About Place Journal: Navigations section header: Factual State, Future Spate

Daniel Gonzalez

(Un)Documented Education

Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982)

Tex. Educ. Code Ann. Section 21.031: A Texas statute that withholds state funds from local school districts for the education of any non-U.S. citizen children who were not legally admitted into United States and authorizes school boards to deny enrollment to such children.

Constitutional Provision(s) Invoked:

14th Amendment

Constitutional Clause(S) Invoked:

Equal Protection Clause

We fled towns

with intimidation

for currency and

bullets as reward,

just to dehydrate,

drown,

or be conned by

coyotes

In a cruel desert.

The children dream

of Disneyland.

But will never

see it.

Maybe when they

grow up, get a degree,

get a good job and

make $$$.

the “American Dream.”

As we climb,

we anticipate

the struggle

the hunger

the exhaustion

the better opportunities.

A future to make it

past the 5th grade,

like you never could.

It took a

5-4 majority decision

to convince you

that we are

“In any ordinary

sense of the term”

People.

Whether undocumented.

Or illegal.

But a court does not

guarantee protection

from discrimination.

How could it?

When it did not want to

in the first place.

The majority observed

that denying the immigrant

children in question

a proper education

would likely contribute to:

“The creation and perpetuation of a subclass of illiterates within our boundaries, surely adding to the problems and costs of unemployment, welfare, and crime.”^[1]

[1] Plyer V. Doe: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/457/202.html


XIUHTECUHTLI =						TIME
Señor Turquesa.						Turquoise Lord.
Señor del calor y el día.						Lord of Heat and Day.
Los días se convierten en años.						Days become years.
Tiempo. Son todo el tiempo.						Time. They are all time.
Señor del año y del tiempo.						Lord of the Year and of Time.
Capaz de moverse libremente en todas						Able to move freely throughout.
partes.

Los volcanes entran en erupción y es su						Volcanoes erupt and it is his domain.
dominio.						The personification of life after death,
La personificación de la vida después de la						warmth in cold.
muerte, el calor en el frío.						Light in darkness and
Luz en la oscuridad y						food during famine
comida durante la hambruna						The absence of what is needed.
La ausencia de lo necesario.

Los pensamientos se mueven de A a B.						Thoughts move from A to B.
La percepción asocia D con C.						Perception associates D with the C.
Lo que vino antes.						That which came before it.
Nunca X a T a J.						Never X to T to J.
Pero podría ser.						But it could be.

Se mueve de un lado a otro.						He shifts back and forth.
Pero solo podemos seguir adelante.						But we only can go forward.
Como la línea de una página.						Like the line on a page.
Narrativa lineal.						Linear narrative.
Una oración debe moverse de izquierda a						A sentence must move left to right.
derecha.						In some languages it is opposite.
En algunos idiomas es lo contrario.						But always linear.
Pero siempre lineal.

No es.						He is none.
No lineal.						Non-linear.
No hay línea.						No line.

Plata de Zacatecas

Diego Fernández De Proaño was a notoriously avaricious Spanish conquistador,

embarked on a journey in 1551 to central Mexico

in search of a rumored legendary hill

full of rich mineral deposits. Hoping to find a hill of gold,

he instead stumbled upon a hill of silver.

He had a small crew, but soon many of the Natives came to help with Diego’s conquest.

These were the people of the land, knew the hills and caverns better than the Spanish, and

were fierce workers with unrivaled skill.

These miners discovered a silver crucifix

deep inside one of the new excavated mines. They swore it was a miracle, stopped mining, and decided to build a church on top of that hill

for El Santo Niño de Atocha de Plateros.

Diego was appointed a Justice Major in the city of San Miguel de Culiacán. He was later accused of abusing his power to enslave hundreds of local indigenous Guachichil Indians, an act that removed him from power. Mexico has since become the largest producer of silver worldwide. In recent years, flooding has led Zacatecas to an economic collapse as the mines are impractical to cultivate.

My great grandfather was a highly skilled marksman

familiar with the advantageous hills and secret mines of Zacatecas.

On June 23, 1914, he answered the Revolución’s call

and rallied alongside Pancho Villa in the Battle of Zacatecas, a victory that demoralized

Presidente Victoriano Huerta, which led to his resignation.

Pancho Villa later honored him with a bottle of Mezcal and a silver medal.

They finished the bottle,

commemorated and mourned those that had fallen.

Born in Anaheim, California, Daniel Gonzalez has earned his MFA in Creative Writing, & BA in Screenwriting from CSULB, where he served as the senior editor of Fiction for RipRap Journal. He has written an award-winning short film, Matty Groves and published works in ANGLES magazine. He enjoys playing with his dog, eating, and writing about morality, death, and those small human moments which we all share.

@danielgonzwrites
https://danielgonzalez.substack.com

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Daniel Gonzalez

(Un)Documented Education

XIUHTECUHTLI =

TIME

Plata de Zacatecas