Letters may be edited for clarity and length. E-mail to le*****@oc******.com, or send to Letters to the Editor, c/o OC Weekly, 1666 N. Main St., Ste. 500, Santa Ana, CA 92701. Or fax to (714) 550-5908.
BORDERLINE
Gustavo Arellano! Man, what a great story [“How to Sneak Mexicans Into the USA,” Nov. 11]! I was teary-eyed reading it. You have a good heart, man, so don’t feel bad; not all of us have the nerves to smuggle someone in. I know, I’ve been there: same situation, same outcome. I felt like such a pussy afterward, so I hired my uncle—an ex-coyote—to do it for me. It’s sad that people have to come to los estados just to end up being harassed, or end up being servants to rich gabachos. But we have our pride, and our unity.
Anthony Gonzalez
Via e-mail
Your story is probably BS, but I agree with one thing in it: we need to deport the rest of them back to Mexico. Only 15 million more to go.
Leroy
Hawaii
When I read Gustavo Arellano’s article on smuggling in an illegal immigrant who’d lived here all his life, it was as if I was reading my life story. I’m a 22-year-old student at Long Beach City College. My parents brought me here at the age of 11, and, like Ezequiel, I didn’t have a choice. My sister was born with a renal disease, and doctors in my hometown of Ensenada told my parents that if they wanted to keep my sister alive, we had to move to el otro lado. We eventually moved here after my sister had been on dialysis for about six years of her young life. At the age of 7, she received a kidney transplant from my mother and we had to stay here for the continuous checkups. I realized I was an illegal immigrant when, like the rest of my friends, I tried to get a job at Lakewood Mall but found out I didn’t have a Social Security number. I graduated from Jordan High School a few years ago with high honors and was a speaker on graduation day, quoting Cesar Chavez’s “Si se puede, si se puede.” Y si se pudo. I’ve paid my own way at LBCC working bad jobs at 99 Cent Store, Ross and Target. I applied for and won a few scholarships. But with all of these things that I’ve managed to accomplish, I must take a break next semester because it’s still not enough. I applied to all the regular places, but only a restaurant called back and offered me a job as a dishwasher. I took it. You should see the faces of the waitresses when they try to speak bad Spanish to me and I reply in English, but you have to give them credit for trying.
Name withheld by request
Via e-mail
AYN WHINE
Scott Moxley, your wonderful article on OC’s nastiest grandmother, Marie Kolasinski, surely is helping establish our freedom of the press [“Che Kolasinski,” Nov. 11]. By the way, truth does not have two sides. It stands as a beacon of light to those who love it. By the way, you could have touched up my mug shot.
Marie Kolasinski
Costa Mesa
In regard to Mr. Moxley’s gratuitous smear of Ayn Rand, likening her to Christian anarchist Marie Kolasinski: Ayn Rand stood for reason, not the mysticism of religion. Ayn Rand stood for a government limited to the protection of individual rights, not for the lawlessness and violence of anarchy. If the writer wants to criticize Ayn Rand, let him do it directly and at least criticize her actual views.
David Holcberg
Ayn Rand Institute
Irvine
I have been trying to understand why Moxley would even briefly bring up the name of Ayn Rand in connection with this, this Kolasinski person! I can only conclude that he could not resist even a tiny opportunity to slander Rand via guilt by association, even if that association is only in his imagination. It makes me think of some pervert who secretly spits on strangers in crowds, then runs away to savor his victory.
Phillip Schearer
Via e-mail
PINCHE GUATEMALANS
I appreciate your response to my “Ask a Mexican!” question. Receive from your servant the grandest admiration. I can’t imagine the pain of my Guatemalan countrymen in your county, but your reporting makes me feel as if I’m there. I get happy that there’s people like you who give a voice to us. I don’t have much to say, but I’ll say this, sir: Chiapas is what it is because it was once a province of Guatemala. And Oaxaca is what it is because it’s on the border with Chiapas. Guatemala was, is and will be the heart of Mayan culture. Without a doubt. Guatemala and Mexico together—we are a complete culture: Meso-American. Ustedes for being Mexican get the benediction of the world even though chocolate, avocado, vanilla and gum are from Guatemala. May God bless you. Always forward.
David Gonzlez
Via e-mail
Translated from Spanish for the ?benefit of our gabacho readers
HERRO HIRAX!
It was so freakin’ cool to see Rex Reason’s interview with Katon W. De Pena [“Kick Ass, Don’t Sell Out,” Nov. 11]. I have been a longtime Hirax fan and was just elated to see them get some well-deserved recognition and respect. They are a good example of REAL metal, not the cookie-cutter crap that gets shoved down our throats. So many of these kids who think they know everything about metal have never even heard about Hirax. Thank you for giving some attention to such a relevant artist.
Ellery Peterson
Fullerton
