I am so tired of this shit, and Trump has been in office less than six months... The 100 mile "border zone" is patently unconstitutional, yet is backed by SCOTUS. Here in Ohio, Toledo and Cleveland fall within the zone, so legally CBP agents can stop anyone at any time in those two cities and demand they verify their citizenship. I'm tempted to mention "1984" but we are so far down that road now it's beyond a cliche. As much as I admire the guy in the video standing his ground, most Americans will just say "yes" and move along, taking one more brick from the wall. Timothy Snyder's excellent book On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century starts out with the first lesson - Do Not Comply in Advance. Keep fighting the good fight!
I equate Stephen Miller more with Goebbels than Goerring, but why split hairs? There's enough of Goebbels, Goerring, Bormann, and their kind with Miller, Noems, Homan, Bondi, Gabbard...it's a long list. If Miller et al continue along their path, I see a return to segregation, nullifying Brown v Board of Education and the Civil Rights Act of 64. It is the quickest and most efficient way to deal with DEI policy and achieve their ultimate goals. As to the border, it used to be, many years ago, we'd roll up to the stop at the border and the fellow, who was always very nice, would ask us if we had any alcohol we were taking back. We'd say, "no sir," and hope the bottles we stashed under the seat wouldn't roll forward when we were waved away from the stop with a smiles all around. Now, I can't wrap my head what's going on down there. The relationships between our two cultures, once good and thriving, are being segregated and damaged beyond repair. What's the good of all this? Who the hell are we?
I think you're right about Miller; a much better comparison. But strands of their evil run all through his mind. As for how the border has changed, I ask the same question as to what is the good of any of these transitions. I think the only salvation I can foresee, in sustaining any kind of relationship, is commerce. Both countries desperately need each other; especially on the border. People down there are pressing ahead with businesses and plans for continuing growth of their relationships on both sides of the river. It might be an instance where capitalism offers salvation instead of destruction.
I’ve been through one of those stops in Arizona on a birding trip to Patagonia, AZ in April of 2016. In fact every time we went from Patagonia to Tucson on hi-way 82, a two lane road, we had to go through one of those stops.
One day we drove to Nogales for lunch and a drugstore run for things not available in Patagonia. We found a Mexican restaurant we thought sounded good and decided to eat lunch there. As it happened, almost in sight of the rusting border wall, there was a large cadre of boarder patrol vehicles in the parking lot and about 15 officers inside enjoying lunch. What we all noticed having not spent a lot of time on the border was that most if not all of them were most certainly of Mexican decent themselves.
The same was true at the hi-way 82 checkpoint. We were all old white people from north Texas so they usually waved us through. But I thought how could they inflict this, basically racist authority, on their on people?
After this last election where America decided it wanted a strongman in charge and supporters to back the Fuhrer, Trump and his acolytes here got more Hispanic votes than ever before! It left me demoralized. After thinking about it though, and after remembering conversations with some of the men boring new gas lines to my house and all up and down the street, before the elections, although I never talked politics, I got the feeling that it’s all about good jobs with these guys. These guys were ALL Mexican Americans, one of them I talked to had worked on oil rigs in the Permian Basin for four years. They were like all of your construction worker types (except me) not too deep in the news unless it concerned them. Not bad people, just not that informed. It’s the same with the border control, along the borders anyway, it’s a good job in places without a lot of opportunity. I can kind of give them a pass, KIND OF, but white Americans, NO WAY. It’s straight up racist bullshit with them, they might try to hide it, well, not now, but it’s there.
If we ever get our country back on the path of the ideals of the founding fathers with liberty and justice for ALL, I hope we ELIMINATE ICE as the first order of business and then pass a fair and comprehensive immigration policy once and for all and quit associating immigration with the drug war!
Hard to know a logical response, Mick. I do think resisting has value. Those agents at the checkpoint are, as you suggest, just doing their jobs, and down there a job is a precious thing; especially for Mexican American descendants. But we can’t go on like this. Something has to give, and right now it’s the constitution, which is disheartening. The quickest way to change and end this garbage is for GOP members of congress to realize their constituencies are angry, but I’m not even sure that is the case.
My wife is 4th generation Mexican-American (Pura Tejana, muy Bonita) and I just wait for day when we either get pulled over or we get the banging on the door in the middle of the night in this new Trumpestapo world.
