I gave this speech at last night’s City Commission meeting.
John Bruciak isn’t the only one “caught in the crossfire,” to quote Commissioner Atkinson. All of Brownsville is ducking for cover as racism, xenophobia, and hatred, spit from the lips of Tom Tancredo and Lou Dobbs are aimed at our beloved borderlands. Even our city commission has become wounded with rancor. Who among us will have the courage to stand up amidst the fray and fight for our land and our way of life? I will tell you who: over 98% of the residents along the border wall route, that’s who.
This week, members of Border Ambassadors, CASA, and the No Border Wall Coalition have met with 123 landowners along the route of the fence and 121 of them (over 98%) signed the Mayor’s declaration, deciding they aren’t going to act scared anymore. Given the will of the people, will this commission continue to capitulate, or will it stand up and fight for what it claims it wants: No Border Wall!?
And who among us will be the peacemakers, for as Jesus said, they will be called the children of God? This wall was started by those who think the United States and Mexico are enemies, and it will be stopped by the peacemakers who recognize the brotherhood of mankind. This wall is motivated out of fear, but as John said, “Perfect love casts out all fear.” Who here is willing to love this country enough to stop it from building its own Berlin Wall?
I urge this commission to find the love, forgiveness, and courage to join the people of Brownsville. Put aside your animosity and unite in our common fight.
Nonviolent Migration 
July 3, 2008 at 5:05 am
Nice to hear from you John. Good speech. Law school starts in the fall?
July 3, 2008 at 5:29 am
Insanity of a Border Wall
Many of you may not know what is going on from California to Texas some of you may have heard bits and pieces but what is happening right under our noses will soon cause the US to be classified with countries such as China and East Germany. Unless you are a xenophobe, and I know most of you who read this blog and I know you are far from that and you can’t be happy with this decision. Our idea and support for a wall is run completely by fear and there is quote by Benjamin Franklin that I love. “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” What the current administration and followers fear Terrorism coming into our country. This happens in different forms the advertised form of 9 11 terrorism; 2. there is the form of criminals and drug trafficing and 3. there is the fear of immigrants are taking jobs. I believe this quote applies to these fears.
I recently learned how much Congress aproved last year to to build the Border fence from California to Texas. It was 1.2 billion dollars for 2008! I am disgusted. If we really are going to put a wall around our whole country why not one on the Canada Border? Well, I know why, because big business is scared of Mexico moving up the ladder and closing the gap between us and them economically. I have news it will happen and it will be for the best for both of our countries. How do we stop the drug trafficing how do we stop the criminals we educate and build infastructure and help Mexico close the gap so they do not have laborers coming to the US to find Jobs and the American Dream they won’t have an American gorernment that says “don’t come here illegally, wink…wink…but some of our local governments will give you health care and offer unlimited potential for that american dream for you and your offspring.” If you can honestly tell yourself if you were in their shoes you would not do the same I call you a LIAR.
With globalization and the influence of big business The American Dream is now a Global Dream and we must help our brothers to the south catch up with us and we can call it the North American Dream. I say stop wasting Billions of dollars building a fence and lets start injecting that money into helping Mexico build better schools and offer more incentives to build a better economy. What would 1.2 billion American dollars do in Mexico? A LOT! All of you who say we have a lot of more important things and issues to spend money on here in our home land. I agree. That is not my argument at all, we are spending this money already on keeping people out which is what Benjamin Franklin calls a “little temporary safety”. Now, I know a lot of you are Republicans and this is making a lot of sense to you but it is not a party line thing because there are plenty of Democrats who don’t support this type of thinking. I would love to hear all of your comments and what your ideas of how we can fix this problem realistically without becoming facist, communist, and or a bunch of xenophobes’. I don’t believe we are any of these things so on top of letting me know your ideas call your senator and congressman and tell them to stop the Border Wall and think out side of being a Democrat and or Republican and not to let any of their special interest money persuade them.
July 6, 2008 at 7:38 am
Environmental justice is defined by the Environmental Protection Agency to mean that “no group of people, including racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic groups, should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, municipal, and commercial operations or the execution of federal, state, local, and tribal environmental programs and policies” (EPA Fact Sheet). This sentiment was codified by President Clinton in executive order 12898 (Federal Action to Address Environmental Justice [EJ] in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations), which provides that “each Federal agency must identify and address, as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of its programs, policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income populations in the U.S.”
In 2004, the Operation Rio Grande Environmental Impact Statement found that environmental justice was indeed an issue for projects in the Rio Grande Valley:
“Approximately 85% of the population in the area can be classified as minority (well above the state average of 39.4%). The median annual household incomes for the counties in the project area (Starr, $10,182; Hidalgo, $16,703; and Cameron, $17,336) are well below the state average of $27,016 and, in the case of Starr County, below the $15,000 established by the EPA for defining the economic status risk group. Therefore, many of the households in the project area doubtless have a high potential EJ index.” (Operation Rio Grande EIS, Section 3.12.6)
Hard-working people who may not have the money to hire lawyers are going to have their homes bulldozed or family farms sliced in two for a wall that won’t stop anyone. DHS is prepared to perpetrate a terrible injustice against the very U.S. citizens that they are supposed to protect.
In going door to door to reach out to landowners and homeowners who are in the wall’s path, you are doing a tremendous community service. DHS has done everything possible to ensure that the people who will be harmed by the wall are kept in the dark, to such an extent that some do not even know where the wall will be built or how it will effect them. Knowledge is power, and they prefer to maintain a balance (or more accurately, and imbalance) of power that is favorable to them.