There is no doubt that Harlingen is the most racist city in the Rio Grande Valle.
Federal Judge Filemon Vela and his wife Mayor Blanca Vela, both enjoying their rewards in heaven after their many acts of kindness for their fellow man, were raised in Harlingen, but they didn't want to raise their children in the redneck town where at one time Mexican-Americans weren't allowed to swim in the public pool.
They moved to Brownsville. It was the best decision of their lives. They were welcomed with open arms. From the time that founder Charles Stillman hired Francisco Yturria to assist him in his business dealings, the Anglo-American and the Mexican-American have found common ground in Brownsville although all historians will recognize that it has been a process without its obstacles.
But there is a reality that reigns today. There is no racism in Brownsville. In Harlingen, you can feel the dagger-like stares of the dwindling Anglo-Americans burrowing through the backs of the Mexican-Americans.
Nowhere is the white's disdain more tangible than at the Harlingen County Club. If you don't meet Hitler's standards of being a superior race, beware of the dog. And if both your parents were Jews but your father was black and your mother brown, don't even bother entering the clubhouse and pulling out your credit card to play a round of golf. We can hear the attendant now:
"What color are the golf balls?"
"White."
"Are you the same color as the golf balls?"
"No."
"Then I would suggest that you get the fuck out of here."
Harlingen is the former home of the KKK in the Rio Grande. Trump would call Harlingen home if he lived in the Valley. He could walk into the Harlingen County Club and call Mexican-Americans "rapists" and he would receive a standing ovation.
