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P.O.V. -The Ballad of Esequiel Hernández | PBS 2008
Uploaded by: povborders
Video Description:
By Kieran Fitzgerald
In 1997, U.S. Marines patrolling the Texas-Mexico border as part of the War on Drugs shot and killed Esequiel Hernández Jr. Mistaken for a drug runner, the 18-year-old was, in fact, a U.S. citizen tending his family's goats with a .22 rifle. He became the first American killed by U.S. military forces on native soil since the 1970 Kent State shootings. "The Ballad of Esequiel Hernández," narrated by Tommy Lee Jones, explores Hernández's tragic death and its torturous aftermath. His parents and friends, the Marines on patrol, and investigators discuss the dangers of militarizing the border and the death of one young man. A co-presentation of Latino Public Broadcasting. An official selection of the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival.
Find out more about this film:
http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2008/ballad
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Broadcast Date:
July 8, 2008
Clips and Trailers on YouTube:
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Tags for this video: american border documentary Drugs Hernández killed Marines Mexico on P.O.V. PBS Texas trailer War
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The boy couldn't see the marines. They were wearing camouflage. I can't stand people like you, who unquestionable kiss the ass of the military. Being a patriot doesn't mean checking your brain at the door. The military is supposed to answer to a civilian authority, not the other way round. Times change, and one day you might have a military boot on your head. Stranger things have happened in history.
But, to blame an entire army for one persons mistake is rediculous. If you were to get in a car accident you wouldn't blame everyone on the freeway. So why blame everyone else that has been doing a good job at serving their country.
It's sad that he died but you have to let things go, accidents happen nothing u can do about it.