Mark [Krikorian]: On that report about the cultural attitudes of immigrants that you commented on yesterday, I have a couple of data points relating to Mexico, by far the largest supplier of immigrants to the U.S.A. in recent years.
First this column by Fred Reed, who actually lives in Mexico. Fred has his little ways, but he hit this one out of the park.
Second, my latest (June 2009) issue of Literary Review arrived yesterday. A regular feature in the magazine is Lucy Popescu’s “Silenced Voices” column, which each month publicizes cases of writers in some country being persecuted for practicing their craft. This month’s country is Mexico.
Few people realise that Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world to work as a journalist. Those reporting on crime and drug trafficking are particularly at risk. Government officials and the police are often complicit in violence against journalists …
Lucy highlights the cases of political cartoonist Mario Robles and El Diario de los Altos editor Miguel Angel Casillas Báez, both in peril of their lives from powerful local politicians and their goon squads.
If Fred, and the Harvard study you mentioned, are correct, this is the political culture we have imported.