they'll appreciate the surprise present.
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Immigration is a hot topic here, at least among conservative, far-right-thinking individuals. Most are recent arrivals from out-of-state. They have a pathological fear/hatred of anything Mexican. The comments that appeared online after a local newspaper article covered the story are fairly representative of how many people here view our neighbors to the south:
"the illegal is a criminal, get rid of him. now all we will hear is the goodie,goodie left saying hes a hero, hogwash!!!"
"The whole illegal immigrant saving kid was just a set up so that the criminal could get a free visa. Mexicans are encouraged by their president to cross illegal. A RIVER OF FLAMING OIL PROTECTING OUR BORDERS IS THE ONLY WAY TO SAVE US FROM CRIMINALS AND TERRORISTS! AND CANADIANS!"
"hope most people would do what this man did, and I would praise him for it, but he is not a hero."
The internet allows people the anonymity to say things they truly believe- the kinda stuff they probably won't say out loud because they know most people would look upon them as idiots and racists. You wonder if these people have any compassion in their hearts?
Another article, about the rural poor in Maine made me grateful for the things I have. Many elderly people in rural areas never earned enough to qualify for good Social Security checks. The recent rise in heating oil prices and the government cutting back on funding of social programs make these people live in increasingly difficult conditions. I listened to the audio portion of the story and several of the women focused on the good parts of their lives and noted that others were worse off. I looked up the addresses of two of the women in the story and I'm sending them each a card with some cash in it,I'm sure they'll appreciate the surprise present.
