Victor Davis Hanson: Two Californias

Orange County Register ^ | Victor Davis Hanson

[Ron C.]

The last three weeks I have traveled about, taking the pulse of the more forgotten areas of central California. I wanted to witness, even if superficially, what is happening to a state that has the highest sales and income taxes, the most lavish entitlements, the near-worst public schools (based on federal test scores), and the largest number of illegal aliens in the nation, along with an overregulated private sector, a stagnant and shrinking manufacturing base, and an elite environmental ethos that restricts commerce and productivity without curbing consumption.

During this unscientific experiment, three times a week I rode a bike on a 20-mile trip over various rural roads in southwestern Fresno County. I also drove my car over to the coast to work, on various routes through towns like San Joaquin, Mendota, and Firebaugh. And near my home I have been driving, shopping, and touring by intent the rather segregated and impoverished areas of Caruthers, Fowler, Laton, Orange Cove, Parlier, and Selma. My own farmhouse is now in an area of abject poverty and almost no ethnic diversity; the closest elementary school (my alma mater, two miles away) is 94 percent Hispanic and 1 percent white, and well below federal testing norms in math and English.

[SaraJohnson]

There is really not a time bomb ticking with this invasion as long as socialists run California (into a third world utopia just like home) and American-Americans do not have the power to influence anything inside the boundries of socialism and multicultural foreign ghetto cultures.

The wealthy limo liberals who created the mess will be in walled off heavily guarded communities on the coast like the wealthy live in Mexico. They will get their health care and educations over the border. Everyone will get what they want and those who don’t want to live in a foreign ghetto will move. California has tipped.

[Amerigomag]

There is a typo in Mr. Hanson's article. His bike rides were in southeastern Fresno County. There are few paved roads in southwestern Fresno County.

Mr. Hanson's observations are accurate and repeatable.

One anecdote: Of all the incorporated municipalities in southeastern Fresno County, the one town with the huevos to proclaim "Merry Christmas" on the festive municipal banners gracing its light poles is Parlier.

[Ron C.]

Over 45 years ago I was the district lineman for the Southern Pacific railroad - my 'district' was the line from Fresno to Modesto... but, I also had the 'west side' line too. So I became mighty familiar with the territory. Unfortunately today it is wildly different in those parts from what it was back then.

A tidbit about those days - I was given the job of going to all of the trainmen phone booths (round cement with a peaked roof and a wooden door) along the tracks, to take out the old Western Electric wall phones in them, and take them to the dump... then replace them with a new dial phone in a wooden box nearby.

I ~could~ have stored those phones and sold them 50 years later for a fortune. But I had no idea then, that they would ever possibly be worth what they are today.

[Amerigomag]

Glad you posted this article.

Few places in the US reflect the dramatic changes that have resulted from illegal Mexican immigration into the southwest. A few examples:

Parlier has tripled in size since 1970, exclusively from UMI (unregulated Mexican immigration).

Sanger has gone from a consistent 15% Hispanic, pre Bracero Program population to 85% with an undocumented majority.

Cutler and Orosi, once separated by almost 2 miles, are now a connected UMI ghetto sprawling across both sides of CA63.

Orange Cove is a living testament to tenacity of Victor Lopez and Diane Feinstein to underwrite, with taxpayer dollars, an almost exclusively UMI municipality. Their public schools are brand new and Senator Feinstein has even provided the city with a track to race remote control, toy cars; with her name on it, of course.

[Ron C.]

Well - I’ve said for several years now - California’s Mexican will control all government here, and at some point will likely try to secede from the US to become part of Mexico again.

[Ron C.]

Ooops - should have been ‘California’s Mexicans’

[Amerigomag]

Nope, they're Mexico's mexicans and they're all Americans. They're racially classified as a subset of European Caucasoids and they also hail from the United States (of Mexico).

[justiceseeker93]

Ping!

It's obvious, but unsaid in the posted article, that the major cause of all the ills Hansen observes is the failure of federal law enforcement against illegal immigration.

[Kenny Bunk]

Ron, this has been going on since the late 60s. It is entirely possible that the non-Hispanic portion of the population (which is about 4/5 of us right now and shrinking fast toward 2/3 as the Hispanics edge toward 100 million +) has noticed it too late.

Demographicaly; inexorably; we will be the northernmost country in Latin America. Vast swaths of the Southwest, VHD has cannily noticed, are already well over 50% Latino.

It is no secret that a key portion of the Mexican national ethos is the megalomaniac desire to once again be one of the largest countries in the world. The question: "in 200 years, will be be more like Chile, or Argentina (which is already being browned out by illegal immigration from Bolivia), or like Bolivia itself.

[wardaddy]

I also drove my car over to the coast to work, on various routes through towns like San Joaquin, Mendota, and Firebaugh. And near my home I have been driving, shopping, and touring by intent the rather segregated and impoverished areas of Caruthers, Fowler, Laton, Orange Cove, Parlier, and Selma.

But many here insist there is no segregation outside the South...shucks...Vic, you done gone and ruined it for me.

Sad California...you were my dream as a lad in Leave it to Beaver land....all the cool people, blonde girls, surfing, scenery, San Fran, mountians, Death Valley Days...ya'll had it all.....I am truly sorry

But don't fret...they are ruining here too as fast as they can...turning little minds into mush with the same guilt that paved the way to kill your once grand way of life.

[stainlessbanner]

VDH (author) is late to the party here, just like he was to realize the surroundings at his farmhouse. It's a sad observation he writes of, but it's been happening to CA since the 70s. Nothing new (except to him). He also acts like he's surprised to see segregation there, probably thought it was limited to the "dirty deep south" like all the other RINOs.

Guys like him are really clueless on worldy matters - they're not out there working and living near the brothers, latinos, and all the other races. He can't begin to understand the dynamic of different races living and working next to each other like we've done in the South for years. Almost like he's had blinders on for the last 20-30 years - he didn't see the changes in his neighborhood or his school campus? strikes me as odd.

The "holier than thou" types that rule CA ought to reflect on their policies and see what they've created. Maybe they didn't know better than the Southern "hicks" they make fun of in all their movies.

[bannie]

California is the garbage collection of the west.

Wait a minute. The garbage here is the refuse of the other 49 states. >:-(

You can't blame us for the crap of all of the other states just because that crap showed up here.

[bannie]

Nope. They, too, recognize the frightening corruption of Mexico. Sadly, they brought it with ‘em.

[Pelham]

Well said.

[Dick Bachert]

BUMP BACK TO THE TOP FOR THIS IMPORTANT ESSAY.
California is probably a harbinger of what’s coming to the rest of this nation.
Hanson’s piece begs a most important question: DOES ANYONE IN A POSITION OF AUTHORITY GIVE A DAMN??

[Dick Bachert]

BUMP BACK TO THE TOP FOR THIS IMPORTANT ESSAY.
California is probably a harbinger of what’s coming to the rest of this nation.
Hanson’s piece begs a most important question: DOES ANYONE IN A POSITION OF AUTHORITY GIVE A DAMN??

[Dick Bachert]

BUMP BACK TO THE TOP FOR THIS IMPORTANT ESSAY.
California is probably a harbinger of what’s coming to the rest of this nation.
Hanson’s piece begs a most important question: DOES ANYONE IN A POSITION OF AUTHORITY GIVE A DAMN??