Angry and Afraid

Well, I’m going down to Doomsville, baby  

And I’m taking you along with me

~ The Rainmakers, “Doomsville”

Something I’ve really been seeing in a lot of far right conservatives lately is this sense of pending doom. We’re all gonna DIEEEEE!

[Disclaimer: I do not believe that all conservatives feel this way. I’m sure there are some exceptions.]

How many of these things have you heard in this infant election cycle? Or in the past few years?

“Obama is destroying this country.”

“We’re in big trouble in this country.”

“We can’t keep going this way.”

“ISIS isn’t going to stop until it raises its flag over the White House.”

“Immigrants are taking jobs away from Americans.”

“We want our country back!”

I’ve heard them all, and I’ve heard them multiple times. When you ask for specifics as to exactly HOW this is happening, you get ClusterFox talking points and more vague pronouncements. When you counter with actual facts, you are sometimes flat-out told, “I don’t believe that.” I guess I just have to accept that once someone gets these notions stuck in their head, nothing I can say is going to change their mind. As someone who values rational, logical thought, that is very hard for me to accept.

What I find most dismaying is a strange and pervasive sense of paranoia, anger, and doom from these folks. I think there are a few players on the scene who can reasonably be accused of fostering that sense of doom, and I’m talking to pretty much all of you pod people at ClusterFox! But I suppose that fear drives ratings. I find that sad. Good journalism is hard to find these days.

There is also a sense of fear of the browns. Like we’ve never had immigrants in this country before! You get people like Trump saying that he’s going to deport every immigrant here illegally, despite the incredible cost to our country. (Then the asskissers jump on the Trumpwagon and agree that it’s a reasonable solution.) There is even talk of negating birthright citizenship from some of our Republican candidates, despite the fact that both Bobby Jindal and Marco Rubio would have their citizenship revoked. (Do they not pay attention to this stuff before they say something like that?) There are stories from Steve King of Iowa about Mexican drug-smuggling immigrants and their cantaloupe calves and Phil Gingrey of Georgia saying that immigrants are bringing Ebola into our country. Then there is Trump (again), saying that immigrants are bringing “tremendous infectious disease” across the border. All completely untrue, but there is a subset of people who are falling for these claims hook, line, and sinker.

This sort of xenophobia seems very mean-spirited to me. So much for “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses,” huh? I’m all for immigration reform, but let’s at least be decent human beings about it instead of blaming these people for any and all of our woes and loading them into cattle cars and shipping them out. At the risk of Godwining myself, you all know who else did that, right? We are seeing this irrational fear of The Other that seems to have its basis in the belief of some of these people that this is their country and no one else’s.

You might think that it started when Barack Obama was elected in 2008, but you’d be wrong. It certainly reached a new high upon his election and reelection, but this sort of xenophobia has been going on for a long time. I’m sure I’ve written before about Richard Hofstadter’s 1964 essay, “The Paranoid Style in American Politics.” (If you’ve never read it, I highly recommend it.) This fear and distrust has been going on for decades, whether it was directed against blacks, Jews, Catholics, the Irish, or Masons. Apparently our stellar American innovation has, for its latest iteration, recycled the same tired trope to target Hispanics in general and Mexicans in particular. Oh, and don’t forget the Muslims!

I don’t buy it. I don’t feel that anyone is “taking over” our country and that we somehow have to “take it back.” It’s nothing more than fear mongering for the sake of ratings and donations, and I have no patience for it. It makes me sad to see so many suckers falling for it, though.

Angry and afraid is no way to go through life.

Feral hogs

Did you catch the story about the Kansas state representative who had a rather unusual solution to the immigration problem? A discussion came up in a meeting concerning the agricultural problem of feral hogs, and the possibility of shooting them from helicopters. Representative Virgil Peck said, “Looks to me, if shooting these immigrating feral hogs works, maybe we have found a (solution) to our illegal immigration problem.”

Would that be a “final solution,” Mr. Peck?

Well, that was bad enough, but at least there was an immediate backlash, and a petition quickly garnered over 50,000 signatures of those calling for his resignation. I don’t know that anything has been decided, and I’m guessing that the guy will not resign, but he was forced to apologize to “anyone he offended” with his remarks (the usual non-apologetic apology...it’s not my fault for saying something so rock-stupid, it’s your fault for being offended), and said that he would be more careful with his words in the future.

Here is what really got to me, though. One of my local news stations posted the story on their Facebook page and wondered what people thought about it. The almost nonstop hateful invective was horrific to see. The majority of commenters thought he was “onto something,” that he had a pretty good idea, and that somebody had to do something about these criminals coming across the border.

When I and a handful of others pointed out that it seemed more than a little extreme to be mowing down people at the border, it didn’t faze them. They continued with their comments about shooting people. I wrote that everyone needed to get a grip...did they understand that they were advocating genocide? Someone wrote that is it genocide if someone breaks into his house and he shoots them for trying to steal from him, because that’s what the illegal immigrants are doing to our country! I didn’t point out that shooting one person wouldn’t be genocide, but that seemed like a minor point considering the over-arching concept of executing people if they tried to step across the border.

I wondered if any of them would be willing to stand at the border and shoot someone in the head if they tried to cross. Would they shoot a pregnant woman in the stomach? Would they shoot a child? The level of bloodlust was astounding, and nothing I or any of the others who seemed to have at least some sort of a grip on reality was able to make any headway. The general attitude seemed to be to shoot ‘em all. Kill them.

I thought I’d reached my limit, but then someone wrote this: ‎"It wouldn't take disposing of that many before they start thinking twice..."

