Left: Alamo as it looked in 1836
Left: Alamo in 2008
As I read Katie Halper's post I wonder, how many say "happy Alamo day?" Yet, the date and especially the year mean so much to many people - to the point that 1836 was considered for the name of Houston's new soccer team (after a large outcry by the Latino community, it was changed to the Dynamos).
Remembering the Alamo as a shrine to Texas Independence is a paradox - considering that all the Texian soldiers were killed during the battle, some brutally. Yet, martyrdom is seen as something to be valued - March 6 is a "happy day" because it shows the outstanding bravery by the Anglo people (men) who founded Texas.
Just like we have "Remember 9-11" - the Texas Republic had "Remember the Alamo" - at the battle of San Jacinto, * some days later, the Texas Army was propelled into killing everyone they could see, even soldiers that were running away. Eyewitness accounts describe hundreds of Mexican soldiers running away and crossing a nearby river. When the Texians killed Mexicans (shooting them in the back) running across the river the bodies fell like a bunch of dead chickens into the water. The Mexican soldiers continued to run in the same direction, crossing the river by stepping over their dead comrades. And, the Texian soldiers continued to shoot the Mexicans, shouting "Remember the Alamo!" all the while. At least 700 Mexican soldiers were killed this way.
Our own "Remember 9-11," a day that thousands (not hundreds) died needlessly, - propelled us to attack Afghanistan and destroyed the population and infrastructure of Iraq. Our next targets are people living inside our nation. We identify those who resemble what we think is the enemy (brown skin, dark hair, a foreign tongue) and we begin to hunt them down, one by one, family by family.
Some people may say undocumented Mexicans are not American because they do not have "our permission" to be here. But in reality all of us living here are part of the American community. We live together in cities, many work together, go to school together. Perhaps if we were not so obsessed with our 9-11 revenge we could see that not having a green card only means it gives official U.S. citizens permission to insult, banish, and even harm those who entered our boundaries without our permission.
What a great holiday. Remember the Alamo! Remember the undocumented!
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Happy Alamo Day: Let Us "Never Forget" the Battle by Batting Immigration
It's hard to believe it, but the Alamo fell 172 years ago today. As we commemorate the Alamo, let us consider these words: Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat its mistakes.* If you listen closely, you can hear the Alamo's warning cry. And it is warning us against an imminent threat. Sadly, few people realize the connection between national security and immigration. Let us look at the history: 3/6/1836. The Alamo. Never Forget. We live in a post-3/6/1836 world. And we need to be thinking in a post 3/6/1836 mind set. For centuries we've been unable to eliminate the debilitating terrorist campaign of Montezuma's revenge, which continues to attack our values and our bowels. Readers: don't say I didn't warn you. Because by the time a cell of undocumented Mexican gardeners drives their lawnmowers into the pentagon, it will be too late.
In all seriousness, this is my real message for all the people out there who tell "aliens" to go back to where they come from and get out of "our" country: unless your name consists of a gerund adjective followed by an animal, this actually isn't your country either!
for link to original click the title of this post
*a few days after the Alamo battle, another group of Texian soldiers were captured and executed at their camp about 150 miles west of what is now Houston.
photo#1: http://www.eg.bucknell.edu/~hyde/SanAntonio/AlamoOld1211.JPG
photo#2 http://texashistory.info/i/Alamo.jpg
photo#3 http://www.legendsofamerica.com/photos-texas/AlamoToday.jpg
Katie Halper
Huffington Post
Posted March 6, 2008 | 05:31 PM (EST)