The daily news

Between Friday and Sunday of this week (today being Thursday the 26th of June), the bodies of seven presumed migrants were found in the southern Arizona desert, specifically the coverage area of the Arizona Daily Star out of Tucson. One article next to the obituaries, taking up approximately ¼ of the page, described the discovery of the seven bodies along with the ‘rescues’ of around 60 other migrants by Border Patrol. Since part of my role in being here is to bring information to parts of the country that have little or no understanding of current situations in the borderlands, I am trying to find a way to put this scenario into a context more readily understood.
The finding of these seven bodies is obviously noteworthy in the minds of the newspaper editors, or they would not have printed it at all. So, this tells us that the deaths of these migrants—or, at the very least, the discovery of their bodies—is not completely commonplace and expected here. However, the deaths of seven migrants—or again, at least the discoveries of their bodies—were lumped into one story next to the obituaries page within the Tucson Area section of the paper. This is where I would like to start at putting things in context for persons outside of the borderlands.
Back home in the Quad Cities—my home region encompassing both Iowa and Illinois sides of the Mississippi River—if one body is found in a field or woods somewhere, it is noteworthy. It becomes front-page news, or if not front-page, at least within the first few pages of the first section of the paper. That seven bodies were found within a weekend, and this only mentioned in a latter section of the paper four pages back within that section, suggests that this is not such a shocking event. Or, it suggests that the deaths are not so newsworthy. I don’t think it’s a far jump to suggest that they are perhaps seen as less newsworthy because they are presumed to be undocumented persons. So the seven deaths—or, the act of finding the bodies—are either not very shocking due to the frequency of such an event, or not very newsworthy because of their undocumented status, or likely a combination thereof. These are the possibilities I’ve come up with (as a note, the front-page stories for this edition of the paper included battery-powered bicycles, a call for a public official to resign, an early monsoon season, and political spending trends).
The question I’d like to raise is this: would this be the case in your hometown? If seven bodies were found in different parts your home region within a weekend, would the story be stuck far back in the local section, next to the obituaries? Would there be an immediate distinction made regarding the documentation status of the deceased?
I can see immediate reactions to this question, and my assumptions leading up to it. For example, “The situation in Tucson is different, and cannot be compared to other areas of the country.” Yes, I agree with this, and indeed this is my very point. The situation in Tucson is so very different that seven bodies can be found and it is not worth putting even close to the front-page of a newspaper. Or perhaps, “It could be the case that this (unfortunately) happens so often, it’s not practical to expect them to constantly draw attention to it.” Yes, I see this, too. I see this all over the place, actually. We all see this in the lack of attention that is paid to issues such as hunger, poverty, the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, . It’s not that they are no longer issues, but that they have been going on for so long that we don’t find them noteworthy anymore. Does this make it okay? There is another response that has crept into my head, but I hope that no one would actually pay it any heed. Can anyone guess what it is? Does anyone see someone suggesting that because these deaths are those of foreigners—and at that those who are ‘illegally’ in our country and in numerous other indefensible ways tagged as undesirable—their deaths are not as noteworthy to U.S. residents/citizens/whatever legal status you prefer? This seems a cold response, and yet, we see it numerous places, as well. Just as we don’t hear about the deaths of migrants on the border (results of our border enforcement policies, be assured), nor do we hear about the deaths of the Afghanis or Iraqis whom we are re-liberating, nor the Africans mining our diamonds, nor the Palestinians being systematically starved because of policies we create/condone, and so on. Surely few people will attempt to defend the position that their lives are somehow worth less because they are not from the U.S., and yet, in our lack of attentiveness to their situations (in which our government and our social/economic/political institutions play key roles) we give credibility to this opinion through our mis-education and inaction.
And so we sit and infrequently learn about these horrendous situations, pour out a few words of horror and sympathy, and sink back into inaction. Too often we fail to educate, fail to act, fail to change. We settle for being angry and feel justified in that. That anger is not enough for me, and I hope it’s not enough for you. Learn about what is being done in your name, tell others about what is being done in theirs, and do something about it, in whatever way your talents allow. There’s no simple path to this, no single way to say, “Hey, take this step and you’ll be karmicly set, guilt-free and happy for life.” Such a simple path may offer immediate gratification, but I’m of the opinion that it does little of substantial value. In the realm of organizing people, I often hear that you need to present a solution to those you are motivating, otherwise you will do no more than depress them about the situation at hand, and I believe this is true. I think, however, that this is too often taken to mean that you must present a simple solution, that you must present an easy course of action that demands no change in the person, no deep introspection, no willingness to step outside of a comfortably-formed routine. Easy-to-enact solutions have their place, for sure, but used alone they do little to create a lasting impact. We all have unique talents, capabilities, desires and inabilities (because, yes, even your inabilities can be of value in particular situations), and in my mind it’s only when we are asked to realize these characteristics and put them to use that true and lasting change can happen.
So change the world. Or don’t. I think you know my preference.