Juarez, Mexico: It Ain't Kansas

If you dont want the truth dont open your eyes and stay away from the salsa.

It is what it is, clean up the city first then you can have a nice moniker, until then, it is what it is, the other side of "Capital of the Border." Yea, makes me all warm inside.

Run, Toto, run!!!

Poor taste; shows no sensitivity. Just WRONG.

I NEED one of those shirts.

It definitely gets attention. Imagine if someone south of the Border had the Twin-Towers on a T-shirt with the same slogan?

Poor taste! Very poor taste!
Would they do it if their son/daughter/father/mother was murdered there? How would they feel about it if they would be a victim of the violence there? Just because luckily we live on this side of the border, it doesn't give us the right to ridicule the violence going on on the other side of the border (actually any border that is).
If is is supposed to be a statement-it isn't helping the cause unless-you are donating all your profits from this tasteless joke to the families of the murdered people there?

We live in a great country...

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
— The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

The sad truth is the gun on the shirt should be an automatic weapon with the mexican flag behind it and the words "State sponsored terrorism."

That's the problem with our town, we criticize that which has little or no consequence. I dare the Saddleblanket to go into Juarez markets and peddle their wares...see what the response is...you might be suprised. Then again, it may not fair to badly if you consider that the Saddle Blanket is the Mercado Juarez, El Paso style - mainly wholesale nuances and inconveniences.

The funny people should create a shirt with a reference to Colombine Shootings with the same saying.

Nothing but souless marketing...is our economy so bad that we suck the marrow from dead-people's bones?

I think it's definitely a classic. Dusty 'says it like it is'.
It's tragic what is going on in Juarez, but it's nothing new and corruption has been going on across the border for many years....... 'it' has never been and never will be Kansas!

Sad reality check...

What happens in Juarez, dies in Juarez.

Dusty Henson has had these shirts for sale for years. Now the shirts are all to true. Don't blame Mr. Henson for the chaos across the border.

I don't understand why this shirt is inciting such negative response.
Why not direct the negativity toward the Mexican Government for not giving a Sh%! about their people.

I am so grateful to live in the US of A!!!!!!!!

Typical Dusty Henson. The T-shirts have been in his store for a while. Only recently has attention been drawn to them.

El Pasoans have been fascinated by gunfire across the border since 1910. Its wild woolly adventure !

Unfortunately, I feel this is truly in bad taste - I don't think we should make jokes about the problem of the drug lords and the bloodshed over there. The murders of innocent people truly should not be joked about. The threats are not funny and its hurting their tourism buisness. I don't think the people of the Saddleblanket actually thought this one out.

Let's remember that it is the drug market in Kansas and every other state in the US that is at the root of the drug business and the violence it engenders in Mexico. We've tried prohibition now for nearly 100 years. Time to acknowledge that this policy is broken.

Bonnie and Dusty have always been ahead of their time and have contributed to our city in many ways... this is the border, and its definitely not Kansas, Hopefully, in the future our Legistlature and Congress will realize that too, and provide the leadership and funding that our city deserves...

this is nuts

let's all get these for the next Paloma meeting? just kidding.

So... since when has souvenir attire EVER been in good taste?? Any printed t-shirt attire for that matter?

And thank God it ISN'T Kansas, n'est pas?

People are mad because they think T-SHIRTS glorifying violence in area? T-SHIRTS?

Never mind the fact that those shirts have been around for years, just like another local the time honored tradition, the “Reenactments” at Concordia Cemetery.

A bunch of folks reenacting “Violence” --dressed up with guns, booze, and even “Shady Lady” call girls…on top of where hundreds of people are laid to rest.

I wonder if folks who’s “son/daughter/father/mother was a call girl here” think those are funny? No?

I see, hookers and gunfights are “Cultural”, and T-shirts with funny sayings on them are “In Bad Taste” ..please.

If you have thin enough skin that you can’t see the humor or appreciate the freedom of speech we all enjoy, then lucky for you I just heard of a place where you can buy a nice T-shirt to protect you from the border sun, cheap….or maybe you should just load up all your other whiny friends and go back to Kansas, Dorothy

This "ain't funny". Done in poor taste. We don't need to add any more fire to the flames. People are apprehensive enough about the situation in this border city, without having any control or say-so whatsoever. Not a good conduit to civil behavior and the volatile nature of this "drug war" will spill over to the US side of the border, I have no doubts.

