I Don't Know About You All, But I'm Kind of Rooting for the Mexicans Here

I love the polarization of the political discourse int he US. We no longer all speak the same political language. If you live on the blogosphere you know what I am talking about. Wingnuts seem to live in some alterna-world where public employees are "wealthy elites" rather than people just getting by, Obama is a Marxist rather than a (disappointing) centrist Dem, and the economy is in the tank because Obama threatened to raise the marginal tax rate on the wealthiest 2% of the people by 3%.

One of my favoritest things of all is when someone is so clueless about where the other side is coming from that they end up passionately arguing a case that the other side agrees with entirely, only to end up with the exact opposite conclusion.

Frequent letter writer to the RG, Mike Horowitz, does just that today when he shows all the Wes Shirley's of this world are just a big bunch of hypocrites when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian question.

Imagine border radicals

What if there were a radical group of Mexicans who felt that the United States wrongly took a bunch of its territory (a long time ago) and currently is hurting its country (and the rest of the world) with corporate greed and hyper-consumptive ways. These fictional Mexican citizens are also angry that the United States sucks the Mexico-­bound Colorado River dry. They blame our government and banking system for crippling their economy. Some just outright believe that those American devils are evil and shouldn’t exist.

Consequently, these made-up radicals in northern Mexico lob bombs now and then into Texas and Arizona. What should we do to these self-­proclaimed loyal, patriotic Mexican warriors? What if no soft or nonviolent intervention works against these vigilantes who hide among and behind peaceful civilians?

So, what if?

Hypocrisy is very toxic.

Mike Horowitz

Eugene

Obviously, Mike wants me to recoil in horror at the thought that some band of Mexicans would advance patently ridiculously arguments and back them with bombs, all the while being too cowardly to come out and be slaughtered by the US Army. When you bring it as close to home as Arizona and Texas, well then it really does open one's eyes.

Except (and I know, I know, you were here half-an-hour ago), that I kind of agree with all the beefs the hypothetical Mexicans have with our country. I might even go so far as to argue that the hypothetical US would be right to looking to give Arizona and Texas back to the Mexican government (if that was the demand), although maybe just withdrawing all settlement out of range of the bombs makes more sense. Maybe we shouldn't be diverting the Colorado into the Imperial Valley so that we have nice crops for the Mexicans to pick. Maybe our world economic system is not good for everyone in the world and it is resulting in bombs being lobbed at our citizens. All are things to consider. I would strongly urge my hypothetical government to consider and adopt these policies before I would urge my government to periodically slaughter innocent Mexican civilians in attempt to turn the Mexican populace against the banditos, as that seems like just about the worst idea in the world.

See, Mike, no hypocrisy at all.