Special to The Tribune
McALLEN, Texas - This close to the Mexican border, you'd stand a better chance of finding conversation if you threw out the name of, say, disgraced Hidalgo County Commissioner Sylvia Handy than if you ventured Joran Van Der Sloot's. The former is well-known in the isolated RGV; the latter a name for the world to ponder.
Van der Sloot (shown in photo above) is the main suspect in the May 30th killing of Stephany Flores in a Lima, Peru hotel, and, of course any news junkie will tell you, he's suspected of being the killer of U.S. teen Natalee Holloway on Aruba. But ask around in any Valley town and what you'll get is a shake of the head or the face of a clown, a clown ignorant to the doings of anything outside Hidalgo and Cameron counties.
Such is stuff when it splashes across the front pages of the world's largest newspapers, but has little connection to anyone this far south in the country. No one here can tell you how many Americans died in the recent rains that swamped the Midwest, nor can anyone tell you who, for example, authored that legislative proposal in Arizona aimed at denying citizenship to babies born in that state to undocumented immigrants.
It is the local version of the Stockholm Syndrome, the psychological prison that says you eventually become the mental hostage of your surroundings and your oppressors. The results of a Man-on-The-Street survey related to news events can be comical and sad. We asked a few questions.
The replies we got in return left us gun-shy. How, we asked ourselves, can an entire region be as ignorant as beans? How, in this day of 24-hour news on the Cable channels, can someone in town not know the name Haley Barbour? How can someone in the town over to the east not be aware of that runaway British Petroleum (BP) oil well? Our question: Do you know where the BP oil well in the Gulf of Mexico is located? Answer 1: "In Louisiana." Answer 2: "Near Galveston somewhere."
When we asked: Have you ever heard of Lady Gaga? Answer 1: "Who?" Answer 2: "No. You?"
You can venture out into any RGV city or town with a middle school test on all-things-American and get your brain bashed-in by nonsense and by ignorance. No one we approached knew a whit about Rafael Nadal, the Number 1 ranked tennis player in the world. And not one person we met had any inkling on who is running against Gov. Rick Perry in the next election. Are you for or against SB 1070, we asked, referring to Arizona's harsh anti-immigrant law. Answer 1: "I don't know." Answer 2: "Tell me about it first."
It was almost noon and we were somewhat hungry. We asked: Where can we get some good tacos? Answer 1: "Raul Longoria Boulevard in Pharr!" Answer 2: "Business 83, from Mission to Brownsville. There is a good one in San Juan and a better one in Weslaco. But the best ones are in Brownsville. Tacos El Campeon, man! In Mission, Tacos Maria. In Edinburg, check out The Moonlight cafe."
And so it went...
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14 comments:
Oh Man and all this just the beginning, Wew are living in the most apathetic and conformist ejido in the world. Geographically remote and isolated from culture, major sporting and entertainment events, this border region is the laughing stock of both civilized societies; up northe, people just ignored this place thinking is just another sextention of the ignorant, servants and uneducated laborers. From central Mexico, they just think this region is just full of Inferiority complexed and identity crisis individuals with too much Chichimecan ( Feral) indians, whom were "forced out of economic / poor necesity " to speak the English language.
ANON:...For a mini-rant, you've written a mouthful. And most of it sort of makes sense to me. Congratulations. You are in the Upper 5 percent of Brownsville residents - the lucky ones who can form an original thought and express it... - Editor
Orale canijos vatos, all We care in the Borders are just Fajita cook outs and cheap American beer, well and some beans a - la - charra -borracha. Ahua vatos! I want to leave this sick place, muy Pronto !
ANON:...Is it spelled VATOS or is it BATOS? We like the second spelling, but we're not sure which is correct. As they say often from the middle of Brownsville resacas: "Auxilio! Socorro!"... - Editor
(From central Mexico, they just think this region is just full of Inferiority complexed and identity crisis individuals with too much Chichimecan)
What proud American citizen even cares what people in mejico think. Cause we "proud American citizens" do not care one little iota about them.
ruben
According to the Urban Dictionary :
BATO / OS:
Means the stupidest thing ever imaginable, or quite possible so insanely idiotic that one's mind is incapable od understanding the sheer ludicrousness of it.
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VATO / OS :
It's a Tex- Mex/ Border word That means " Dude ", " Homeboy", or
" Man".
Check The Website Urban Dictionary.com to see and believe.
Whoever requested that song must be broken hearted, good music, good articles, a couple of glasses of wine.
An I am ready to walts into the week-end.
Mr. Mexico: You expect too much from the populace. Some of this people can't read or write. Half of them can't even speak English or good Spanish, and then they make words, for example, se esta leakeando. When something is leaking. This Rio Valley, is the arm pit of the state.
Just like Georgia had lester maddox, Luisiana had George Wallace, we have Harlingen a looser city, and bigoted to the maximumn. And then there is the Capital of the Valley Brownsville, okay they have nothing going.
Helppppp, we are lost, all people do here is eat fajita tacos, eat, eat and eat some more. We are lost.
When people in a certain area become too complacid and assimilated , that's when things go down the hill for everybody, it's over !
Why is everyone so hard on South Texas?? Get off your lazy butts, and educate yourselfs and quit feeling sorry for yourselfs.
As long as everyone accepts the status quo, things won't change.
Anony, Mr. Ejido, get off that same old song and dance, get busy and make some changes. Complaining isn't going to get you anywhere.
On the top Picture, Van der Soot is inside the peruvian Prison named Castro Castro. There , They have the top Murderers, Narco Killers/ terrorists, pervert rapists and guess what ? Yes, Van de Soot roommate is a Heavy - duty pervert named " El Tumba - Burros "
!! Hay chiquito a lo que te truje!!
Thats where that low life, pompous, moron, a man with no values that sees women as objects belongs, sometimes I think if he was born in South Texas not Arruba, he is an abuser,(Like a lot of loosers in the Valley) and I can't wait until they put him in the general population, so that he may get what he deserves.
Take it easy (thats where that low life belongs). Anony, you must be from Mujeres Unidas, look he has something like 35 years coming he is only 22 or 23 he will be close to 60 if he comes out alive.
Don't compare South Texas men to that boy. We take care of our women, well some us do anyway.
ANON & El Santo:...It's okay to damn the bad apples, but Humanity is now a weed-heavy orchard full of rotten trees. Van Der Sloot will get his day in court and his night in Hell... - Editor
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