Pubdate: Sun, 28 Sep 2003
Source: Brownsville Herald, The (TX)
Copyright: 2003 The Brownsville Herald
Contact:  http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1402
Author: Bill Brown

PRICE OF VICTORY SEEMS TOO HIGH

Editor:

I recently became a target of the War on Drugs. Or maybe it was the War on 
Illegal Immigration. Or the War on Terrorism. Sometimes it's hard to tell 
which war is which.

Who am I? Just a documentary filmmaker visiting El Paso for a couple weeks 
while making a film about the U.S.-Mexico border. I was particularly 
excited to visit Border Monument Number 1. This is one of the most historic 
spots in America, the first of a series of boundary posts erected after the 
Gadsden Purchase. This is where America finally settled on a shape for 
itself, its familiar southwestern contour.

The monument site is nestled in a pretty little canyon just beyond the Rio 
Grande. A good place for a school field trip or a picnic. I shot some film, 
not realizing that my every move was being monitored by hidden cameras.

As I drove back into El Paso, I noticed a Border Patrol truck following me. 
Then another. And another. I pulled over, and five or six Border Patrol 
trucks pulled up behind me. I was asked to stick my arms out my car window. 
I was asked for my identification. I was asked if the agents could search 
my bags.

I wasn't asked if I was scared, but I was. Out of my wits.

In the end, the Border Patrol agents explained that they thought I was a 
drug smuggler, and they suggested I call the Border Patrol before any 
future visits to the border monument.

Please understand, I don't like Bad Guys, and I'm grateful to the law 
enforcement agencies that protect us. But what happens when we're not being 
protected anymore? I realize I'm not the first one to ask, but what exactly 
is the price of victory in the war against fear?

Bill Brown Lubbock Via the Internet
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom