I am Mexican, I live in Mexico, work in Mexico, raise my family in Mexico and will die here, in Mexico.

The finger pointing has GOT to stop. Decades have passed, trillions of YOUR tax dollars have been spent and you are no closer to winning your "War on Drugs" than you were 40 years ago. It's time to start taking a look in the mirror, instead of memorizing sensationalist headlines, stats, and figures.

We are really not as different as you would think, the difference is the CORRUPTION IN MEXICO is out in the open, for the world to see. Whereas, in the U.S. it is still practiced behind closed doors.

The weapons said to be entering Mexico from the U.S. and falling into narco's killing hands: Another he said, she said. Mexico says 90%, new stats say 17%...and? These arguments and comments are like fighting to death over whether the sky is baby blue or sky blue..The truth is weapons are entering. Where they bought in a gun swap, wal-mart, or your local gun shop? Who knows, but doubtful. Again, that's not the point.

Another detail you seem to be hung up on is: Cartel Kingpins wouldn't want your semi-automatic UZI's, .50 cal and more...THAT IS TRUE.

THESE guys have no use for what you have to offer. They have the money to get anything from anywhere at the drop of a hat...BUT do you think ALL narcos are kingpins? Do you think the guy selling out of the local "tiendita" is a Capo? Do you think the extortionists, kidnappers, and "plaza" collectors are all on the Forbes' list? The cartels don't deliver "cartel" issued fully automatics to every Jose, Jesus, and Juan that work for them, most find their own, based on their own preference, and YES...they like what you have to offer even if it means they have to tap the trigger of a semi-automatic assault rifle 60 times in 60 seconds instead of getting an autospray...But that is NOT your problem.. If it is legal for these weapons to be bought and sold as "recreational, sport, or home security" that's fine and dandy...I don't feel you should lose your rights for "someone" allowing them to walk out of your country, I simply want you to take a closer look at who's getting weapons and where they end up.

Immigrants...I personally, do NOT, agree with ANY type of illegal immigration: from any country to any country..There are legal methods and they should be strictly abided. BUT, it has been happening for DECADES. Do you honestly think millions of illegal immigrants have waited until nightfall to slip over the cracks into your country? Open your eyes, please.

Just as my country has helped the immigrant pack their bags and hold their hand to the border, YOUR country has left the back porch light on and the key beneath the mat. For decades it was all find and dandy: Americans had cheap labor in so called "undesirable" jobs. A maid, nanny, and gardener in every home was available to all. Mexico had no reason to really focus on those unimportant little issues such as poverty, unemployment, and education. Wallets fattened on both sides of the border at the cost of the WORKING CITIZENS on both sides of the border. The economic crisis has changed all that, eyes are opening. Those once undesirable jobs are now in demand by American citizens and your stuck with millions of "undocumented" laborers in a country which is now struggling to support their own.

I understand your anger. It's all WRONG! Illegal immigration is WRONG. The war on drugs is WRONG. Trillions of dollars to foreign countries and for what? To keep the drugs flowing, and the VIOLENCE out. How's that working?

NAFTA? Wow! Mexican trucks are bad, they're all dangerous and Mexicans take American jobs, right? How about those corporations, American big wigs who are cutting your throats to offshore your jobs? Of course, that would be the foreigners's fault for accepting a job offered in their own country, right?

The truth is WE created a monster. The U.S. was thrilled to demand drugs and immigrants, and Mexico was more than happy to supply it all, after all, what are neighbors for if we can't help each other out, right? Now we are all fu*ked. We can all sit around pointing fingers, @!$%#ing and complaining, "Damn Mexicans and Pinche Gringos". We can sit on forums and vent our hate, we can cry. We're are, after all, victims, right?

No, we are idiots: victims of our own greed and laziness who allowed it to happen on both sides of the border, your and mine. For those of you who claim Mexico is not a democracy, how's your own democratic system working for you? Are you happy?

Mexico and our citizens were ignorant enough to sleep thru almost a century. We were silent little, conformists: Blind, Deaf, and Dumb. Somehow we thought casting a vote in the ballot might make a difference, and when it didn't, time after time, we just fell silent. Democracy is not about voting, the job doesn't end there, it begins. It is up to us, citizens, to provide the checks and balances and make our demands and needs, our united voices, not only heard, but placed into action. We seem to think to be a proud patriot of our country we must settle for what is offered, good or bad. There is no shame in admitting fault, mis-steps, and error as an individual or a nation: quite the contrary, it will maintain strength and unity; something we both have lost over time.

Mexico is finally beginning to awaken. You may laugh and you may shoot back any type of b.s. you choose, but we are. We finally have a President with the "huevos" to fight a century of corruption and go head to head with Cartels all the while implementing employment, social, and educational programs that have been ignored and denied in the past.

We have placed our cards on the table. We are a mess: corruption, deceit, violence, drugs, poverty. We have admitted our faults and errors and are beginning to SEE, HEAR, AND SPEAK. We have not and are NOT failing, we are only beginning to find our footing and see reality. Looking in the mirror is and facing the truth is often not pretty, as an individual or a nation, but it MUST be done..

Instead of pointing fingers at each other, we need to begin with our own. The he said-she said bull@!$%# has gone on long enough with absolutely NO positive results on either side of the border. We don't need to be friends to be neighbors, but do we need to be enemies? The U.S.-MEXICAN standoff is just that: It'll continue to keep us standing for decades while all crumbles to hell around us.

Peace/Paz to You and Yours