Desperado. Everywhere

[embedyt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCdjvTTnzDU[/embedyt]Clashes Erupt Over Missing Mexican Students, Marquel read with disbelief.  Relatives of the 43 missing students led thousands through Mexico City in mostly peaceful marches that ended in clashes between some protesters and the police. We know those students were murdered. But what happened to the others who are similarly missing but thankfully not dead and buried?

Marquel pondered this mystery. Why did the drug gangs and police want all these young people disappeared? The area they were in was not particularly valuable. You could grow drugs there of course but there was no evidence of that. What had really happened?

Marquel was forced to go to Mufi who forced Marquel to hold one end of the noodles while he pulled them. Then the folding, the repulling, folding, pulling, and finally soaking in the secret solution.

They sat down to 100 year old dim sum, an invention of Mufi’s, plus Mao’s asparagus dream, which somehow exploded at each bite and resembled the flavor of soup dumplings with crab.

“So,” said Marquel. “We’re missing about 400 Mexican youngsters, mostly students, and we have 43 bodies, but no more.”

“Interesting,” said Mufi. “With 43 dead and 400 fleeing, you get the feeling that the dead were killed to get compliance from the others. It’s tough.”

“So they shot the first 43 to get the others to do what the 43, and probably all the rest, initially failed to do.” Said Marquel.

“When 400 Mexican are missing, where do they usually turn up?” Asked Mufi.

“Beats me” said Marquel.

“I’d say New York. You look for missing Mexicans, you find them here.” Said Mufi.

“So it’s the old restaurant search?” I asked.

“Not necessarily this time,” he said. “You’ve got these young Mexicans in school. They have no desire to go north. They will succeed in their home country.”

“So for some reason, some thugs have been paid for 400 Mexicans. When they send them north, they balk. To get them to go they kill some in cold blood and the rest do as they’re told.” I said. “Don’t Mexicans like to come here?”

“You’d think so to listen to all the anti immigrants. But the truth is if you offer to take a typical Mexican up north, he’ll curse you with a Mayan spell. They love their country like anyone else.”

“Huh” was all I could say. “So what would they order 400 reluctant Mexicans for?”

“That really is a mystery. But we can crack it if we think hard and systematically. Who were these kids?” Mufi asked.

“I don’t know much. All students. Actually good students. College level courses at a school known for achieving results.”

Mufi was thinking. His brow was deeply furrowed. “Students. English?”

“I don’t know. I imagine so. Mexican students take English in high school and then more in college. So if these were better than average students…”

Mufi went on. “Accomplished English speaking smart students. Who would want 400 of them?”

Mufi told me to go home and sleep on it. On the way I stopped at a few restaurants and asked about the employment situation. At Chinese, Mexican, Japanese, French, and barbecue restaurants, all of whom usually use Mexicans in their kitchens, I found that nobody would have put out an order for 400 illegals.

It was hard to believe what Mufi said about Mexicans. I thought if you asked a Mexican to go to the U.S., the answer is always, “Sí, señor!” Mufi thought differently. I guess the answer is usually, “No, señor!” Tell that to our new U.S. Senate.

I slept fitfully. Who wants 400 unwilling Mexicans? The Republicans? Is this some political trick? Maybe the CIA, or the police. Targets? Do the police need smaller, Latin American statured moving targets to practice on? But they seem to do so well in the housing projects they don’t seem to be short of candidates, also unwilling.

Smart kids. Who needs smart kids. The schools. Maybe the DOE needed 400 smart kids to bring up their scores. But they’re illegal. The DOE would have a hard time pulling that off. I finally fell asleep thinking of the DOE speaking Spanish. They can’t even master English.

By morning things were better. I cooked myself some huevos rancheros, Mexican coffee, and refritos. I thought about why it couldn’t be the DOE and I reached the same conclusion. Who wants smart kids? Schools wanting to score well. The DOE had no interest in kids so it has no interest in them scoring well.

But charter schools! They’re always fooling with their numbers, throwing bad kids out, which the DOE can’t, and getting rid of disabled kids. The Commissioner just said that charter schools import kids in for testing to raise their scores.

I went down to my nearest charter school, called, The Koch Brothers Charter School Designed to Make Money and Destroy Public Education. I said I was thinking of enrolling my kids, but they were geniuses and I was having difficulty deciding. They sent me to the admissions director.

“What do your children like best?,” she asked me.

“They love Spanish speaking kids. They adore Mexican kids but I guess you don’t have that.” Said I.

“You’re so wrong. We just received another shipment, application, today. We have at least twenty. How many do you need? We can get forty, just this week if you want.” She insisted.

“These are new kids?” I asked.

“Yes, but they’ll be here for a long time. Don’t worry. Would you like to subsidize a few of them? Many parents are doing so. It will help your kids’ grade point.” She suggested.

“No my kids get A’s no matter what. But I might be interested. I’ll get back to you.” I said.

I spent the day at charter schools. Each one had a new “shipment,” as the first admissions director misspoke, but whatever you call it, they had enough smart Mexicans to raise the general level of test scores for rich kids with no other merit, far above the normal appalling. These charter schools know how to play the game and de Blasio hasn’t a clue.

Anyway, if you want to hire a good cook, drop by your nearest charter school and look for dark kids of somewhat small stature, whispering in Spanish.

***

BY MARQUEL: Desperado. Everywhere

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