Bob Welch: House sign forces point of contention
By Bob Welch
Columnist, The Register-Guard
Published: Sunday, March 5, 2006
http://www.registerguard.com/news/2006/03/05/c1.cr.welch.0305.p1.php?section=cityregion
BROWNSVILLE - On a quiet street in this bucolic berg, the hand-painted sign is fixed to a house. Beneath it an arrow points to the Hispanic family next door. The sign says:
WE MUST PROTECT OUR BORDERS.
I heard about it from Clifford Case, a friend and co-worker of Ruben Garcia, whose family is the target of the sign and arrow. Garcia, 47, is a foreman at Morse Bros. Inc.'s rebar plant in Harrisburg. Married and the father of six children. And a naturalized U.S. citizen. (I've seen the document.)
"When Ruben first told me about it, his eyes were watering," Case says. "I wanted to go read the guy the riot act but I didn't think that'd be a very Christian thing to do."
The sign went up last year, soon after the Garcias bought and moved into the place on Oak Street next door to 28-year-old Robert Travis. "My first reaction to the sign was: this is somebody who doesn't like you," Garcia says. "He's trying to smash you down and hurt you."
In Brownsville, the sign has neither gone unnoticed nor caused widespread concern, says Don Ware, the Brownsville Times publisher. In December, Jan McCarron, who lives in the neighborhood, circulated a petition - she got 25 signatures from people disapproving of the sign - after the Times ran a photo of it with the question: "Is there racism in Brownsville?"
advertisement "His attitude," McCarron says, "is `The sign is not coming down and I don't care what anybody thinks'. "
Travis wrote a letter to the editor saying this wasn't about racism but respect. "I am not a racist," he tells you in an interview. "I have Mexican friends, Puerto Rican friends, black friends. Some of my best friends are Mexicans."
He tells you the sign is about the Garcias not respecting his property. About the Garcias throwing garbage in his yard. About the Garcias having weekend barbecues that draw lots of family members who park their vehicles in front of his house.
"After 9/11, you had all these raghead guys and Afghanis and people putting on bumper stickers about securing our borders," Travis says. "I'm just doing what our country did when it was attacked. That doesn't make me a racist."
The border sign refers to, he says, the property line between the Garcias' house and his. Amira/Sue Simons, a neighbor across the street, scoffs at that.
"I've wanted to rip down the sign," she says. "I've seen the parties. The little girls do these twirling-around dances. Watching them, I'm like, God, what a wonderful family."
Travis sees another side. "Beer bottles. Kids' toys. Yeah, I've run over them with my lawn mower. I mean business. Go back to Tijuana if you're going to live that way."
Without checking with Garcia, Travis ripped out the fence between the two houses with a tow-chain from his pickup. And has threatened the Garcias with calling the Immigration and Naturalization Service. "I can tell by looking which ones are illegals."
He says this is about individuals, not races. "There are white trash and whites, niggers and blacks, Mexicans and beaners," he says.
Once, someone tore down the sign but Travis replaced it. "You're always hoping he gets the message and takes it down, but it's still there," Brownsville Mayor Rob Wingren says. "He's a good guy who doesn't get the depth of other people's feelings."
A guy who says he couldn't care less what the "liberal ---holes" in Eugene think of him.
Who says he's now considering a bigger sign: "A four-by-eight sheet of plywood with red, white and green - the colors of the Mexican flag - that says, `Protect our borders.' "
Who says "If anyone is racist, it's them. I have a half-brother who's Mexican. How can I be a racist?"
It's a legitimate question for us all, but particularly for the man who asked it.
And in searching for an answer, he might begin by imagining an arrow of accusation pointed at that half-brother.
Every. Single. Day.
By Bob Welch
Columnist, The Register-Guard
Published: Sunday, March 5, 2006
http://www.registerguard.com/news/2006/03/05/c1.cr.welch.0305.p1.php?section=cityregion
BROWNSVILLE - On a quiet street in this bucolic berg, the hand-painted sign is fixed to a house. Beneath it an arrow points to the Hispanic family next door. The sign says:
WE MUST PROTECT OUR BORDERS.
I heard about it from Clifford Case, a friend and co-worker of Ruben Garcia, whose family is the target of the sign and arrow. Garcia, 47, is a foreman at Morse Bros. Inc.'s rebar plant in Harrisburg. Married and the father of six children. And a naturalized U.S. citizen. (I've seen the document.)
"When Ruben first told me about it, his eyes were watering," Case says. "I wanted to go read the guy the riot act but I didn't think that'd be a very Christian thing to do."
The sign went up last year, soon after the Garcias bought and moved into the place on Oak Street next door to 28-year-old Robert Travis. "My first reaction to the sign was: this is somebody who doesn't like you," Garcia says. "He's trying to smash you down and hurt you."
In Brownsville, the sign has neither gone unnoticed nor caused widespread concern, says Don Ware, the Brownsville Times publisher. In December, Jan McCarron, who lives in the neighborhood, circulated a petition - she got 25 signatures from people disapproving of the sign - after the Times ran a photo of it with the question: "Is there racism in Brownsville?"
advertisement "His attitude," McCarron says, "is `The sign is not coming down and I don't care what anybody thinks'. "
Travis wrote a letter to the editor saying this wasn't about racism but respect. "I am not a racist," he tells you in an interview. "I have Mexican friends, Puerto Rican friends, black friends. Some of my best friends are Mexicans."
He tells you the sign is about the Garcias not respecting his property. About the Garcias throwing garbage in his yard. About the Garcias having weekend barbecues that draw lots of family members who park their vehicles in front of his house.
"After 9/11, you had all these raghead guys and Afghanis and people putting on bumper stickers about securing our borders," Travis says. "I'm just doing what our country did when it was attacked. That doesn't make me a racist."
The border sign refers to, he says, the property line between the Garcias' house and his. Amira/Sue Simons, a neighbor across the street, scoffs at that.
"I've wanted to rip down the sign," she says. "I've seen the parties. The little girls do these twirling-around dances. Watching them, I'm like, God, what a wonderful family."
Travis sees another side. "Beer bottles. Kids' toys. Yeah, I've run over them with my lawn mower. I mean business. Go back to Tijuana if you're going to live that way."
Without checking with Garcia, Travis ripped out the fence between the two houses with a tow-chain from his pickup. And has threatened the Garcias with calling the Immigration and Naturalization Service. "I can tell by looking which ones are illegals."
He says this is about individuals, not races. "There are white trash and whites, niggers and blacks, Mexicans and beaners," he says.
Once, someone tore down the sign but Travis replaced it. "You're always hoping he gets the message and takes it down, but it's still there," Brownsville Mayor Rob Wingren says. "He's a good guy who doesn't get the depth of other people's feelings."
A guy who says he couldn't care less what the "liberal ---holes" in Eugene think of him.
Who says he's now considering a bigger sign: "A four-by-eight sheet of plywood with red, white and green - the colors of the Mexican flag - that says, `Protect our borders.' "
Who says "If anyone is racist, it's them. I have a half-brother who's Mexican. How can I be a racist?"
It's a legitimate question for us all, but particularly for the man who asked it.
And in searching for an answer, he might begin by imagining an arrow of accusation pointed at that half-brother.
Every. Single. Day.
