Jacinto Canek
(he's a dead Mayan revolutionary - or if he isn't dead he must be pretty old by now; I'm sure he doesn't have internet access at his thatched roof home in the jungle -  and would probably have gone much further than me in criticizing the current state of affairs. Remember that the last Mayans to criticize the situation in which they lived turned to machetes and hacked their comments in a very bloody way on the powers that were. Therefore we can safely assume that Jacinto Canek is a pseudonym)

Mr. Canek doesn't see the humor in the incoherent ramblings in NotTheNews, calling the page immoral, in very poor taste, an offense to the state, damaging to the economy, that the 'insults' and low moral standards could affect my remaining in the city, and that he was personally offended. He also mentions that if I didn't like it here, why don't I just leave and refers me to the Articulo 33 of the Mexican Constitution. He ends his friendly letter with a 24 hour deadline to remove the pages or face the consequences of his wrath.

Bear with me while I respond to some of these accusations.

Immoral, poor taste and low moral standards
While my taste is definitely my own and therefore completely subjective, one can find it good or bad. That is the definition of subjective. Immoral and low moral standards? I don't think so. There are no lewd pics of naked people on any of my pages, no swearing and no personal attacks on anyone. Everything I post is a personal opinion and as such subject to the rights and guarantees set forth in the much-trampled Mexican constitution.

Offense to the state and damaging to the economy
Pleeeeaaaaaasssssssseeeeeee! The state has much more pressing concerns than to worry about criticism of radio stations, garbage piled up on the beaches or even supposed corruption in a high school, posted on a web page that hardly anyone reads or pays attention to. And most of the readers who respond to the page have requested additional information on Yucatan which I have sent them, resulting in at least two people having come to Merida to vacation and spend their dollars. I can't imagine travel agencies and airlines cancelling flights and hotel reservations, importers of Yucatecan honey cancelling contracts, or the New York Times quoting Yucatan as a terrible place to go. Give me a break!

Personally offended/Why don't I leave?
First, I suppose one could take offense with some of my more diabolical comments, but you'd have to be completely devoid of a sense of humor to take all this stuff seriously. Secondly, I live in Merida because I like it. The climate, security, proximity to the beach, and a lot of people too. Just because you live somewhere doesn't mean that everything is peaches and cream. If a Yucatecan with a sarcastic sense of humor and a penchant for writing were living in Canada or the U.S. for example, he might comment on the straight-laced, over-regulated lifestyle there, the stupidity of U.S. handgun laws, the hilarious preoccupation with Mr. Clintons Lewinsky problems, or the latest militant Save the Endangered White Marmot campaign. But he would still enjoy living there.

24 hour deadline
An anonymous threat of this kind is a pretty cheap shot. But perhaps he is right. I could change the format to write glowing reports how wonderful everything is, that all the restaurants and hotels are five-star establishments worthy of Michelin Guide inclusion, and that everyone in Merida is a saint in his own way, waiting for canonization from the Vatican. I wonder if anyone would believe me? My psychologist would certainly be disappointed with me for not following her instructions.

The Constitution
While Mr. Canek threatens me with deportation and so on, I wonder if he has read the constitution with regards to freedom of expression in a written format as outlined in Articulo 6 and 7. These rights are guaranteed to everyone in Mexico as Mr. Canek's cited Article 33 points out. Read it yourself here.

Come on, let's relax a little here, shall we?

No one pays me anything to write anything, Neldita. My shrink said it might be a good idea to do some creative writing in a humorous light on living in Merida from a neurotic foreigner's point of view. If you WANT to read it, do so. If not, don't. Lighten up.