From my location north of the USA this story is wonderful. We in Canada get more like Europe and the the developed liberal democracies every day as the USA's economic demographics every day seem more like Mexico. The end of Nafta talks yesterday was music to my ears even as the short term economics seem bad to disastrous.
Fifty years ago I would have been happy to be closer to the USA than Europe but in 2018 the economic union with the USA imperils most of what Canadians hold dear.
Justice, equality and security are America's past and Canada's present and hopefully our future.
Winners and losers are for Mexico and the USA and maybe the wall is better on our border and the USA/Mexico border should be the open border undefended and easily negotiated. With most Republicans seeing us as the enemy this gesture of cross border unity may dissuade some American hostility as allies are developed with the same values and mores as America. We have nothing to give America which has rejected liberal democracy.
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@Memphrie et Moi
All that, and your anthem is so much better than 'ours.' (Now I wish I'd moved to Canada to 'beat the draft' during the Vietnam atrocities -- a serious consideration at the time. Would you consider adopting a 69-years-old, retired attorney?)
But and P.S.: Don't forget that, despite her very considerable (if unwarranted) 'unfavorables' -- and despite the "conservatives" unfairly successful efforts to suppress the votes of our black and brown citizens, 3 million more of us voted for Hillary than for potus ignoramus -- 'thus, for, and in favor of' the continuation (intended resurrection?) of liberal democracy as 'meant' by Mr. Obama ... our first "African-American" … and last decent and intelligent … POTUS.
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For time immemorial, baseball has united us. From Hank Greenberg to Jackie Robinson to Roberto Clemente, baseball has been what humanized and Americanized us all.
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When the US Men's National Soccer Team plays the Mexican Team (one of our bitter rivals) in LA it's considered a hostile crowd.
This is a very outstanding article!!! I've lived in Laredo my whole life and never had i read an incredible article involving our 2 cities. The Tecos are one of the biggest symbols in our cities and as a Laredoan i appreciate this a lot because believe it or not the Tecos unite us always!!!
Gracias desde las 2 cuidades!!
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Thank you for a wonderful story.
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If you read this as more than the story of a béisbol team -- but a story of how border cities have lived as neighbors for so long (and still do, despite ignorance of that reality in much of the US) -- you'll get a good idea of life at the border.
Yes, there's (currently) a lot of violence in some Mexican border cities... border security is needed. But many people in the US (such as President Trump) seem to have a mostly-uninformed, one-sided view of the border situation. Reading this great article -- or going to border cities and talking with residents (not just Border Patrol agents) -- would give people a better understanding of life here.
1
If you read this as more than the story of a béisbol team -- but a story of how border cities have lived as neighbors for so long (and still do, despite ignorance of that reality in much of the US) -- you'll get a good idea of life at the border.
Yes, there's (currently) a lot of violence in some Mexican border cities... border security is needed. But many people in the US (such as President Trump) seem to have a mostly-uninformed, one-sided view of the border situation. Reading this great article -- or going to border cities and talking with residents (not just Border Patrol agents) -- would help people have a better understanding of life here.
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Let the two Laredos show us the way!
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Texas is not really the United States. It's not Mexico, either. It's a mix of the two. In San Antonio, a full 2/3 of the residents are Hispanic/Latino. There is no "us" or "them."
Most of the people I work with, or live near, are Hispanic/Latino, with only a generation or two removed from Mexico (or points south). My friend married a woman born in the U.S. to illegal parents (they met in the same Masters Degree program). My sister-in-law married a Mexican national. Another friend from Mexico City has dual citizenship, as her American grandmother fell in love while studying in Mexico City in college. Another friend immigrated from Guatemala, but got his college degree in California and followed job advancement here.
It's frustrating to hear people in the northern U.S. talk about border walls, ICE, and all the other political hot topics without living here. These aren't criminals coming here to rape and pillage. They're friends, neighbors, and family. Spend some time in Texas, and you will see that.
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It’s great to see a positive story about my home town of Laredo, Texas. As a young man I played baseball on both sides of the border, crossing the international boundary was no different than going to another neighborhood. Over the years, the violence on “the other side” (El otro lado) made passage difficult and scary. It is sad that so many restaurants, markets and businesses have ceased to exist or moved. The Spanish language brings both sides together in a way that is hard to imagine for an outsider. It is sad that the flow of drugs and the violence that accompanies it has taken over. I seldom visit Laredo anymore. When I do my relatives and friends always speak of how it used be.
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What a beautiful story! Thank you NYT. And three cheers for my beloved baseball, for me the most wonderful sport on earth!
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What a wonderfully human gesture!
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Great story, Wags.
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This story is really beautiful. I would travel to Laredo just for the baseball.
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Ditto. We need more of this sportsman bing people together