Reflection on week #3

Throughout last week, as we discussed security and drug trafficking in Mexico, I struggled to really understand the culture we were talking about and I kept finding myself trying to find a parallel in the United States. This was especially true during our class with the women from the Asociación Ciudadana contra la Impunidad on Thursday. As I listened to the stories of their own loss, of the many other people they are seeking justice for, of their experience trying to work with different government and non-profit agencies, I was searching for a similar situation with which to compare theirs, but I couldn't. I noticed that this is something I do often when trying to grasp an unfamiliar idea - I try to connect it to something I already know. Usually, this basically works, but now that I think about it, I realize that I might lose something by this approach.

In class, during our reflection, I compared narcocultura to the influence of rap music and "gangsta" culture on vulnerable populations in the United States, and while I still stand by what I was thinking at the time, I must also admit that while there are some similarities, there are plenty of differences. I cannot think of anything in the United States that can approximate the violence, mistrust, and fear that drug trafficking has created in Mexico. We certainly have problems with crime and gang activity in the U.S., but the average person does not have to fear for their life; the average person does not face the threat of abduction and/or murder; the average person can invest some faith in the justice system, and know that much more than 1% of crimes are prosecuted. The corruption and impunity in Mexico is unbelievable for me. It's a completely foreign concept and I now realize that trying to compare it to my experience with the U.S. government is a dangerous action, because it risks diluting the severity of the problem. I try not to make assumptions about other cultures and other people's lives, but I think I might need to go a step further. Sometimes, it's best just to acknowledge that I don't understand.

Kelsey