No Borders Encuentro--Aug.27-28, San Diego

author wrote;

"As if the border and its myriad forms of violence were not enough, racist paramilitaries are openly organizing across the US and finding enthusiastic partners in politicians and corporate press outlets alike. And then there are the numerous Neo-nazi groups crawling out from beneath their rocks, thrilled with the “Trojan Horse” of growing anti-migrant sentiment.."

fringe lunatic wingnut comment;

The border is certainly becoming a hot topic these days! The neo-nazi groups you mention are also pointing out some factors of the immigration situation that the average leftist liberal may not be willing to notice..

Personally i am all for engaging in dialogue with the Euro-nationalists or "nazis" as u call them. Since real Nazis (national socialist political party funded by wealthy industrialists) are a German phenom of WW2 circa 1945 and there are many people attemting to revive Hitlerian dogma calling themselves "neo-nazis" or "Aryan Nations" or some other ethnic tag that most likely doesn't describe themselves anyway, i prefer the term Euro-nationalist. This describes the conglomerated outlooks that envision European immigrants to north america as a superior race and culture..

There are some WW2 German Nazi officials who were smuggled into the USA by the CIA under "Operation Paperclip", however most of these folks are quite aged and don't often run about with tattoed skinheads. Most leftist liberals still prefer to overuse the term "nazi", though most of the neo-nazis running (or driving vehicles) along the US/Mex border don't speak hardly a word of German nor understand German culture! They are uniquely homegrown North American Euro-nationalists!!

The other Minutemen are a conglomeration of libertarians, republicans, nationalists, etc.. who are concerned about loss of their Anglo culture being replaced by a Spanish Mexican culture with some indigenous undercurrent. Some mention lost jobs and economic factors, though the main reason is likely cultural. Many Minutemen are either unaware or unwilling to recognize that globalzation (WTO, NAFTA, CAFTA, etc.) is the cause, illegal immigration is the symptom. So the Euro-nationalists are content to spend their time running along the border with walkie-talkies while the corporate execs dialogue with the politicians undisturbed..

Maybe some Euro-nationalists don't like the Pope or the Catholic Church which seems to follow the Mexicans around wherever they go. Here the anti-Catholic Euro-nationalists may have some common ground with the indigenous Mexican Zapatisitas who struggle to maintain their indigenous culture against Catholic intrusions over the last few centuries. Indigenous culture and religion in Mexico is not Catholic, that was a tool of the Spanish invaders used to colonize Mexico. We dare not discuss that common ground or the neo-liberals may become upset and call people bigots. Poor Pope, he's always being picked on by us horrible anti-Catholic bigots!!

Instead leftist liberals won't talk to the Euro-nationalists and remain on their side of the fence while the "neo-nazis" remain on theirs. Then we can both throw eggs at each other and call each other names. Neo-liberals talk about "tear down the borders" while erecting new borders as they speak. Critisizm has never been easy for the left, it is easier to call dissenters "neo-nazis" or "feds" or "cops" and declare themselves the only rational voice on a debate over a multi-faceted issue..

Many other (often apolitical) people also recognize the ineffectiveness and ecological damage of the US/Mex border, yet calling for unchecked immigration from Mexico is not desireable either. Working with Mexico to improve people's living conditions and independence is the more difficult (and less profitable for corporations) path, yet it is probably the most reasonable given the amount of people struggling to survive in Mexico..

Am glad that this organization is featuring a tour of the maquiladora sweatshops and is also discussing indigenous sovereignty issues within Mexico. With Vincentes Fox commandeering at the helm of Mexico and GW Bush steering the US into oblivion, the collective people on both sides of the imagninary US/Mex border have a great deal more common ground than they imagine..

Very close to the border, south of San Luis Rio Colorado exists a small villa called El Golfo de Santa Clara. This is one of the remaining homelands of the indigenous Cocopah tribe on the Colorado delta. What border issue hasn't been effected by the drought of the Rio Colorado from the dams and diversions to US agribusiness and suburban sprawl of Pheonix, LA, San Diego? Here the lifeblood mineral rich freshwater of the Rio Colorado wastes away in miles of irrigation canals while the Cocopah only recieve chemical fertilizer saturated slime from the rio. It may be poetic justice that the river sucking iceberg lettuce grown in the Imperial Valley now contains high levels of selenium and rocket fuel from the White Sands Missile Range, though the low income people frequently visiting Taco Bell (& other fast food) will be the likely victims. No doubt the CEOs of the iceberg lettuce agribusiness corporations steer clear of their contaminated and nutritionally worthless product..

So do we really want the Mexican immigrants to be working in the iceberg lettuce fields of the Imperial Valley, suffering from firsthand exposure to a myriad of chemical pesticide toxins??

If the leftist liberals really want justice why can't they recognize that the jobs performed by Mexican immigrants are not improving their health, though if they stayed home in Mexico and were able to live autonomously without constant oppression from Vincentes Fox's armed military thugs, they would be happier and healthier??

A true wingnut cannot write a rant without including the magic word; ZIONISM. Since anti-Zionists are all by nature anti-Semites we need to include some slanderous info about Israel. Hey, Jew-baiting and Pope bashing all in one article, how about that for bigotry??

What's interesting about Zionism is the religious connotation that a land is "chosen" for one group of people over another. In Israel's case being Jews over Palestinians. Compare this to the North American Euro-immigrants Christian concept of Manifest Destiny. Maybe then we can understand how Judeo-Christian Euro-centric culture conflicts with the indigenous worldview of countless other colonized people, from Palestine to Mexico..