I just read the El Paso Times - no, not all of it, just the parts that interested me. Stories about the violence in Juarez are in there every day. These stories help sell papers of course, but then, the crime is there every day too, so one cannot blame the paper for publishing them. The stories focus on all the criminal activity tied to the drug trade or the drug business. I call it a business because that's what it is, although illegal. The big, big larger-than-life question is: why is it a violent business? I can understand the clandestine part - nobody wants to get caught doing something illegal, whether it's running a red light, selling beer to minors, or smuggling a ton of pot. What I have trouble understanding is why violence must be attached to it. Take Wal-Mart and Radio Shack, for instance. Both of them are legitimate businesses. We don't see their executives shooting each other in the name of competition. If overnight they were declared illegal businesses, would they then become violent? Is it that the enterprising criminals feel like they are the prey about to be caught at any moment and so, feeling like the hunted, arm themselves to the teeth? Do they just become like an army of thugs? Can there ever be such a thing as a peace-loving drug smuggler? Where is Don Corleone when you need him?
Of course, if the politicians wanted to, they could disarm the shooters by declaring martial law, setting up road blocks every half-mile, inspecting every single car that comes and goes, and declaring a curfew. The thugs would then have to kill each other with their bare hands - an impractical proposition for them - or declare a truce.
On the other hand, if things continue as they are, eventually, there won't be enough of them left to keep up the violence. Maybe that's what the authorities want. It's an unpleasant subject but I just feel too animated to write anything else. Sorry. Have a nice day and don't go across unless you have to.
Of course, if the politicians wanted to, they could disarm the shooters by declaring martial law, setting up road blocks every half-mile, inspecting every single car that comes and goes, and declaring a curfew. The thugs would then have to kill each other with their bare hands - an impractical proposition for them - or declare a truce.
On the other hand, if things continue as they are, eventually, there won't be enough of them left to keep up the violence. Maybe that's what the authorities want. It's an unpleasant subject but I just feel too animated to write anything else. Sorry. Have a nice day and don't go across unless you have to.
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