MMB Scattered Thoughts~Good Parenting, Cults, Bi-Linguists and Constables

Katie Holmes with daughter Suri

Parenting

An adult who follows Jim Jones to Guyana of their own free will makes a conscious decision.  You can't argue with a true believer.  


But a parent is responsible for more than themselves.  Their precious offspring is dependent on their nurturing, guidance and protection.  If Katie Holmes reached a point where her parenting was stifled, squelched and interfered with by belief system and the future happiness of her child was likewise in danger, she acted as only a parent could act;  to protect her young one.  If that was her motivation, I respect her for that.   

Is It A Religion, Sect, Belief System or Cult?

Nena watches "Amish~Out of Order", the TV show detailing the struggles of young people who dare to leave the religion at the risk of shunning by their Amish family and the community.  While no religious group identifies themselves as a cult, here is the "Mean Mister Brownsville" definition:  Any group that shuns ex-members including children simply because they no longer choose to live by the religion is a cult.  The Amish, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints who marry 12 year old girls, Orthodox Jews are all cults by my personal definition.

Brownsville:  Home of Talented Bilinguists

Yolanda Begum with twin supporters

When the Erin Hernandez camp along with the lemmings of Brownsville Cheezmeh criticized Yolanda Begum for her Spanish accent, I admit to initially being a bit defensive.  "Her English is fine,"  I would say, as if a grown, educated woman, who has raised a family of overachievers, ran several successful businesses and beat Stage IV cancer, needed defending.  

Then, I learned through Juan Montoya of the "El Rrun Rrun" blog of Erin H. Garcia's feeble attempt at conversational Spanish before a group.  Juan states that she mismatched her nouns and pronouns with a skill level near that of Winter Texans.  

Denise Blanchard-Saenz faced a similar challenge at an event where the audience could not understand her speech in English.  Denise tried to apologize in broken Spanish and quickly exited.    I don't mention this to criticize Erin or Denise.  I certainly would not do any better.  

What is obvious is the consummate skill of Yolanda Begum and so many thousands of Brownsvillians who can read, write and speak bilingually with ease.  Include bloggers Juan Montoya and Jerry Mchale in that number.  Include my son's 7 year old stepdaughter Beatrice, who can sound out billboards in English in Brownsville and in Spanish when she visits her grandparents in Matamoros and switch back and forth between the languages on a dime.

In the spring we attended a pachanga in Cameron Park.  Luis Saenz, Anthony Troiani and Yolanda Begum addressed the group in Spanish.  John Shergold used his wife to translate his speech from English to Spanish.  Now, fast forward to July.  Luis Saenz, Yolanda Begum and Pete Avila spoke to a group of schoolteachers at the home of Norma Sorola, doing so in English.  I think we sometimes gloss over the bilingual skill level in our city.

Constables, Past and Present

Pete Avila

Pete Avila, a retired fireman,  first ran for constable because he no longer wanted to be a "hey boy!", snapping to attention whenever the boss man called.  

A constable is a stop-gap, in between law enforcement person, not a border patrol officer, not a policeman or deputy sheriff.  Pete knew the history of the office, the counts of the king's table who looked after the horses of the king, then, from 1862, serving under judges.

After his first election, Pete had enough gumption to tell his boss, Armando Villalobos, that he would not patrol the levee, raid arcades, monitor human smuggling or transfer mental patients.

He would only perform work designated in the constitution for constables.  That work includes security for funerals, church carnivals and quinceaneras.  Call Pete if you need any of those services.  He works for free to the public.