A New Year

It was a nice cruise my family and I enjoyed along the islands of the Caribbean during the public school break of 2008. The sea was mostly calm, but nothing serious as the ship was piloted to five different islands. What made it great was that none of the five independent governments have engaged in nor mounted a campaign to insult citizens or the thousands of visitors they enjoy with signs and/or symbols that represent government-sponsored religious prejudice. Those citizens or visitors who may have different religions or no religion freely walked about for their enjoyment. Not at all like the religious prejudice with the crosses of Las Cruces and the more recent dripping yellow cross on the Dona Ana County seal.

The really exciting part of the trip was seeing Doug Rains and his lovely wife, Barbara, sharing the same deck with us. With all the on-board activities and constant eating in the various buffet lines and dining rooms I didn't get a chance to talk to either one. We did look at one another twice. I almost didn't recognize Doug without his Chamber of Commerce Conquistador blazer with the patch displaying the three yellow crosses of the Trinity and the reviled Onate's profile.

The Chamber of Commerce is the promoter of the religious prejudice that Las Cruces is well-known for. Unsuspecting visitors call or write the CofC for information and get the fakelore stories, some related to religious miracles. The CofC is a private organization and the City obeys this club. Being private is how they get away with their activities and they do not have to answer to anyone. The local New Mexico State University is actively involved in promoting religion in several departments along with the local public school districts and the New Mexico Public Education Department.

A lot of people have fallen victim to the fakelore stories of Onate. He is revered for bringing Catholicism to New Mexico. He is despised by the Pueblo people for the treatment he directed, like chopping feet, selling of children, etc. Las Cruces is obsessed with Onate. Dona Ana County seal has Onate on his horse. A public high school has been named for Onate. The joke is: Onate never did anything in this area when he passed through to Santa Fe and back to Mexico. He and his bunch passed through here and poisoned the water with European diseases that killed the Native Americans. No European lived here for over 200 years after Onate passed by.

Before you shake your head in disbelief, check out the new Hispanic Chamber of Commerce with its crosses along with the regular CofC and it logo crosses that showed up at the Millennium scare.