Armando C. Quintanilla; The Military As Polluter

[Enrique Valdivia <evaldivia@trla.org>]

It's been my pleasure and privilege to know Armando Quintanilla for a number of years.  His contributions to this dialogue raise so many issues it's hard to know where to begin.  Foremost in my mind are the issues of access and power.  Armando like so many who live in EJ communities has no computer.  Consequently, in the game of "meaningful participation" the deck is stacked against him from the outset.  And this is not just about computers.  Other barriers to access abound: language, location, educuation, culture, economics etc etc etc.  Without access there can be no participation.  Period.  We don't even reach the question of whether the participation is "meaningful" or not.

I understand the phrase "meaningful participation" to mean basically the same thing as power.  If Armando and others concerned with Kelly AFB cleanup get involved, their involvement should make a difference in the outcome of the process.  That's meaningful participation.  That's power.  And that's precisely what EJ communities have lacked historically.

The Kelly AFB issue has special resonance here in San Antonio because it's not an isolated case of Military contamination.  We have similar problems at Brooks AFB on the Southside and Camp Bullis on the North.  I think the Camp Bullis situation is particularly galling to folks in the Kelly community because they see a distinctly different response.  Camp Bullis is near an affluent area.  The contamination (WWI era mustard gas buried on base) threatens San Antonio's water supply, the Edwards aquifer.  In a relatively short time and with apparently little grassroots pressure, Camp Bullis cleanup has become a high priority locally.  In contrast, the Kelly community has been struggling for years to get the attention and consideration of the powers that be.  This situation sends the Orwellian message that we may all be equal but some are more equal than others.