I said that it’s a pretty sad statement when there are those who believe that human beings are the equivalent of garbage that needs to be disposed of. I said that I’m proud to be an American and a Hoosier, but I am not proud to be associated with anyone who feels that way, and that such people should be ashamed of themselves. I said I’d take a decent, hardworking immigrant any day over a bigoted, hateful, xenophobic American. I was this close to asking if the commenter’s plans for “disposal” included ovens, but I didn’t want to Godwin myself.

This happened at least a week ago, and it’s still weighing on my mind. I honestly could not believe the level of bigotry and hatred that was coming from those in my community. How anyone in a supposedly civilized (I’m starting to have my doubts) nation can utter such murderous statements is beyond me. Do they even understand that they are advocating the mass murder of what are largely decent people who are trying to make a better life for themselves and their family? Maybe they do understand that...and I find that even more terrible. They would make themselves judge, jury, and executioner for people committing what is NOT a capital offense.

I honestly don’t know what has become of us. I don’t deny that illegal immigration is a problem, or that we need to address it. I just think that mowing people down in cold blood isn’t the way to go about it. And I have a problem with anyone who thinks that is a reasonable--or final--solution.

When will they come for you?

I join many of my friends in roundly condemning Arizona's recently passed law that will allow the police to stop anyone they think might be an illegal alien.

I don't think I can begin to adequately express my disgust about this, but I'm going to try.

Do we have an immigration problem? Absolutely. Do we need to address it? Of course. But this draconian law is not the way to go about it. I am appalled that any of my fellow citizens would think that this is in any way acceptable in a civilized society. Giving the right to the police to stop anyone for anything, merely because they think they fit the profile of an illegal alien, is completely unconstitutional and is shortsighted, ignorant, and intolerant. This is yet another instance of white, religious conservatives feeling threatened by someone "other" than them. Feeling that "their" country is being taken away from them. Beginning to feel that their dominance is coming to an end, as more and more people around them don't speak English as a first language, as they see more brown faces than white in their stores and neighborhoods.

They're probably feeling a little like the Native Americans felt when their country was taken away from them by the whites who came here, claimed it as their own, and systematically eliminated all Native American claims to the land. Good. Just simmer in that for a while, why don't you?

I don't have an easy answer. I don't necessarily believe that complete amnesty is the way to go. Our President (and like it or not, he is YOUR President, too) has proposed that we secure our borders, that any illegals will be held accountable for back taxes, need to learn English, and will be penalized by having to wait in line for citizenship behind those who are here legally. That makes sense to me; I want these folks to become law-abiding citizens who pay taxes, but if they have come here illegally, there need to be some consequences to that.

Stopping anyone who looks a little more brown than others is not the way to go about this. I cannot even believe that this is happening, and as someone who has studied quite a bit about Nazi Germany, I can tell you that this smacks of the Geheime Staatspolizei a lot more than I'm comfortable with. I hate to Godwin myself, but since the teabaggers have been bleating for a while now about how Obama is a Nazi, I feel perfectly justified in comparing them to the Nazis. As others have stated, it's way too reminiscent of those black and white post-WWII movies in which a coal-helmeted soldier angrily and coldly demands to "see your papers."

What is next? Are you going to applaud if a Hispanic person is stopped, runs from the police, and is gunned down like a dog in the street? Would that make you happy? Would you applaud our fine police officers for upholding the law?

Some of those who disagree with what I'm saying may think that I don't know what I'm talking about because I don't have to deal with immigrants. Not to the extent that border states do, no. But for at least a couple of decades now, there has been a large influx in my area because of good manufacturing jobs, and in Michigan because of jobs associated with fruit crops. There are the usual problems when those from another country try to assimilate, but it hasn't been anything horrible. The vast majority are hardworking people who just want to have a better life than they did in their home country. The extreme violence in border states needs to be dealt with, and I hope that our federal government starts working on this problem soon, so that other states don't fuck it up royally like Arizona did.

Honestly, people...this is America. We are a nation of immigrants. Each and every one of us, unless you're full-blooded Native American. Have we all forgotten that? Anyone who thinks this is a capital idea needs to think about how their ancestors felt when they came over from Ireland or Germany or Italy or Eastern Europe and were looked down upon as poor white trash by the ruling class at the time...who in turn had immigrated here several decades before.

Well, I can take some consolation in that the Department of Justice is going to look into the constitutionality of Arizona's law. From everything I've read, the law will not stand. Something about that search and seizure thing...something about the Fourth Amendment...something about that pesky Constitution. Again, for all the teabaggers' clamoring about how the Constitution is being perverted, I'd say that this law pretty much bends the Constitution over and fucks it right up the ass. If I sound pissed off, believe me...I AM.

What is wrong with people? I am astounded that anyone would think this is a good idea. Astounded and appalled. If you're in apoplectic joy about this, if you're grinning like a happy asshole, I think you'd best stop and think about what it is about YOU that might be the next target. Your ethnicity? Your heritage? Your religion? Your political affiliation? Your hair or eye color? Speaking of happy assholes, Glenn Beck seems to get off on talking about the concentration camps that President Obama is secretly building. You have the nerve to believe that and bitch about that and then support this bill that allows the police to stop anyone who looks a certain way, without provocation, and demand their papers?! Do you not see the lunacy of that, the complete disconnect from reality?

Gaaaahhhhh! This is insanity! Canada is looking better all the time, but I can assure you that I will keep my American citizenship so that I can continue to VOTE.

This would be an appropriate time for Martin Niemöller's quote, as translated from the original German. Hard to believe that it is pertinent to the United States of America in 2010, but it sure as hell is.

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.