Daniel Hernandez wrote an article for Extra! last year (6/09) about the tendency of U.S. corporate media to treat Mexican violence as a phenomenon that threatens to “spill over” into the U.S.—as in New York Times headlines like “Drug Cartel Violence Spills Over From Mexico, Alarming U.S.” (3/23/09) and “Wave of Drug Violence Is Creeping Into Arizona From Mexico, Officials Say” (2/24/09). Hernandez’s article, “Does Violence ‘Spill Over’ or Come Home to Roost?,” questioned this framing of the story:
It is a treatment of Mexico’s crisis as something foreign, unknown and dangerous, as opposed to a threat affecting an intimately close neighbor–and, in many respects, a crisis that is at least partly a product of American policies.
A new report from Mayors Against Illegal Guns (9/10) underscores how this “spill over” metaphor distorts reality:
In recent years, the escalating drug cartel violence in Mexico has claimed tens of thousands of lives, fueled in part by thousands of guns illegally trafficked from the United States. In fact, 90 percent of guns recovered and traced from Mexican crime scenes originated from gun dealers in the United States.
Most of the guns come from Texas, California and Arizona, the report finds—with Texas, Arizona and New Mexico supplying disproportionate numbers in comparison to their populations.
An imaginary crime wave supposedly caused by unauthorized immigration from Mexico has been frequently offered by pundits as a rationalization for Arizona’s draconian anti-immigrant law (Extra!, 7/10). It would be more helpful for media observers to call attention to the actual assistance U.S. gun dealers are providing to violent criminals on the other side of the border.
I can’t say much about violence going the other way. Because I do not live in any those states thank God.
Counting Mexico’s Guns
http://www.factcheck.org/2009/04/counting-mexicos-guns/
check your facts
As the quote says, “90 percent of guns recovered and traced from Mexican crime scenes originated from gun dealers in the United States.” That’s what Factcheck.org says as well.
As the report notes, the percentage of guns from the U.S. has risen somewhat as the number of guns that Mexico submits for tracing has risen considerably. That would be unlikely to happen if the untraced guns had a very different origin from the traced guns.
The statement that “In fact, 90 percent of guns recovered and traced from Mexican crime scenes originated from gun dealers in the United States.”
Is at best misleading, especially when it’s followed with:
“Most of the guns come from Texas, California and Arizona, the report finds–with Texas, Arizona and New Mexico supplying disproportionate numbers in comparison to their populations.”
Which poncho’s factcheck link seems to dispute.
And Jim, who’s to say that the increase in guns submitted to us for tracing hasn’t increased as a function of more total guns being recovered? Its unfortunate that Mexican law enforcement doesn’t keep records of the total number of guns recovered so we could find out the truth.
Mayors Against Illegal Guns is hardly a reliable source. The word “illegal” should be dropped from their title. It is almost totally funded by Mayor Bloomburg. Try to own a gun in New York legally. Unless you know someone it is close to impossible.
This has been reported for as so for years and decades.
There should be federal and state laws prohibiting the sale of guns to be exported outside of the United States without a background investigation as to where and for whom these guns will be used. Such a limitation does not interfere with an individual’s Second Amendment rights.
Stupid article.The criminals in Mexico using American,Russian or Chinese weapons, are solely to blame for their actions.Not the guns country of origin.
I would not be surprised at a blanket statement someday arising like ‘ALL WEAPONS USED IN MEXICO FOR ILLEGAL ACTIONS WERE MADE IN THE US.”Ok and??????Mexico does not make weapons as far as I know.This government has no policy implied or otherwise of selling weapons willy nilly to Mexico .Even the title of the article is misleading.It indicates violence and guns are inseparable.Now before you jump on that- simma down simma down….Are we forgetting the creed that guns don’t kill people…people kill people?Remember when every article on SUVs reported “man killed by SUV”.Hint…..The SUVs killed no-one.It was the folks driving them.SWitzerland is the most heavily armed country in the world….. and the safest.THose kind of stats are incomprehensible to your average lib.They search through google stats to try somehow to understand that.In my experiance they dont and never will.
This is simple.Mexico is a crime ridden country.THey will weapon up however they can for the crimes they carry out.This is all the expected result of having a narco state on our boarder.Their crime levels can not be blamed on Remington corp,or Winchester as much as some here may desire it.So Arm up yo(sic) and remember my Favorite bumper sticker……”Guns don’t kill people….People in Texas, with guns-kill people.”Ok Im tweaking ya all.Bottom line….. 2nd ammendment curtailments and gun control arguments in this country will not be allowed to be linked to the sad Mexican political realities.Not by us crazy right wingers.You bet ya
Guns don’t kill people — bullets kill people. Guns just make them go real fast.
Mark hits on my 3rd favorite bumper sticker.2nd is IMPEACH OBAMA.Has such a nice ring to it.
Michael e–How come only Democratic presidents are deemed impeachable?
Dennis in my lifetime only two presidents have done things that I feel were easily impeachable offenses.Nixon for a misuse of Power.And Clinton for lying under oath before a judge and Congress.Nixon was covering up a penny ante crime he did not order- that effected no-one ,and Clinton in effect did the same thing”.Covering up” was his crime of course.Obama has not done anything I see as impeachable though there are constitutionalists who would argue that.But He has done nothing to argue for his retaining the office he now holds.And all things being equal I believe he will no longer be our golf pro n chief after the next election.
That’s right Michael e! Bush sure never lied about anything … well, except the ones he told about the need to invade a country or two. But at least they were little white lies from which no one got hurt. Yeah, right.
Russ……I did not vote for Bush.And was no fan of his on many levels.A country or two?Woodward and Bernstein have argued against the Iraq invasion on these blogs, and that argument has merit.After all one of the cornerstones of the reasoning for that action turned out to be faulty intel.But if you believe the Afghan “invasion “was wrong I would ask you to remember the 3000 dead in NY.But you are correct in a convoluted sense.Clinton Bush Obama all raise their hands and people die.Like a well meaning elephant in a room of eggs.It comes with the job.One of the reasons why I believe anyone running for the job must have a skrew loose from the get go.
All of you who can’t see the trees for the woods – guns, guns, guns, and more guns – more American than apple pie! There are far more guns in this country, than there are people! Blame “the others,” don’t ever bame ouselves.
That’s Blame.
It’s my feeling that the purpose of the article was more for reflection on the irony and less as poop for pundit monkeys to sling.
Lovebomb(ok that moniker is a wee bit…hmmmm?)FAIR posts, and blogs often sounds like Irony to we conservatives.Somedays I am pretty damn sure that somebody is just pulling my leg.But I don’t feel it is irony.I often post amused posts at what I consider strange” going- back- to- kiddy -college- day views.”Elitist- eggheaded, academia locked ,no clue to the real world vision of things.What comes back at me is stark vicious anger.Loaded with insult and innuendo.Lovebome aint nobody kidding on these pages.They believe
In our competitive political system, if a president tries to avoid provocative military actions risking military deaths, he will be assailed and ridiculed by those “muscular realists” who are looking for political advantage, and sadly they usually are rewarded for it. The normal citizens only have themselves to blame.
By claiming only the president has “all or enough information–some of which is classified anyway” gives us an excuse not to get too upset.