No Justice!

There is no Justice! My job is one that very much depends on the decions of others. More so than others I think. My job is defined by my clients decisions. To take or not take a drugscreen, to report their address or not report it, to beat your kids or not beat your kids... and so on and so forth. Also, unfortunatly, it depends (in a very fundamental manner) on the decision of a juvenile court judge. Our judge makes a decision based on the convincing done by the lawyers involved. The problem with all of this is that the whole system is made of people who have their own agendas. The lawyers, of course, want their clients to win. Well, lets just assume for the sake of arguement that lawyers want their clients to win. That agenda is known. The unknown, the wild card, is what is going on in the mind of the judge. What is this person thinking? What is his/her angle? Why does this person hear some things and not others? Why is some evidence more weighty than other evidence? In this system there can be no justice, only prejudice and error. But then again I have always been of the opinion that the system is fundamentally flawed to say the least. It is my job to fight the system for my clients. There can be no hope or good come from the system or those who operate it. The only hope for any of us, in my child welfare system or out of it, is in individuals. The trouble is finding a real live individual.

Gotta job to do

What can you do? Some people are just not ready to see what is going on in the world around them. A good friend of mine gave a little presentation at church about the genocide going on in Darfur. You could see apathy and excuses on the faces of those listening. It is a little easier sincce the acutal point of action is in africa and the people look and dress differently than most in the states. It is a little easier to make excuses. I admit that I make my own. I have done little except send an action letter through Sojo.com.

Though these issues should be for everyone I know they are not. Many will not care, many will be content to live their own lives in their own country and this is fine. Really it is. I choose to look at it in terms of calling. God designed everyone to fill an equally necessary role in His Kingdom. Who am I to tell anyone else that they not fulfilling their role?

Speedy Gonzalez

I have been back from the Migrant Trail trip for two days. It is still hard for me to articulate to people exactly what I did there and why. I am getting better though. Reactions range from the ever popular "thats interesting" to genuine concern for the lives of those who cross the border. I have not met any open hostility yet. Probably the circles that I run in, most of the people I know are generally open minded. Or at least not rude enough to tell me off to my face. I think my supervisor thinks Im crazy though. I suppose I would rather have open hostility than a disinterested "thats interesting." At least thats a reaction. I can only credit apathy to my own failure to communicate the reality of the situation. People are dying, and they are dying needlessly. They die because both Mexico and the US refuse to admit that their deaths are a problem. Its the same us vs. them attitude, it is "them" who are suffering and not "us" so it doesnt affect me. They have a darker skin color and speak a different language, their culture is different so they dont matter. More than that most of the money they make they either save or send home, they dont spend it here so they dont matter. All this regardless of the fact that our economy and Mexico's would fall apart if it were not for an exploitable workforce doing a lot of the grunt work...

I cannot change the whole world at once, I cannot change myself at once. I pray that my God keep these things in my heart. Do not let me forget. Let my Path make a difference for those who cannot speak for themselves.

Oh, by the way, the title to this entry: Speedy Gonzalez is one racist cartoon! I just realized this today, a lazy mexican mouse, that much was obvious. But wait for it ... and he can run fast! from who, the Border Patrol? Whoever came up with this cartoon must have been from a border state!