Cross-posted on TexasKOS.com
I was having a discussion with a moderate/ conservative friend & then saw a post on DKos that led to some questions: What do we do about the MinuteMen? & is the Wall the answer?
I do agree that we can't let the reichtwing & MinuteMen exclusively tap into the "border crowd". Strategically, I'm not sure that crowd would vote Dem but on the issue itself. But it won't be strategically smart to be seen as the party of "anything goes" either.
But let's not dance around the truth: there are racists in that crowd. The Minute Men have to do more than lip service when dealing with the racists in their group.
In Texas, the original leader of MM left when his guys tried to let a Hispanic Sheriff
& American citizen booted.
Bill Parmley, the former-founder, said he has become concerned that some of the Minuteman activists in
his region have a vendetta against the Goliad County sheriff, who is
Hispanic.
He asserted they also have made comments about shooting illegal immigrants
or letting them die from dehydration.
"That's their mind-set, and I don't want my name and my reputation
associated with a group of people who are racist like that," he said.
Down here, we know a little about that border.
I personally do agree that a country has the right to control its immigration policy. However, i don't think that a Wall will work by itself.
First it's costly & there will be holes dug in, over or around it. To plug these holes is going to cost more.
2ndly, is it humane to let people who are only trying to find work - work which Americans here won't do - is it humane to leave them locked out?
& yes, Some of you can say that there are pragmatic concerns here - & you'd be right. Afterall, if you have a home & family, you can't just let any homeless man in. You can sympathize with him but you have to protect your family first.
That being said it's still true to say that we humans lose something of our souls when we close the door on a hungry, homeless man standing in the heat.
& Make no mistake about it. That is what we're doing.
Lastly, the wall still does not address the underlying conditions that are causing illegal immigration:
1. Our economy relies HEAVILY on cheap illegal immigrants. Our housing economy would be heavily hurt if illegal immigrants weren't keeping the costs down. Will Americans be willing to pay $30,000 or more for houses?
2. The lack of jobs there & the currency exchange rates make the US too attractive to millions of people.
We can put up a border all we like & catch a few 1000 or so each year at great cost to us. But it'll only be putting our finger to plug a leaking dam.
It still wouldn't be a sound immigration policy & we would only IMHO be wasting resources & tearing the country apart.
Instead of bringing it together & finding a real, humane solution.
I don't profess to know the solutions, but I don't think - hell, I know a wall won't solve the issue.
And in Texas, the Valley is mostly pro-Immigration & has a huge Hispanic population.
The MinuteMen will only antagonize the locals & open the possibilty of violence. Someone's gonna get hurt.
& the MinuteMen, for all their rational talk, are doing nothing more than distracting us from the real solutions.
Bee County Sheriff Carlos Carrizales said he attended the first two meetings but stopped going after becoming concerned by the tone.
"During the second meeting, someone in the back shouted: 'Can't we just shoot 'em,' " in reference to illegal immigrants, Carrizales recalls. "Then others started to feed on that."
I sympathize with border residents who want their property secured - but vigilantism and a Wall is not sound immigration policy.
It's a sign of desperation.