“Real Life Border Thriller” by Guillermo Gómez Peña
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Emily Bernsteinsays
This testimonial added a lot of perspective than we previously got. Guillermo Emiliano Gomez-Hicks’s father was Mexican-American but his son was blonde and Anglo and he was mistaken by racist San Diego police as kidnapping his own child because he was a different skin color. It was interesting but not surprising to me to hear about all the excuses that the police made about their racism and tried to justify the mistake they made by talking about a previous kidnapping that resulted in two dead children in a similar story. I found it strange, however, that the police kept telling the narrator’s family that they “were lucky” that the police officers were doing their jobs so quickly and that the situation didn’t turn out any worse. It was as if the narrator hadn’t had to deal with all of the consequences of two racist people reporting about him being with his own son. He kept going over and over in his head about what could’ve happened if he hadn’t had his card or if he was still in the house when they broke in, and was deeply upset about the violation of rights that him as well as many other people of race faced. People claimed his African American friend “looked like a rapist” which to me is impossible because it is impossible to look like a rapist but people just have these racist ideas in their minds and feel the need to act on them, no matter how racist or what the outcomes for individuals are. People in the story didn’t seem to come to any logical conclusions without being extremely racist and inconsiderate to the people involved in the supposed kidnapping situation. People just kept jumping to conclusions without much thought and were therefore acting on racist impulses as they automatically assumed the worst possible reason for the narrator being with a blonde child. The police also said racist things like “Anglos are said to be much more intelligent” right in front of someone who they assumed didn’t know much English and were blatantly racist towards the narrator through his entire ordeal. The “paranoia” and “anti-Mexican sentiment” in the testimonial was awful to hear about, as well as extreme, but not surprising coming from police officers during the time, as similar cases with protests were caused by supposed theft and false reports from people with racist attitudes towards Latinos.
There were many aspects of Real-Life Border Thriller that I found interesting. The first being the fact that the narrator had a prepared and easily accessible “Mexican survival Kit” including his press card and that this played such an important part of the testimonial. The fact that the police force treated the narrator and his son so drastically different after finding out that he was a journalist sets up the story line of how racially biased the police force was to the family throughout the entire story line. The next main idea that stuck with me was how outrageous the testimonial kept getting. The narrator starts with a seed, the seed being the fact that he is racially targeted for kidnapping his own son. This seed blossoms into a full bloom to the point where the narrator is being accused of carrying a weapon, fleeing the country, and holding people hostage. This is all due to to Anglo women who are judging the biracial couple and child. The fact that a huge man chase can be put into action over a couple of racist women was very interesting to me. The last thing that I really took away from this testimonial was the impact it had on Guillermo. Throughout the testimonial the narrator talks about how scared his son was and how he was just confused because he didn’t understand, by then end of the testimonial the teacher was walking about how he didn’t associate with his fathers last name anymore and how he was falling asleep in class and just wasn’t the same after the incident. This is a truly sad situation that changed a young child for the rest of his life, and that is the biggest part of the testimonial that caught my attention.
This testimony, Real-Life Border Thriller, demonstrates the power racism can have on a society and how it effects individual lives. It shows the racism that is imbedded in many anglo’s minds. Guillermo Emiliano Gomez-Hicks’ father has the look of a common Mexican, unlike his son, who looks anglo. It’s unfortunate that this contrast sets up danger for the family, simply because the two don’t look alike. Listening to his testimony, it’s ridiculous that the two women called the police to say this child was stolen. It’s incredulous that they lied to the police about the family. Nothing violent was being done to the child, yet the women claimed Guillermo’s father “forced the kid into the taxi.” They also emphasized that he “was speaking […] Spanish,” which shows the fear the women have of him, simply because he’s from Mexico. The police created ridiculous excuses as to why they had motives to believe the child was stolen. Reading the testimony, it’s plain to see that lies and racism are stitched together to create an ugly picture. Throughout the story, it was emphasized how lucky the family was because they were in the right place at the right time. This highlights the brutality police are able to enforce on minorities. If Guillermo’s father was confronted by the police at his home, then he could’ve easily died because the police want to protect the child. Racism is imbedded in the minds of most of the police during this time. Also, racism from the police and the citizens is a common occurrence, many people have been unfairly “detained” due to skin color. The police also treated Guillermo’s father differently when they discovered that he is a journalist. They didn’t want people in the Latino community to see that they treated someone harshly because of race. Guillermo’s father calls his press card a vital part of his “Mexican survival kit”, which is unfortunate that Mexican would need one living in the country. The police are surprised to know that they have detained an intelligent Mexican, since they believe that “Anglos tend to be much more intelligent.” Sadly, this is how minorities are treated in America, once people receive an education, this may no longer be a problem; but there are still many problems with race today.
