Don't Shoot, It's Mexico!

Four of our boys are stuck in Mexico and quite likely to remain there for a few years. Let’s be honest people, they were stupid. And don’t give me crap about “they were just doing their jobs.” They went into the territory of Mexico with guns and without any official –by which I mean documented— permission to carry those guns. Tell you what, if my boss tells me to break the law, especially in a country that has no sense of humor about these things, I’m gonna have to go job hunting!

Now that I’ve said that and you’re all mad at me and drawing breath to shout that it doesn’t matter and they’re not stupid, let me stop you right there and tell you that the anger you’re directing at me is really something else. You want to tell me “it doesn’t matter, these guys are our fellow Belizeans and how dare Mexico treat them like that” right? Yeah, that’s called nationalism, or maybe even patriotism.

For those of you who aren’t feeling it yet, let me give you my view here. What I personally am thinking is that yes, these guys broke the law. But remember this, they did it chasing a couple of guys who broke the law on our side of the border. These bad guys are home safe, maybe not too sound, but they are being painted as victims and no one’s talking of returning them to our authorities to face charges. Fair? I think not.

This is just the latest of hundreds of incidents that have happened to Belizeans over many, many years across the border in our favorite shopping territory. Everybody knows somebody who has some horror story to tell, right? Hey, we built Chet, and after all we’ve done for them, if we get in a car accident and the Mexican driver’s at fault, we still have to pay. Yet, horrified though we claim to be, we keep going across to Mexico to shop, watch movies, eat tacos and drink beer, paying our hard-earned pesos along the way, developing Chetumal more everyday. Obviously we’re not that bothered about how Mexican authorities treat our people, not really.

But if you are one of the few who are angry enough to actually do something, then how best to handle your outrage, how do you most effectively throw your nationalism in Mexican faces? Heck, that’s easy. Just keep your money on this side of the border, boycott Chet; don’t go there. Amandala said it, Mexico’s for the Mexicans, but we keep building up their territory for them and not our own for us.

That nationalistic outrage you’re feeling? Shove it where it’ll hurt them most, in their wallets.