Lack of Imagination in El Paso, Texas

as a follow-up to yesterday's post in which I complained

that the citizens and politicians in El Paso, Texas seem to be in

denial about global warming,

I note in passing that in today's Editorial Page of the El Paso Times

there is an editorial in which the newspaper approves of the attempt

to lure the auto industry to El Paso...

I would be curious to know how much of El Paso's economy relies upon

the Department of War (the correct name for the "Department of Defense")

There are better ways to build an economy....

Unfriendly, Unpleasant El Paso, Texas

It would appear that neither the good citizens nor the mayor of El Paso Texas

know that last year

BETWEEN 300,000 and 400,000 people died as a result of global warming

and that's a conservative estimate.

I just got back from walking to my local library. It's a thirty minute walk one way.

As I walk, large trucks and a few cars zooom by. At the light, I see a proud young

man with sunglasses, proud of his youth and his shiny car.

But I would like to say to him: owning a car is no achievement. The scientific

and technological

discoveries necessary to make a car were hard won, but you have nothing to do with them.

And I would like to remind him that when he uses his car he contributes to global

warming,

and people have already died, and more will die...

Then there's the unkempt situation of the sidewalks I use. Most have stones and

weeds. In one case the sidewalk is covered with dust and dirt.

Most houses have large stone walls around them. The sidewalks are public, so

the attitude seems to be: who cares?

Then I get to a stoplight. Before I can finish crossing four lanes, the light changes.

The driver opposite is considerate enough to wait for me to cross. I am not walking slowly,

but I would have to run in order to cross before the light will change.

Behind the patient driver, another car starts honking from impatience.

I would like to say to that driver: Am I supposed to fly across the street?

Why are you in such a hurry?

In El Paso Texas, pedestrians have no rights.

Cars don't like us.

The city does its best to discourage us.

Unfriendly, unpleasant El Paso, Texas.

See also my 18 August post for another story about unfriendly drivers.

Drive friendly? Ha Ha Ha. What a joke.

El Paso, Texas

I've been surprised at how often people in grocery stores say

"excuse me" or some such thing.

It is as though there is an invisible fence around everyone which is

I guess about 3 feet away.  When they get within four feet, they say

"Sorry" or "Excuse me".

This seems strange to me.

I guess in ten years of living in Central Europe my experience was different....

This is consistent with research by the psycholinguist Aneta Pavlenko.

However, it is surprising to me, in a way.  Latin cultures touch more than

Anglo-Saxon....and most people in El Paso are Spanish-English bilinguals...

les autres

"l'enfer, c'est les autres"

today

Today I went to Wal mart.

It was not pleasant.

I found myself wondering why stores in Europe are smaller, and

thinking about how just the size changes things...

and makes it less unpleasant to shop.....

not to mention:  a McDonalds at the entrance!!!!

but I did notice the Mcdonalds had free water with cups.

The unpleasant heat is a reality that even the worst business has to recognize

and deal with

And I do find the heat unpleasant, increasingly so.

But I have a theory that it would be better if there were no air conditioning,

and if houses were designed more intelligently.

I think the basic design of many houses was copied from houses located in

more temperate regions

I wonder if with a combination of proper ventilation and shade, the heat

could be tolerable without air conditioning...

As it is now, the constant change from freezing cold to burning  hot is very unpleasant.

Often I am glad to get out of the air conditioning.

Yes, I do not like El Paso Texas, and I am not enjoying my stay here.

I hope to leave soon...

angry and primitive

I am finding the USA to be a very unhappy country.

I note with sadness the absolute lack of grocery stores in El Paso.

Contrast that with the enormous number of purveyors of junk food.

Exercise for a sociologist:  what is the proportion of junk food shops to real food shops?

I predict that the higher the ratio of real grocery stores, the healthier the population.

Angry?

Yesterday I crossed five lanes of traffic to reach my bus stop.

Of course, I waited for a gap in the traffic.  I am not suicidal.

When I reached the bus stop, as a car sped past on the opposite side of

the street, the driver screamed at me at the top of his lungs:

"XXXX****!!! Get out of the f...ing street!"

By that time, I was out of the street; so his anger was directed at an activity

of mine which had terminated.

I had not interfered with his contributing to global warming.

So, why was he so angry?

It was very disturbing.

REally, between 300,000 and 400,000 people died last year as a result

of global warming.  I should be mad at him.

But it seems to me that people just don't care.

Anyway, it was unpleasant, and I never had such an experience in Europe.

Are Americans really so sick as to believe they have a right to drive cars?

And to drive cars fast?

Are pedestrians really people with less rights than global warming fans?

And the guy yelling at me, to judge by his accent, was another gringo....

The sort of thing that makes me eager to leave this country asap.

freedom my ass

el paso texas = barbarism

when you have no grocerystore within walking distance

when the nearest grocery store is two or so miles away

that is not civilization

that is b.s.

barbarism

land of the free my ass---land of capitalist exploitation and corruption