The Cellar - View Single Post

Tonchi · 02-06-2006, 12:48 AM

In order to understand what is going on, it helps if you have been in Tombstone or at least lived in Southern Arizona on the Mexican border. EVERYBODY has names like "Lance Crosthwait" (if they aren't named "Manuel Garcia Garcia" or similar) because the territory is mostly divided up into huge ranches. Most of these ranches need 10 acres to support a cow, they are desolate, and are the prime running ground for drugs and illegals from Mexico. These are the folks who welcomed the Minuteman Project, and to describe these good ol' boys are independent would not be adequate. Some of the land south of Tombstone which is not private empires is owned by Phelps Dodge Mining, a Mormon enterprise which brought in many families of men digging the huge open-pit copper mine at Bisbee which is now closed. To the east of Tombstone is the traditional homeland of the Chiricahua Apaches, in some very rugged mountains, and an off-limits military base where spies and commandos are trained (according to local rumors, anyway). So you have a TOURIST TOWN which is surrounded on all sides by cowboys, Indians, miners, and military and nothing else. There are no suburbs, shopping malls, more than one road in or out, or new ideas being imported. Every single group is used to running things the way they like it and they don't care what anybody else thinks.

That a culture of corruption and laziness has sprung up in the police department there is not surprising. The officers are probably required to look the other way a lot of the time, it's not like they are detectives or trained investigators. They're just small-town cops. They can't offend a powerful rancher, can't cause a tourist to file a lawsuit because he was not handled delicately, don't get paid hardly anything because there is no competition for the job, and they might possibly be on the take from narcos in Mexico (which has unfortunately been too common in the law enforcement on the border). There is little for them to do in their spare time except drink. Tombstone is a fun place to party (and nearby Bisbee is very picturesque), but if you have to live there all the time it does not attract the best job applicants.

02-06-2006, 12:48 AM	#3
Tonchi Victim of gravity Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Hiding in plain sight Posts: 1,412	In order to understand what is going on, it helps if you have been in Tombstone or at least lived in Southern Arizona on the Mexican border. EVERYBODY has names like "Lance Crosthwait" (if they aren't named "Manuel Garcia Garcia" or similar) because the territory is mostly divided up into huge ranches. Most of these ranches need 10 acres to support a cow, they are desolate, and are the prime running ground for drugs and illegals from Mexico. These are the folks who welcomed the Minuteman Project, and to describe these good ol' boys are independent would not be adequate. Some of the land south of Tombstone which is not private empires is owned by Phelps Dodge Mining, a Mormon enterprise which brought in many families of men digging the huge open-pit copper mine at Bisbee which is now closed. To the east of Tombstone is the traditional homeland of the Chiricahua Apaches, in some very rugged mountains, and an off-limits military base where spies and commandos are trained (according to local rumors, anyway). So you have a TOURIST TOWN which is surrounded on all sides by cowboys, Indians, miners, and military and nothing else. There are no suburbs, shopping malls, more than one road in or out, or new ideas being imported. Every single group is used to running things the way they like it and they don't care what anybody else thinks. That a culture of corruption and laziness has sprung up in the police department there is not surprising. The officers are probably required to look the other way a lot of the time, it's not like they are detectives or trained investigators. They're just small-town cops. They can't offend a powerful rancher, can't cause a tourist to file a lawsuit because he was not handled delicately, don't get paid hardly anything because there is no competition for the job, and they might possibly be on the take from narcos in Mexico (which has unfortunately been too common in the law enforcement on the border). There is little for them to do in their spare time except drink. Tombstone is a fun place to party (and nearby Bisbee is very picturesque), but if you have to live there all the time it does not attract the best job applicants. __________________ Everything you've ever heard about Fresno is true.