Ian, Lawrence, Jordan, Damien, Evan

[Ian Tamburini]

Benjamin Saenz
Exile: El Paso, Texas

[Jordan Kinney]

It sounds that even though these people are in America they struggle
like they are from Mexico and they deal with the same hardships as
people from Mexico.

On Sep 13, 7:43 am, Ian Tamburini <ian.tamburini.berli...@gmail.com>
wrote:
> Benjamin Saenz
> *Exile: El Paso, Texas*

[Lawrence Betterini]

It is clear that Saenz has a very strong bias against the customs officers.  He is constantly treated unequally and judged based on his appearance even when he speaks better English than some of the officers.  Judgement of other people against him is a strong bias which is evident in the writing.  An example of him being judged is when he and his friend are crossing the border, and the officers only question Saenz, not his friend who was white with blue eyes.  It is very upsetting to read about someone who is judged as bad as the author.

[Evan Regan]

The authors style in this reading is unfamiliar. The tone and voice are something i have not heard before in other readings. The tone to me sounds stressful from all the problems he faces and sees living where he does. Also, the voice is concerned and angry from being judged by the boarder officers because he looks like an illegal immigrant.

[Lawrence Betterini]

How would you each feel if you were constantly harassed by other people for something you were not guilty of?  Although i would know that I did nothing wrong, they would eventually make me feel guilty enough to feel ashamed of myself.  There is no way I would want somebody to judge me based on my appearance.

[Jordan Kinney]

i like your post and you are right it is an unfamiliar writing style and the author does seem concerned even though he is a U.S. citizen and he knows it.

[Lawrence Betterini]

I agree that the author sounds very stressed and annoyed by the customs officers.  I found it funny that he would cheer for the immigrants when they would try to cross the border. :)

[Ian Tamburini]

So far this story has had a great reflection on the setting which it is taking place in. The author living on the border is constantly subject to stereotypes associated with his ethnicity. Unfortunately, he is probably not the only person in his community facing this issue. Due to the flood of illegal imigrants in the area, such "precautions" taken by border control are necessary. However the toll it has on the innocent makes one wonder if the hassle to catch aliens is worth it.

[Lawrence Betterini]

Life on the border is completely different than life as we know it.
Saenz was not about to acquiesce with the customs officers however. He
was going to fight for his identity as a free American citizen. When
the customs officers approached him at first, Saenz was slightly
willing to cooperate but as they continued their harassment, Saenz
became very acrimonious towards the officers. I as well would feel
annoyed if they constantly nagged me with such questions.

[Lawrence Betterini]

The biggest question for me when reading this story is why Saenz was
so obsessed with the Juarez Mountains. He mentioned them several
times and they seemed to play a big role in his life because he would
constantly look at them when writing. However, he was never too clear
as to what these mountains actually meant to him.

On Sep 13, 8:22 am, Ian Tamburini <ian.tamburini.berli...@gmail.com>
wrote:

[Damien Blair]

I find it interesting how he compared the Juarez Mountains to the
color purple. Saying how they burned with with the color purple. He
keeps referencing this description throughout the story. Until page 24
page about half way down the page. Right after he had another run in
with the border patrol he wrote. "The Juarez Mountains did not seem
purple that fall. they no longer burned with color." It's an effective
way to get a point across, repeating something over and over until it
suddenly changes. It makes the moment pop out, such as in Anthem where
the plural pronouns were suddenly replaced with singular (I, me, my,
he, she). He did the moment very well to portray his rage and...
"tipping" point against the border patrol and their constant invasion
into his privacy. Not to mention their actions against other Hispanics
in his area.

[Jordan Kinney]

Great thoughts and i know what you mean, one would think that it isn't
worth it to find the illegal aliens but I think it is worth it because
if we let all the illegal immigrants into America then they will take
advantage of our system of healthcare and welfare and they will be
able to get a drivers license and all the other things that American
citizens have to wait for and its just not fair...

On Sep 13, 8:22 am, Ian Tamburini <ian.tamburini.berli...@gmail.com>
wrote:

[Damien Blair]

Yes, I do agree with you. Although I believe -he- has a right to be
biased against the border patrol. And he isn't exactly biased per-say.
The border patrol is a specific group of people who did join (I'm
assuming) willingly, and that group of people are doing the things
that he is biased about. Yes, there is biased in this story, there is -
definitely- biased in this story. However the biased is -mainly-
coming from the border patrol not so much from Benjamin Saenz. Your
example from when the border patrol only questioned him and not his
white, blue-eyed friend wasn't showing biased from Benjamin, but from
the border official. Yet... Benjamin may have some biased, you don't
know -all- the border patrol's thoughts, views and opinions, some may
hate their job while others may enjoy the sense of power. He
automatically categorizes all of them the same, although he does have
very good reason for it.

[Ian Tamburini]

The fact that the situation is based on reality makes it all the more frightening. In the final paragraph, the reader can see how the persistent harassment has jeopardized Saenz's sanity. On page 27 he writes "graffiti burning questions into the glass: "Sure you were born... Identification... do you live?" Such questions have plagued his mind.

[Ian Tamburini]

This is a very good observation. Up until the turning point Saenz would acquiesce to the officers demands, but what i'm wondering is why at this point did he decide to snap, and change the the imagery. Obiously it is in part because of the officers' repeated harassment which has been boiling up in Saenz, but what specifically about this instance brought him to as you said his "tipping point" ? I think it is that at this point, Saenz has lost hope with the situation in Juarez. he longs to improve circumstances, but is unsure how too. This is supported later on page 26 when Saenz uses the symbol of the fence; "My figners wanted to reach through the wire fence , not to touch it, not to feel it, but to break it down." This represents his resent, and ultimately his turning point.

[Ian Tamburini]

Something frequently expressed throughout the short story is Benjamin Saenz's sense of unrest and Panic. He wont even leave his house without wondering who will stop him, or if he should start carrying his passport. This type of characterization and description makes for a very abstract, agitated tone. An example is with the authors thought process during an outdoor walk where the worries, "I should have taken a shower this morning'... I should have worn a nicer sweater... i should have cut my hair...(26)." This further reenforces the emanating them of how bias has negative effects on people, whether direct or indirect.

[Ian Tamburini]

Something that I find interesting is that the whole time, Saenz seems to be indirectly critiquing and fearing the bias' of the officers, but ironically, he seems to have his own bias.Generally he seems to sympathize the illegal aliens and blames the cops for being unjust. But after all, the setting takes place in an area filled with illegal aliens who are ILLEGALLY there. It's not like the officers are trying to make everyone's lives miserable, they are doing their jobs, and Saenz makes it seem like a crime. An example is when he sees a man being arrestested; "the officers jumped out of the van and threw the handcuffed man against one of the parked cars (25)." "threw the handcuffed man" in it of itself sound malicious, and makes the officers seem horrible. Granted there are many biases and racial problems in the setting, Saenz himself is not pure.