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There was never yet an uninteresting life.In 1998, James Michael Rogers killed a Mexican gray wolf. Rogers was sentenced to 4 months in prison, 6 months house arrest, 50 hours of community service and 3 years of probation.
Such a thing is an impossibility.
Inside of the dullest exterior there is a drama, a comedy,
and a tragedy.
--Mark Twain, "The Refuge of the Derelicts" (1905)
In 2000 Samuel Blackwood shot a Mexican man. This week, Blackwood was fined $4,000 and received 180 days probation for a misdemeanor charge classified as "assault".
On May 13, 2000, Eusebio De Haro and Javier Sanchez approached the home of Mr. And Mrs. Blackwood in southern Texas. The temperature was well over 100 degrees, the two workers had hiked for miles and their water was running dangerously low. Both were on their way to find a living wage. In their best English, they asked if they could have more water. Mrs. Blackwood tells them no and yells, "Call the Border Patrol!"
Eusebio and Javier left the home and continued down the road. The Blackwoods called the police, grabbed a shotgun and chased after the two migrants in their pickup truck. When they caught up with them, the Blackwoods told them to stay where they were and wait for the police. Seeing the gun, the men ran.
Forty minutes later, the police were on the scene and Eusebio was dead. Sam Blackwood was arrested for murder and quickly released on bail. At first, he claimed it was self-defense. His story changed after police proved that Eusebio was shot from behind, while running away. Eusebio died thirsty.
And all the Blackwoods had to go on was the fact that two weary men with Spanish accents asked for water.
It's not easy to point to one area that allowed for a Mexican wolf to be valued higher than a Mexican worker. The prosecutor who offered an assault charge instead of murder. The grand jury who accepted that offer. The jury/judge who found him guilty, but only with a fine and nominal probation. The public who reads about it and moves on without giving it another thought. The presidents of two nations who promised to take a stand against border deaths and attacks. The person who reads this and tries to find a justifiable reason to shoot a running man who asked for water.
Perhaps it's the increase in rhetoric about "Mexican invasions" with invitiations to help secure the border and the admissions to retaining hundreds of immigrants at gunpoint that our government has been ignoring.
It's a long process that has been going on for more than a century.
We hear about border deaths everyone once in a while. They're always happening. The news anchors talk about changing policies and bodies found. Their mouths move, but no names come out. Just brief images of dusty, sweltering faces. We hear about the death.
When the wolf was killed, federal agents, state and local police got involved. Organizations demanded justice. The penalty was jail time, house arrest, lengthy probation and community service.
When a Mexican man was killed, the local police did their jobs. The public and elected officials failed to. Eusebio disappeared into the two sentence long story in a local paper and a fine.
Are we paying attention? Are we speaking up when a man is shot from behind on a public road because he asked for water with a Spanish accent?