Sunday, January 02, 2011

How to kill a boomtown.

How many people do you need to kill to murder a city?

A morbid little question, and one that is apparently being explored just south of the Rio Grande.

6 comments:

Matt G said...

When I was a baby, too young to remember now, my mother (an Alamogordo native) and my father (an El Paso native) used to take me south of the border to places like Juarez and Nuevo Laredo, and Mexico City (a different kettle of fish). According to Mom, the ladies at the stalls in the bazaars and marquetas were taken with my rubio looks (sandy hair, blue eyes, light skin), and she would get better deals as they cooed in Spanish over her baby.

I've got a little bit of Spanish and some bonita offspring myself, but I could now no more imagine taking my daughters down there than I could imagine dosing their oatmeal with cyanide, or challenging them to a game of chicken on the highway.

Jim said...

That elicited a memory, Matt. Once upon a time in Merida, our hotel maid was so taken with our two-year-old daughters's blonde hair that she begged to borrow her to display to her friends in the laundry room. We said sure with total confidence that she'd be returned no worse for the experience other than maybe a chocolate or two over her allowance.

I think I would be afraid today to haul even my own ancient carcass even one foot below the river.

Tam: Thanks again, Friend.

Jim

Anonymous said...

"It's the drug violence, of course..."

No more so than "It's the gun violence."

The gentleman acknowledges in his last paragraph (and in his header tagline) that he is well aware of who/what the true villain is; still, it's an important distinction.

The forcible control of human freedoms and behavior that is not an infringement of the rights of others, and a lack of forcible resistance to those controls...that right there is a recipe for tyranny. But inert ingredients like guns and drugs do not this poison casserole make.

AT

Justthisguy said...

I read that, and then I went and read at the link there, which is Sofa King depressing. You trying to kill my buzz, Tam?

Unknown said...

Granted that Mier, Mexico, is much smaller than "Juarzoo", but it became a ghost town because of the drug war violence. You can Google for news accounts.

Because of reduced incomes to many of the Narcofolks, they've begun protectionism in my own little cowtown city of Ojinaga. We do our shopping there in the mornings, before the "warriors" have awakened.

Eh, well. Just more government screwing up. The only talent governments really have...

Art

Boat Guy said...

The latest number according to ABC on 2 Jan was five for the year; " The lowest number of murders recorded since 1960 has been five. The year with the highest number of murders was 56 in 1993"
Note the HIGH number...
It MUST be the guns that the NorteAmericanos cling to...