Crude. Stereotypical. Insensitive. Yet, it sells. That shouts volumes about the people who buy them.

While some shirt owners choose to not look deeply into the symbolic meaning of the text and images (and self-righteously state an attitude of "it is only a t-shirt" or "It's my right to wear what I want"), others of us choose another view that fits a more honest reality of J (because we've lived there).

For example, I'd have that gun pointing down at a group of 8 or 9 faceless, anonymous people of both sexes and different ages who are standing on the North American landmass of a planet Earth toy globe.

They would all be looking up to see a 4-person gang pressing their feet against the smooth, rounded interior space of the finger guard in a joint effort to pull trigger back.

Those individuals would be nameless drug dealer, a "bought" government official, a "low-down", despicable, decrepit junkie, and most importantly, a two-faced, "upstanding", recreational illegal drug user who only buys limited amounts for his or her group of friends.

These are the real enemies we have to face if we want to eliminate this problem.

The symbol of the gun represents violence and death. Too many people have died in Juarez, too many young women with so much of their lives ahead of them -- slain. Death isn't a cartoon, it's a family mourning their son, daughter, mother, father, a loved one lost forever in the senseless chaos of violence.

Juarez deserves positive support from those of us here in El Paso. To use the profound tragedy of the senseless culture of death present in Juarez as a caricature, as a joke, as a way to make money, is shameful.

Prayers to all the families in Juarez who have lost loved ones through violence, and, on behalf of many, many in El Paso, our apologies for this tasteless piece of clothing. Please know that this crass message is abhorred by most of us in your sister city.

.... and i agree entirely with what Mr. Muro had say.

This silly bit is further proof that the NPT staff members have their heads between their cheeks.

Classic Dusty Henson. All greed, no moral compass, and no class.

not amusing and in very bad taste. to make light of the tragedy in our sister city occuring on a daily basis is not to be made light of especially when we, the consumers on this side of the river are equally to blame for the current situation.

For all of the individuals that are cracking on Mr. Henson and his T shirt, what are you doing for the people in Juarez, MX?

You are not doing a thing because you are too busy posting your sorry excuses of sympathy for the people across the border. Hypocritical? I think so.

The Tshirt is not the problem. The Mexican Government is.

Ms. Marshall said "Let's remember that it is the drug market in Kansas and every other state in the US that is at the root of the drug business and the violence it engenders in Mexico. We've tried prohibition now for nearly 100 years. Time to acknowledge that this policy is broken."

Not only are the drugs destined for adicts in the US. The guns themselves are coming from the US. People in the US are selling the weapons that these dealers and others are using for their war.

and, every bit of controversy Mr. Henson can shake up regarding the situation on the border is money for him. People too scared to go across the border to shop will buy from him.

This isn't a tasteless joke; it's satire. By brining greater attention to the issue, the government has increased incentive to solve the problem.

"Mee" makes an interesting point. The less that tourists want to go to Mexico, the more money Henson can make by selling his cheap knock-off Mexican merchandise (most of it made in India). So helping to reinforce negative stereotypes about Juarez means more money for Hensen. Let's not forget that 90 percent of Juarenses are good people, and their lives are improved by a healthy tourism industry. Using offensive marketing paraphernalia to bash the reputation of a community in its troubled times is pretty low, regardless of how long those shirts have been available for sale, it's still low.

A bloodbath. Hi-larious. Some people can make money off of anything.

I have a coffe mug that I picked up in Baghdad. It reads, "Happiness is Iraq in my rearview mirror."
Would you over sensitive individuals cry over that too? Tell me how bad I am for having that coffee mug?

To all the damn complainers. Why don't you go and fix it if it's so terrible and your heart is bleeding for the juarenos. Go over there and show some civil disobediance, stand up like great Americans did to the terrorist organization, the KKK.
How bout this, boycott the damn drugs! We all want to blame America, but the USA has outlawed the stuff and gone after traffikers and all crime that goes with it. Stop feeling sorry for drug addicts who care nothing for society, they are the ones making the Cartels rich and powerful, NOT the USA. And certainly not the average American citizen.

