eptx

a place where:
the sun, a hot sun, a merciless sun, always shines
the wind always blows
dust is everywhere
food is never fresh
every car is a huge truck that you can't see around
a truck that can't or won't stay in its own lane and barely fits in a parking place,
an enormous truck jutting forward and back to crowd you as you attempt to maneuver around it;

And, above all,
El Paso Texas is a place where
militarism is in the blood,
--Not because the citizens of the USA are born violent,
but they are made so,
by the country's violent past,
and by the collective denial of racism,
together with the necessity of survival,
in a capitalist culture where jobs are the crumbs that fall
from the rich man's table.

El Paso, Texas:
a place where exploitation is everywhere,
because
the green lawn must be trimmed and beautiful,
no matter how much water it costs,
no matter how little water people have across the border in Juarez,
no matter how little water there is for basic sanitation in that far away country,
and the lawns must be beautiful,
so someone will be paid to do it,
even if they are paid badly.

But I do not think that green lawns are good or beautiful,
least of all sensible in this miserable desert,
and I do not think that anyone should be exploited for the sake of my neighbor's "beautiful home".

Altogether El Paso, Texas is a disgusting place, with no redeeming virtues....