This testimonial can be an eye-opener in how any of the minorities are treated. The father really was prepared for the possible accusations because he was Mexican-American. It was upsetting how much of the story was falsely conjured up by the civilians and the police department. There were so many red flags with how the situation was carried out. For the SDPD, them following up on a possible kidnapping was correct on their part. However, the still had a racial biased which lead them to not fully carry out their job. Because the child and the father were two different skin colors, the vigilantes and authorities felt that it was correct to think the kidnapping was true. All biases in this testimonial are somethings that are still being carried out today.
The testimonial “Real Life Border Thriller” by Guillermo Gomez Pena brings to light the extent that racism and racial profiling can have on our society, in particular people of color.
It was really sad to read that just because Guillermo Gomez’ Hicks father was of different skin color, it set up a red flag to others. What really grabbed my attention was the fact that the author was treated differently after he presented his press card. It really made me mad that the police never apologized but said “you should be grateful” as if they did him a favor. This testimonial addresses the problems with racism drastically, and how corrupt police and officials can be and how minority races can be dehumanized in America. It was really upsetting how far the police went in order to not be “in the wrong” and how they exaggerated everything to prove themselves. For example how the Anglo women said “the boy was clearly being held against his will” and “had forced the kid into the taxi”.
Overall, It really stood out to me how the author thoroughly pointed out that if he didn’t know English or didn’t have his press card with him and the capacity to respond things could’ve gone much worse. Furthermore, this makes me question that even though racism is no longer as rampant as it had been in the 60s, how much have we progressed?
This testimonial added a lot of perspective than we previously got. Guillermo Emiliano Gomez-Hicks’s father was Mexican-American but his son was blonde and Anglo and he was mistaken by racist San Diego police as kidnapping his own child because he was a different skin color. It was interesting but not surprising to me to hear about all the excuses that the police made about their racism and tried to justify the mistake they made by talking about a previous kidnapping that resulted in two dead children in a similar story. I found it strange, however, that the police kept telling the narrator’s family that they “were lucky” that the police officers were doing their jobs so quickly and that the situation didn’t turn out any worse. It was as if the narrator hadn’t had to deal with all of the consequences of two racist people reporting about him being with his own son. He kept going over and over in his head about what could’ve happened if he hadn’t had his card or if he was still in the house when they broke in, and was deeply upset about the violation of rights that him as well as many other people of race faced. People claimed his African American friend “looked like a rapist” which to me is impossible because it is impossible to look like a rapist but people just have these racist ideas in their minds and feel the need to act on them, no matter how racist or what the outcomes for individuals are. People in the story didn’t seem to come to any logical conclusions without being extremely racist and inconsiderate to the people involved in the supposed kidnapping situation. People just kept jumping to conclusions without much thought and were therefore acting on racist impulses as they automatically assumed the worst possible reason for the narrator being with a blonde child. The police also said racist things like “Anglos are said to be much more intelligent” right in front of someone who they assumed didn’t know much English and were blatantly racist towards the narrator through his entire ordeal. The “paranoia” and “anti-Mexican sentiment” in the testimonial was awful to hear about, as well as extreme, but not surprising coming from police officers during the time, as similar cases with protests were caused by supposed theft and false reports from people with racist attitudes towards Latinos.