Very poor taste! I saw this on a local news station as well and on MSNBC and they talk of having one with El Paso on it as well with the same gun. Then they say it identifies with El Paso and the old west. Well you better check your history buddy because there is nothing westen looking on that design of pistol. What a joke, a scam and an embarrasment to this region.

Just because it has been around for a while does not make it right. Just like those intellectual window stickers with a kid pissing on a logo or team. Real nice, your parents must be proud and it shows so well to other families with their kids in the car. Next we have to drive around with our kids blindfolded. Freedom of Speech and expresion is one thing but some just don't grasp what that really meant.

You should see the ones selling in Juarez that have a drawing of a stick person holding the tied up body of another stick person, putting them in the trunk of a car!!!!
There are others (Made in Mexico that you can see selling in the mercados and Malls in Juarez , that make Dusty's look mild in comparison.
For people like my self that cross the border daily to work and get to see hum vee's with soldiers guarding city buildings and snipers on top of buildings. This gun t shirt I am sorry to say is a very true statement.

And in response to Ms Flores and the Old West Reenactors at Concordia Cemetery, Ms Flores, you need to know that those reenactors are there to help Concordia Heritage Assoc. (An all volunteer orgainization),
* Reenactors - Raise much needed money to help take care of Concordia Cemetery, since a majority of the families who have family buried there do not lift a finger or care for their families graves, period!
* Reenactors - Worked to get the state to designate Concordia Cemetery as a Texas State Historical Cemetery to help give the law more teeth when dealing with vandels caught desecrate the cemetery.
* Reenactors - Help clean up the cemetery, repair gravestones, from the terrible vandalism that occurs at the cemetery, by hoodlums and aka satan worshippers that still try to rob graves, and cause general mayhem.

I think the people buried there would appreicate all the help these Gunfighters and Shady Ladies/Call Girls
are doing to preserve and protect the cemetery!!!!

So, Ms Flores if you think these reenactors are so bad, then I challange you to get off your lazy tail call some friends and relatives and volunteer to help care for the more than 60,000 people buried in Concordia Cemetery!
Happy trails to you...........

BVoycott El Paso Saddleblanket!

This T Shirt does nothing but make our Unique unique El Paso-Juarez Borderplex known to all tourists who see it as a dangerous, violent place to live. I'm sure many Lou Dobbs- Sean Hennity types from the mid west US buy this pathetic shirt. And we wonder why our El Paso tourism efforts fail. I think Dusty Henson should be hired as a consultant to the EP Convention and Visitors Bureau, they both do nothing to help El Paso's image.

Dusty seems to pander to these Lou Dobb types, all for the sake of the love of money.

Enjoy yourself Dusty.

By the way, I and many bowlers in El Paso don't appreciate El Paso Saddleblanket Company destroying the most unique, bowling alley in the Southwest. Why? - just so they could have a Freeway location to peddle cheap t-shirts like these "Kansas" ones and sell cheap Saddleblankets only gullible tourists would buy.

I believe in Boycotts. Boycotts work. Cesar Chavez said "Bocotts work- You can vote as many times as you want, and the polls are open 24 hours a day."

You can bet I will never buy anything from El Paso Saddleblanket, and will tell my friends why they should not take any of their out of town friends there either.

So the great Satan is responsible for the killings in Juarez and the ills of Mexico.

'"Drug demand in the U.S. causes the war in Mexico":
Then why are the cartels not focused on moving drugs through their established corridors rather than engaging in a costly war in Juarez?

"Gun runners from the U.S. are the source of the weapons" :
Wars in Guatemala, Columbia, etc were well supplied with machine guns and rocket launchers from the world black market. Meaner weapons and at much cheaper prices than from the U.S.

To quote Jennifer "Run, Toto, run!!!"

Yesterday a family of 4 got gunned down as they were entering their home. A girl 7 years old is in critical condition in the juarez hospital.

Its not just the drug dealers killing each other, it's innocent people and children (at least 4 children to date ) that are also dying. Let this shirt also remind you of that.

Bill Addington's right on. If you happen to read this message, are you the same Bill Addington from Sierra Blanca? If so, I wrote quote a bit about you years ago during the sludge controversy. I did what I could to get your message out to the region....

