Rollie Pollies, Mexico and Alice Johnson

In my blog of 5-2-18 I wrote about my love of trees, and, one fine person sent me a book called “Ancient Trees, Portraits of Time” by Beth Moon – awesome book! Some of the trees shown in that book live four to five thousand years! I ain’t a person who asks for books because I really only read a couple genre of books, arcane tastes, but this one, was a home run! Thanks for the Kindness.

Rollie-Pollies

We have these bugs here in Texas we call, Rollin-Polis. These little bugs are small, black or dark smoke gray insects, we call them rallied-pollies because when touched they roll up into a little black ball. Well, we had an infestation of them; everywhere. So many in fact that the sidewalk outside, as well as inside is crowded with them. I like ’em, but they get in my cell and sometimes get stepped on, by accident of course. Like I said, I like them, but not in my cell.

When I see one of these little critters inside my cell or on the concrete in the common area of our cell-block I can’t bring myself to kill them by stepping on them or by flushing them down the toilet like most folks do, so I use some toilet paper to pick ’em up and take them outside, or, when I’m unable to do that, I put them in my trashcan and then take and put them in the big trash bags in the cell block. My thinking on this is, by putting them in the trash bags I give them a chance to escape; the bags have holes drilled in them so people can’t use them for wine- point is, I try not to kill them.

A friend of mine has the job of changing the trash bags, he changes them a couple times a day. Well, the other day he saw me putting a bunch of rollie-pollies in the trash and started laughing, when I asked why he was laughing he told me that he had been going crazy trying to figure out how they had found their way into the trash, remember, they’re everywhere… we had a good laugh about it.

A couple of days back I was walking the sidewalk to the Chow Hall when the guy walking slightly behind me asks “do you know the definition of Hell?” I turned and knowing that it was a rhetorical question answered “What”? he answered, “Being a Buddhist and trying to walk from the cellblock to the Chow Hall without stepping on a rollie-pollie.” I smiled and took that as a compliment, not to mention a testimony to his observation skills.

Mexico

We have allot of illegal immigrants in the Federal Prison System, most from Mexico. They come, they get deported and in a lot of cased return and get deported time after time. I do get the need for laws, and it is also true that a lot of them transport narcotics, even a lot of them that are here only for illegal entry, they just didn’t get caught until after they had delivered their product. No, its true. I talk to them daily, I know what I’m talking about. Here’s the rub on this while Mexico issue.

Mexico as a country is so violent. (The murder capital of the world!), that the people who live there do so in a constant state of fear. I have heard it said, by Mexicans here, that if you live in Mexico you have two choices: Work for the Drug Cartels or flee to the U.S.- yeah, it’s that bad down there. My point is; a lot of those people are so poor (corrupt government) that they have little or no choice but to cart drugs across the border… the going rate is $2,000 American Dollars per Kilo of Methamphetamine or Cocaine and a $200 dollars a kilo for marijuana, and to some folks down there, that money represents the chance at a decent lifestyle. To others it’s the money they use to start a new life in the U.S. No! I ain’t saying it’s right, I’m saying that I understand why a poor man would consider smuggling narcotics as a viable option… hell, I don’t know how we got off on that, I guess I wanted to use it as a lead in on another story. Anyway, Mexico, a once beautiful place full of happy beautiful people, has now become a vile neighbor.

There’s a guy here form Mexico named Rojas – he originally came here to work; had nothing to do with narcotics, just a simple man trying to have a decent life. He came, learned the language and eventually brought his family over as well, to include his sister and mother. But he never took the time to apply for citizenship and after years and years was caught and put in prison, then deported. I met him here in the system – nice man.

Rojas is a small man with an unusual face, he looks exactly like the “Sid” character in the movie “Ice Age”… and the name has stuck to him. Because he’s a humble person, and because he looks like Sid, he gets picked on – by his own people. That I can’t help him with.

About a year ago Rojas was deported back to Mexico… and he just came back, to prison, for re-entry. And I must admit, I hated to see him back in here. First, he’s ill treated, he’s not a threat to anyone so he’s not in any physical danger, he’s just… picked on, and it bothers me. Second, he has no money… for some reason his people don’t send him money… and that bothers me too.