There were many aspects of Real-Life Border Thriller that I found interesting. The first being the fact that the narrator had a prepared and easily accessible “Mexican survival Kit” including his press card and that this played such an important part of the testimonial. The fact that the police force treated the narrator and his son so drastically different after finding out that he was a journalist sets up the story line of how racially biased the police force was to the family throughout the entire story line. The next main idea that stuck with me was how outrageous the testimonial kept getting. The narrator starts with a seed, the seed being the fact that he is racially targeted for kidnapping his own son. This seed blossoms into a full bloom to the point where the narrator is being accused of carrying a weapon, fleeing the country, and holding people hostage. This is all due to to Anglo women who are judging the biracial couple and child. The fact that a huge man chase can be put into action over a couple of racist women was very interesting to me. The last thing that I really took away from this testimonial was the impact it had on Guillermo. Throughout the testimonial the narrator talks about how scared his son was and how he was just confused because he didn’t understand, by then end of the testimonial the teacher was walking about how he didn’t associate with his fathers last name anymore and how he was falling asleep in class and just wasn’t the same after the incident. This is a truly sad situation that changed a young child for the rest of his life, and that is the biggest part of the testimonial that caught my attention.
This testimony, Real-Life Border Thriller, demonstrates the power racism can have on a society and how it effects individual lives. It shows the racism that is imbedded in many anglo’s minds. Guillermo Emiliano Gomez-Hicks’ father has the look of a common Mexican, unlike his son, who looks anglo. It’s unfortunate that this contrast sets up danger for the family, simply because the two don’t look alike. Listening to his testimony, it’s ridiculous that the two women called the police to say this child was stolen. It’s incredulous that they lied to the police about the family. Nothing violent was being done to the child, yet the women claimed Guillermo’s father “forced the kid into the taxi.” They also emphasized that he “was speaking […] Spanish,” which shows the fear the women have of him, simply because he’s from Mexico. The police created ridiculous excuses as to why they had motives to believe the child was stolen. Reading the testimony, it’s plain to see that lies and racism are stitched together to create an ugly picture. Throughout the story, it was emphasized how lucky the family was because they were in the right place at the right time. This highlights the brutality police are able to enforce on minorities. If Guillermo’s father was confronted by the police at his home, then he could’ve easily died because the police want to protect the child. Racism is imbedded in the minds of most of the police during this time. Also, racism from the police and the citizens is a common occurrence, many people have been unfairly “detained” due to skin color. The police also treated Guillermo’s father differently when they discovered that he is a journalist. They didn’t want people in the Latino community to see that they treated someone harshly because of race. Guillermo’s father calls his press card a vital part of his “Mexican survival kit”, which is unfortunate that Mexican would need one living in the country. The police are surprised to know that they have detained an intelligent Mexican, since they believe that “Anglos tend to be much more intelligent.” Sadly, this is how minorities are treated in America, once people receive an education, this may no longer be a problem; but there are still many problems with race today.
This testimonial can be an eye-opener in how any of the minorities are treated. The father really was prepared for the possible accusations because he was Mexican-American. It was upsetting how much of the story was falsely conjured up by the civilians and the police department. There were so many red flags with how the situation was carried out. For the SDPD, them following up on a possible kidnapping was correct on their part. However, the still had a racial biased which lead them to not fully carry out their job. Because the child and the father were two different skin colors, the vigilantes and authorities felt that it was correct to think the kidnapping was true. All biases in this testimonial are somethings that are still being carried out today.
The testimonial “Real Life Border Thriller” by Guillermo Gomez Pena brings to light the extent that racism and racial profiling can have on our society, in particular people of color.
It was really sad to read that just because Guillermo Gomez’ Hicks father was of different skin color, it set up a red flag to others. What really grabbed my attention was the fact that the author was treated differently after he presented his press card. It really made me mad that the police never apologized but said “you should be grateful” as if they did him a favor. This testimonial addresses the problems with racism drastically, and how corrupt police and officials can be and how minority races can be dehumanized in America. It was really upsetting how far the police went in order to not be “in the wrong” and how they exaggerated everything to prove themselves. For example how the Anglo women said “the boy was clearly being held against his will” and “had forced the kid into the taxi”.
Overall, It really stood out to me how the author thoroughly pointed out that if he didn’t know English or didn’t have his press card with him and the capacity to respond things could’ve gone much worse. Furthermore, this makes me question that even though racism is no longer as rampant as it had been in the 60s, how much have we progressed?