Kaywyn's comment is reflective of the cynical elitist mentality in El Paso that keeps her face in a frozen expression of chagrin at El Paso's "low class." I wonder if it's the same Kaywyn who operates a tour bus company here. Is that you Kaywyn? Imagine that, someone who has no problem with comical representations of border people's deaths -- who calls those death symbols a "classic" -- operating a tour bus for this border region, representing the border to tourists. That's unfortunate for the border. The people killed, the women slain, their culture and history, their ancestors, their branches of lineage are what defines the border, what brings the tour companies their revenue. Why not show a little bit more compassion for the deaths of these people whose culture you use to make money?

"I think it's definitely a classic. Dusty 'says it like it is.'" Please Kaywyn, emphasize the culture, not the death. I wonder how much fun it would be for Dusty to boast "these shirts are my best sellers" if one of his family members had been killed.

And Juarez isn't about death, it's gripped in an unfortunate turf war for drug cartels where people -- crooks and the innocent -- are dying. Would you be in favor of having a funny t-shirt for the killings in Rowanda?

Death ain't funny, nor satirical. It's our border people dying, and it's tragic. Treating it like a joke is pretty heartless; calling it "a classic" is abhorrent.

Hey Bill A., change El Paso's image? Thanks for the help, since your little rant was so full of gross spelling errors (wtf is a BVoycott ?), now everyone will not only think we're dangerous, but also stupid.

And, hey Mel, easy on Ms. Flores. She didn't post anything against Concordia, I don't think. All she expressed was a well-thought out statement against glamorizing the situation in Juarez, and about the good possibility it may spill into the United States. Why go off on her and tell her to get off of her "lazy tail" for Concordia? Take someone to task for their words. She didn't say anything offensive. It's not like she had a clipart gun with the words "Juarez, Mexico -- It ain't Kansas" or something.

I agree with you about Concordia, though. My great grandfather is buried there, and I go as often as I can to clean his grave. The reenactments are fine, they're referring to death and deeds that occurred generations passed, and are pretty entertaining. Using the death that is occurring as we speak as a form of entertainment, now that is tasteless.

But Ms. Flores comments weren't pointed enough to generate the berating you gave to her, especially since you went after her about something she never even said, not that i read anyways....

Mel Menard's statement sums it up best...

I feel so much better after reading this EPS Press Release!
If El Paso Saddleblanket really cared, they would stop selling these pathetic t-shirts. They are not helping the image tourists and the national media have of our El Paso- Juarez Borderplex.

But they won't, as sales are really good, and they are getting free national publicity!

To "I am the Walrus": Yes, I live in Sierra Blanca and spent 10 years fighting Mafia MERCO NYC Toxic Sludge being dumped very near SB, making us the largest Sewage sludge Dump on Earth. We also proudly fought and defeated Governors Ann and GW Bush's plans to make us a national radioactive sacrifice area for nuclear dumping. Thanks for reaching out to me, and I appreciate your help in our movement to inform people. Call me anytime.

To "Bobby": If you will again look at my previous post, you will see I misspelled ONE Word, the first one in my post- "Boycott". So Sorry!
I hit an extra key while typing. At least I don't resort to abbreviations that are curse words, like you did describing "my misspelled words". Using curse words shows your lack of a vocabulary.

If you want to debate me on anything, you will have more credibility if you use your complete real name. Of course, you don't like my message, so you attempt to shoot the messenger.

I rest my case.

Bill Addington
Guerra Farm & Ranch
Sierra Blanca, Texas
Tel: 915-369-2541

Thanks, Bill. You fought a heck of a fight. If people want to know about the grit of the border, they should look at your record, where the steel is where it is most admirable: in your resolve; and not where it represents the most pathetic aspect of a community: the steel being the gun in a cowards hands.

I think Y, Anna Furlong, LyndaLBD, Anne Flores, Juan Muro, Boo, Joe Gutierrez, John, Merv, would agree. Sorry if I took liberties in speaking on anyone's behalf. It just gives me relief that there are still people with common sense enough to look past the urge to do anything for a dollar and remember that there are people dying, and i felt prompted to name you and thank you for the decency you've shown in speaking against this tasteless shirt.

And Mr. Addington, a branch of my family lives in Sierra Blanca. I even got my first scorpion bite there when i was about ten. I still have family there, but you and I will definitely be in touch. Warm regards, and thanks to all those who remind us that death is a serious thing, not a joke.

Mel & DS

You said it all. You live on the planet earth.