When he first arrived back here I asked him the question, “What the hell are you doing back here? You told me that you wouldn’t come back!” He answered by telling me that his sister, who lives here, told him that his mother was ill and wanted to see him. He came across the border and was apprehended – again. He was locked up, his mother died not seeing him, and now he’s here with nothing and no one to help him.

Rojas will be deported, again, later this year; he has asked me for help while he’s here… he’s also confided in me that he is afraid to go back to Mexico. Why do I tell you this story… well, because I’m incapable of being complacent when it come to people, like Rojas, whom I see as having a good spirit about them. That and I have to wonder what kind of people cold be so callus so inhumane, so corrupt as to take advantage of people, humble people, good-hearted people, like Rojas… on both sides of the border. But there’s a deeper issue here that no one wants to talk about; questions that need to be asked… of you and subsequently, the world we live in. So here goes.

We, here in the United States are looked down upon, call racists and heavily criticized because we don’t open our border with Mexico and take in all of it’s refugees. I’ll not debate that with you because, in truth, both sides of the issue have validity. Plus, that’s not the hard question, the heart of the problem, at hand. Ye, because of the corrupt-media agenda which wants to turn the U.S. into a Socialist country – no matter who you talk to – we’re the bad guys. We ARE a prosperous nation and should help the less privileged – that’s true – I agree. We are privileged to live here, and we should always help when and where we can. But the other side of the issue is this: We can’t support everyone who is suffering – we simply can not help everybody – this also is true. But like I said – we’re the easy target, that and no one in the world media really wants to address the core of the problem. So I’m going to ask it, here and now. I’m going to bring to your attention what no one else will.

What kind of a country is so rotten that a half a million people a year risk prison just to get away from it? That’s the question nobody wants to address. Think about that. Mexico is so corrupt that it’s people will risk their lives to leave it! That my reader is a telling story of its own – Mexico, obviously must be a horrible country. I can see clearly through the political bullshit put out in the media who for reasons beyond my understanding are trying to deflect the issue from the fact that Mexico treats is own people so bad that they have to flee it, which is the primary problem, toward the secondary problem, which is, that the U.S. can’t or won’t, take all of them.

But as human beings, you and I, people, just simple folk, have to look past all that political hocus-pocus and think about the multitude of poor, in Mexico, who can’t leave. What about them? Do we really give big rats ass about them? Why are we being tricked into focusing our attention on the half-million who flee, instead of focusing on the multitude who can’t? What about them? Where is CNN, The New York Times or Fox News on them, the humble, the poor, the terrorized masses, the Rojas’s who face not months, but years in prison if they come back again? What about them? Truth is, we here in this blessed country “Do” have responsibility to the downtrodden. So here’s what I propose. We need to invade Mexico and take control of it!

We don’t need to build a wall across the border, we need to overthrow the Mexican government, annex Mexico and bring relief to its people!

You think this sounds cruel? No, cruel is having to live in a country with unsanitary water, terrible working conditions and under the constant threat of a corrupt government – that’s cruelty in is undeniable form. Cruelty is not being punished for illegally crossing a border, that’s the consequences of our laws. Cruelty is having to walk across a desert, swim a river and hide from Law Enforcement while carrying several kilo’s of narcotics on your back – just so your kid will have enough to eat. That’s cruelty! that my friend is racisms in the form of exploitation, racism of the poor! Yeah – I’ll say it since nobody else will – some folks just can’t govern themselves. You can call that what you want, but regardless what you call me – the truth is the truth, Mexico needs a revolution – or it needs to be invaded and managed by the people capable of doing so.

Building a wall is not going to stop Mexicans and Central Americans from sneaking across the border – nor is it going to stop the drugs. The only thing that will stop it is when Mexicans can live a descent life in their own country, the one they love.

Miss Alice!!!

I learned today that Miss Alice Johnson had her “Life” sentence commuted, and was set free by President Trump! Man, I saw her on TV this morning with her daughter and I almost cried. Good for you!!! And to President Trump … love ya man. I may not agree with you on some things, but that was absolutely the right thing to do. Kim K. thanks for helping out … good karma to you and yours. Peace be with you all.

Three Rivers, 6-8-18