Different day, S.O.S. (same ol' stuff)

Please take a look at the two news articles I've posted in a new section called "In the News". One is a story about a foiled plot by militiamen to attack Mexicans in Alabama with homemade bombs, assault rifles, and assorted other firearms. The other is an editorial commentary by a local Mexican American businessman in Minneapolis whose poignantly expresses how painful and tragic it is to live as a target of conservative zealots who are trying to score political points by passing legislation that marginalizes all Latinos in this country. The former provides support for the latter's claim that "we" are indeed random targets, that we are all perceived as illegal--that once someone is cast as "illegal" the way is paved for random and deliberate acts of violence to occur. It's not so illogical as it might seem--after all, the fantasy that we are a society that lives by the rule of law, and that laws somehow serve as the basis for a just, fair, and humane society are so powerful a myth that many become blind to legal injustices that. pervade our society. Criminalizing people and legitimating the language of criminalization--that a human being can BE illegal rather than merely commit illegal acts is the same language that justified the atrocities of Nazi Germany.

Anger and sadness--those are the daily psychological and emotional boundaries that define many peoples lives. It can be hard not to lapse into despair, or do like so many others do and simply exercise whatever privilege we may have to make sure people know we are not one "them"--los ilegales. One would think that being a cynic protects one from being surprised by the everyday nature of random and deliberate violence--be it in Alabama or the attacks by police against people at the May 1st pro-immigrant rally in L.A., where clearly the Latino media became legitimate targets of the police. I was shocked, however, that the foiled attack in Alabama did not make national news as an act of terrorism. Why do you suppose this was so? Could it be because the target was a bunch of brown folks who were presumably "illegal"? Did that somehow lessen the severity of this intended crime? Imagine, if you will, that the foiled attack had been planned by brown men (of any ethnicity) against a community of whites? What do you suppose the news coverage would have been like in that case? I can only imagine the national headlines framing this as an act of terrorism occurring right here on American soil--warning us to be on the look out for suspicious looking groups gathering together plotting against national safety.

Oh, before I forget, Happy Cinco de Mayo!