Just about anyone who's been to or otherwise seen east Houston and Harris County knows it's not exactly the most picturesque part of Texas, with the refineries and such.
Well, via this morning's Houston Chronicle, we find that local county commissioner Sylvia Garcia is spearheading an effort to beautify the area by building parks, painting murals and things like that. From the article:
Earlier this year, Garcia led opposition to naming Houston's new major league soccer team "1836," suggesting that it could promote anti-Mexican sentiment. The team's name was changed to the "Dynamo."
Garcia, who shares Hispanic ethnicity with more than half the people in her district, has said the soccer team's name and a promotional campaign highlighting the historic Battle of San Jacinto are distinct issues.
Uh...why? Like it or not, 1836 and San Jacinto are Texas history, and one thing we Texans hold in very high esteem is our history. And with this being an "issue" among the area's residents, it begs the question, just exactly where do their allegiances lie -- with Texas and the United States, or Mexico? More than a few people would call me insensitive or -- gasp! -- RACIST! for daring to ask such a question, but yet again, like it or not, it's part of the area's and the state's history -- one of the cornerstones of it. If the allegiances of the residents of the area -- who, I am guessing, are largely of Hispanic/Mexican descent -- are such that they have this huge problem with acknowledging that, well, just what are they doing here? Call me crazy, but the fact that acknowledgment of that history is, in fact, acknowledgement of an ignominious defeat of Mexico, coupled with it being an issue at all would suggest that the loyalties of the area's residents would chiefly lie with Mexico and not with Texas or the United States...
I have no quarrel with Hispanics. They have the right to their opinion. But to say that we should ignore or downplay a cornerstone, a proud part, of our Texan and American history because it upsets their delicate sensibilities is just wrong on so many levels it defies description. And it's a damn shame the people who have a problem with this aren't being called on it.
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