Friday, April 30, 2010

Border People

I have a meeting down in Tucson (a.k.a "The Old Pueblo") today. I promise to have a posting frenzy later.

This will be an interesting time to be in Tucson, a place I'm quite fond of and where I went to college. Partly due to its location in southern Arizona - it is 60 miles from the border - Tucson has a much more Latin feel than does Phoenix and it is proud of that heritage.

I'll also be meeting with a friend whose family has lived in Nogales, Arizona for generations, conducting business and establishing friendships on both sides of the border. [When his father was gravely ill, a former Mexican presidential candidate and family friend visited their home, just to see how "el viejo" was doing and because everyone knew the old man's time was short.] These are people whose lives and close family relationships have blurred the border. When Sonora sneezes, southern Arizona catches cold and certainly when Arizona is not well, Sonora suffers. That applies to people as well as economies.

I'll write some more on this later. Thoughts are percolating. Let me just say for now that I think the media coverage of the immigration law has been grossly irresponsible. The idea that Arizona favors some Gestapo state or is anti-Mexican is absurd. Much of the analysis that I've seen in otherwise respected publications has the depth of a comic book.

That is truly disappointing but we'll get through this just fine. More later.

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