I am so tired of this shit, and Trump has been in office less than six months... The 100 mile "border zone" is patently unconstitutional, yet is backed by SCOTUS. Here in Ohio, Toledo and Cleveland fall within the zone, so legally CBP agents can stop anyone at any time in those two cities and demand they verify their citizenship. I'm tempted to mention "1984" but we are so far down that road now it's beyond a cliche. As much as I admire the guy in the video standing his ground, most Americans will just say "yes" and move along, taking one more brick from the wall. Timothy Snyder's excellent book On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century starts out with the first lesson - Do Not Comply in Advance. Keep fighting the good fight!
I equate Stephen Miller more with Goebbels than Goerring, but why split hairs? There's enough of Goebbels, Goerring, Bormann, and their kind with Miller, Noems, Homan, Bondi, Gabbard...it's a long list. If Miller et al continue along their path, I see a return to segregation, nullifying Brown v Board of Education and the Civil Rights Act of 64. It is the quickest and most efficient way to deal with DEI policy and achieve their ultimate goals. As to the border, it used to be, many years ago, we'd roll up to the stop at the border and the fellow, who was always very nice, would ask us if we had any alcohol we were taking back. We'd say, "no sir," and hope the bottles we stashed under the seat wouldn't roll forward when we were waved away from the stop with a smiles all around. Now, I can't wrap my head what's going on down there. The relationships between our two cultures, once good and thriving, are being segregated and damaged beyond repair. What's the good of all this? Who the hell are we?
I think you're right about Miller; a much better comparison. But strands of their evil run all through his mind. As for how the border has changed, I ask the same question as to what is the good of any of these transitions. I think the only salvation I can foresee, in sustaining any kind of relationship, is commerce. Both countries desperately need each other; especially on the border. People down there are pressing ahead with businesses and plans for continuing growth of their relationships on both sides of the river. It might be an instance where capitalism offers salvation instead of destruction.
I’ve been through one of those stops in Arizona on a birding trip to Patagonia, AZ in April of 2016. In fact every time we went from Patagonia to Tucson on hi-way 82, a two lane road, we had to go through one of those stops.
One day we drove to Nogales for lunch and a drugstore run for things not available in Patagonia. We found a Mexican restaurant we thought sounded good and decided to eat lunch there. As it happened, almost in sight of the rusting border wall, there was a large cadre of boarder patrol vehicles in the parking lot and about 15 officers inside enjoying lunch. What we all noticed having not spent a lot of time on the border was that most if not all of them were most certainly of Mexican decent themselves.
The same was true at the hi-way 82 checkpoint. We were all old white people from north Texas so they usually waved us through. But I thought how could they inflict this, basically racist authority, on their on people?
After this last election where America decided it wanted a strongman in charge and supporters to back the Fuhrer, Trump and his acolytes here got more Hispanic votes than ever before! It left me demoralized. After thinking about it though, and after remembering conversations with some of the men boring new gas lines to my house and all up and down the street, before the elections, although I never talked politics, I got the feeling that it’s all about good jobs with these guys. These guys were ALL Mexican Americans, one of them I talked to had worked on oil rigs in the Permian Basin for four years. They were like all of your construction worker types (except me) not too deep in the news unless it concerned them. Not bad people, just not that informed. It’s the same with the border control, along the borders anyway, it’s a good job in places without a lot of opportunity. I can kind of give them a pass, KIND OF, but white Americans, NO WAY. It’s straight up racist bullshit with them, they might try to hide it, well, not now, but it’s there.
If we ever get our country back on the path of the ideals of the founding fathers with liberty and justice for ALL, I hope we ELIMINATE ICE as the first order of business and then pass a fair and comprehensive immigration policy once and for all and quit associating immigration with the drug war!
Thanks, Jim Bob. It must be disheartening to see this happening in a part of the country that you love.
I'm torn between respect for the law officers who are just doing their jobs and disgust at the imposition on people's rights.
Maybe we should organize rolling groups of dissenters through those checkpoints. See how they like it when traffic really gets backed up.
Hard to know a logical response, Mick. I do think resisting has value. Those agents at the checkpoint are, as you suggest, just doing their jobs, and down there a job is a precious thing; especially for Mexican American descendants. But we can’t go on like this. Something has to give, and right now it’s the constitution, which is disheartening. The quickest way to change and end this garbage is for GOP members of congress to realize their constituencies are angry, but I’m not even sure that is the case.
The Homeland Games? The people behind Hunger Games should sue.
My wife is 4th generation Mexican-American (Pura Tejana, muy Bonita) and I just wait for day when we either get pulled over or we get the banging on the door in the middle of the night in this new Trumpestapo world.
Way to go WHEELS AND texass and ALL REDS. Add this act to killing JFK then convicting ALI in Houston for not killing Vietnamese....
Signed texass citizen for 57 years... Good job REDS