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The Politician's RealityBy: Diana Treviño Translated by: Maria Coronado I had a horrible nightmare. I dreamt that they threw me out on the street with everything I own along with my child. "Out! Out with you and your kid!" they shouted in harmony, the Mayor, the fire department, the police department and the head of Code Enforcement, all with crude voices and bad faces. "But, why?" I asked them. "First because we are the authorities and we can do it," they said as they showed me their credentials and their court orders. "Second because we carry the flag of "public safety" and this must be followed. No one, absolutely no on should violate building codes. Third, because you are in absolute violation!" "You are the ones who are violating my civil rights by coming into my home in this way!" I shouted back. "The violated one is meeeeeeeee!" Well, if that's how you see it, Guerita. Then we'll let it go. Don't think that because you were born in Texas you can be saved. In every way, you feel like a red-boned Mexican, don't you? Don't you declare this to the four winds? Well then, put up with it. Besides you are lost" And without further explanations they searched my house. "Look, at the condition of this basement! And the kitchen! Check the attic!" shouted another. "The bedrooms? The bathrooms? The closets? The dog house? Oh no, there are too many dogs living here!" shouted somebody. You are lost, Guerita. They had a point, I was lost. But they were acting totally outside the law. This was not the way to throw me out of my home and much less in such a rude way, in front of my 6-year old daughter. In truth, I had many dogs living in my home, but these irregularities could have been worked out between two parties. In a more civilized manner, in accordance with the law. Without all that violence, power and intimidation by uniformed policemen with guns at their belts. While they continued with their sinister search and they dug into the corners of my humble house, I followed behind them, sleepwalking and thinking... "War has been declared against the Mexican. They want to throw us all out of Waukegan. The town is going to be left empty! It will become a ghost town. Or is it possible that they're going to import a lot of white people from another planet? But they will also be 'undocumented! But they will speak the proper language, and be more familiar with the culture and finally, they won't have so many dogs in their homes." And it finally hit me, what local politicians and all of their henchmen pretended to do under this policy wrapped up in concern over public safety for its citizens. It is nothing else but a political strategy to win votes from White people in the upcoming elections, I thought. City Hal politicians belief is that the Latino vote counts for nothing. The fault for counting as less than zero and politically speaking not representing a major force, belongs to no one but the Mexicans. Our absenteeism, our apathy over voting is what has us submerged in this swamp. Mexicans and only Mexicans are to blame. It does not matter that undocumented people contribute millions of dollars in taxes. That we make up part of the buying power. That we are currently the fashion in Hollywood. What matters to the politicians is that here in Waukegan, we Mexicans do not go out to vote. "I must stay calm," I thought as I talked to them, "Maybe I can make them see reason and talk them out of this arbitrary act." "We Mexicans who live here in Waukegan, are peaceful people of words and we don't come here to violate any building codes. All we want to do is work. The best thing to do is to invite the community to educate themselves. We must start a campaign of education so that people will vote in the upcoming elections. Yes, that's it, reconcile the government with the Hispanic community," I thought. This is what I was pondering when somebody suddenly shouted: "Violation. In addition to so many dogs, they all have fleas!" "Fleas? Full of Fleas" Oh no, my dogs don't have fleas and let me tell you, that these fleas do not jump in your beds!" "Wake up, Diana! Wake up, woman!" said my husband, "you're dreaming." Noticias Vision News - January 17, 2003 |
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