Monday, February 14, 2011

a thought


One last note before we retreat to the beauty of the butterflies.


Morelia made worldwide news in 2008 with the type of incident most citizens fear -- and resent.



On the evening of September 15, all of Mexico was celebrating the 198th anniversary of its declaration of independence from Spain.



Crowds packed the plaza between the cathedral and the state government palace.  There were rumors that the drug lords were going to place a bomb in the crowd.  But the people of Morelia were not going to be deterred.



Governor Godoy had just finished shouting the traditional
grito -- pulling the crowd into a political high.


Then there was an explosion.  Followed quickly by a second -- four blocks away.  Someone had rolled two hand grenades into the midst of the celebrants.



Eight people were dead.  Over 100 were injured.



This is where it happened.  About in the middle of the photograph.  The governor was standing on the balcony of the building in the background.  (You can see a more detailed view at the top of this post.)


I debated whether to mention this incident.  After all, but for some excellent field work by the FBI, my former hometown of Portland could have had a far more destructive disaster this last November.


I point out the comparison because terrorism can happen anywhere.  But a lot of people have a pretty good idea what is driving the narco-terrorism -- and how to resolve it.


There is violence in Mexico.  Most of it caused by drug prohibition policies that will continue to result in more drug-related murders.



I would love to go through life appreciating only nice things like the pottery displays in yesterday's post.  Fortunately, most of our lives are never touched by the drug trade.  But lots of lives in Mexico, Canada, and the States are.



Maybe the American and Canadian governments will eventually see that drug prohibition is as dangerous to lives and liberties as was the American experiment with alcohol prohibition.



Then we can stop talking about this issue.

10 comments:

Francisco said...

I believe they (U.S.A. & Canada) realize that drug prohibition is fueling violence. This, in turn justifies hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars to "fight the war on drugs". Is common sense going to stop that industry?....I don't think so. Even if some brave politician had the inclination to stop this nonsense, I think he would end up with Kennedy's fate. Am I cynical? I really don't think so.
Sincerely,
Francisco

Ingtess said...

from your lips to Obama's ears!!

Felipe Zapata said...

If memory serves, only one grenade exploded in that plaza. The second went off a couple blocks away on the main drag.

Don Cuevas said...

Steve, if it occurred during El Grito, the date would have been September 14, or possibly 15.

Some said that it couldn't happen here, but it did.

Saludos,
Don Cuevas

Marc said...

Well said. The insatiable lust for drugs north of the border is the cause of most of the violence in Mexico that keeps grabbing headlines (and a lot of violence in the US as well).

I continue to point out to friends and other contacts that living in Mexico is safe, calm and for the most part as safe or much safer than in a lot of the USA. The power of the media, xenophobic organizations like Fox News, to pound and pound at the negatives is truly frightening.

Steve Cotton said...

Or Mubarak's? Now, who is being cynical?

Steve Cotton said...

I doubt a Democrat president could do it. It will need to be a Republican. The Nixon to China syndrome, I think. But I am not holding my breath. Everyone seems to be talking about filling prisons instead of figuring out who should really be there.

Steve Cotton said...

Not surprisingly, the former newpaperman's memory is better than mine. About four blocks away to be precise.

Correction noted.

tancho said...

Wait until the media actually starts reporting the happenings on the Arizona borders, right now it is UnPC to report the daily goings on, and it will get much worse sadly before it gets better. Because too many people on both sides making too much easy money at the cost of lives......

Felipe Zapata said...

How right you are, Charley, but if you're gonna do a history lesson, you gotta get the facts straight.