"SWALLOWS OF CAPISTRANO"

MEXICANS ARE "SWALLOWS" I love "Mexicans", a term generally applied to all persons from south of the border. I first became aware of them, when, as a small boy in the family car we watched the movie, "Pepe", at the Route-66 Drive-In. Before the heartbreaking ending , I was sure that Pepe, not a white guy, was going to win the girl. Ha! Since childhood, in Missouri, where they were few in the '50s and '60s, I have had increased exposure to Mexicans as co-workers, vendors, entrepreneurs, clients. I have found "Mexicans " to be wonderful, warm witty, people! I say this because my experience with Mexicans in large part determines my perspective on the Trump administration's policies on Mexican immigration or people. Mexicans are people, too! who just want what we want in life, food, jobs, shelter, safety, education for kids. When I say "we " I necessarily note, as an aside, that only since 1865-1870, have my own African American people become a small part of the textual "we" of America. "We" was used formerly to refer exclusively to "white" people, according to U.S. Supreme Court's judicial decisions. "We the people of the United States," in covert forms is/was a highly successful political construct of national color-based divisions. Originally color divisions were instituted by ruling class colonial European Virginians to separate the poorer "whites" from the "blacks:" to prevent renewed coalescence as was done in "Nathaniel Bacon's Rebellion" in 1666-1667, that nearly toppled the Virginia colonial powers' reign. "We" has since been rigorously, been regularly used, promoted for its occult meaning and for divisions inhering in denotative-connotative demographic occlusions in the public, which has served "White supremacy" politics, culture, law. This was done by rewarding the white for being white--no longer European--and enslaving the black for life, who are no longer Africans. The Mexicans were, of course, displaced by the Mexican War of 1844-46, that was started by the enslavers' desire to annex more territory for the slave states. Out of this conflict, came into being, Texas. It was the State of Texas, into which escaped slaves had been fleeing from Louisiana, depriving brutal enslavers of their "property." Mexico had won its independence from Spain and had outlawed slavery in 1824. So, to kill two birds with one stone, Mexican territory became the United States'. And the Rio Grande River became the division line, where it ran, as far as it ran. Then, came later "Indian Wars" in which the famous 9th and 10th Cavalries' "Buffalo Soldiers", were lured away from the South's simmering cauldrons, mustered! They were mustered for "Out West" wars. These heroic men (and women) were from the fiercest -fighting United States Colored Troops of the Civil War. They were chosen to be "our" nation's relentless protagonists, to chase out the remaining Indians' and "Mexicans" who resisted from New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona. Earlier California had mostly been ceded. Anyway as the "swallows returned to Capistrano" so do the Mexicans return to their homelands and ours! Thus, I for one have no objections to these resourceful happy people, nor their tacos, burrito, enchiladas!