"Much ado about nothing"--that is the allegedly racist, misogynist, and xenophobic Facebook group, that open borders lobby Pro Publica has breathlessly and ritually denounced as if in a Two Minute Hate. We are long burdened by the ritual denunciations straight out of Nineteen Eighty-Four, the Cultural Revolution, modern academia, or the early Soviet Union. But given the paucity of examples of anything really objectionable even in the fevered article, this is much ado about nothing. Let’s look at the article and we will really find what Pro Publica find objectionable.
The three-year-old group, which has roughly 9,500 members, shared derogatory comments about Latina lawmakers who plan to visit a controversial Texas detention facility on Monday, calling them “scum buckets” and “hoes.”
[Inside the Secret Border Patrol Facebook Group Where Agents Joke About Migrant Deaths and Post Sexist Memes, by A.C. Thompson, Pro Publica, July 1, 2019]
So, in the first sentence, we have the real objection of Pro Publica, current and former Border Patrol Agents don’t like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC). (Is she related to Hernando Cortez?) That, of course, is neither racist, sexist, or xenophobic. It is a political opinion about a major issue at hand, and of special import to persons employed enforcing immigration laws. AOC is, of course, an easy target. She isn’t too bright and aside from Tweets and public displays of emotion wearing designer clothes, of no legislative import in the current Congress.
#AOC, sporting a $600 watch while "crying" for invisible migrants in a staged PR stunt. What a fake she is.https://t.co/oOMldbV9nE
— Linda Jane 33333 (@LindaJa07710172) June 28, 2019
Now, after 28 years in immigration law enforcement, I’d say “scum buckets” and “hoes” is pretty mild stuff for the gallows humor in the profession. Law enforcement in general is stressful. And some of that stress is reduced by such humor. I would recommend any reader curious about the phenomenon consult the novels of Joseph Wambaugh. The Choirboys was his most notorious. An older cop once advised me when I was young to take those stories with a grain of salt—and this was an Oakland cop—but others I have had the pleasure to know say the stories were spot on, as is to be expected from Wambaugh.
Even The Blue Knight had its gallows humor, in fact, it was the gallows humor that made Wambaugh, because of its veracity.
In more pointing and sputtering, the reporter complains of a lack of decorum over deaths of illegal aliens due to their own stupidity.
In one exchange, group members responded with indifference and wisecracks to the post of a news story about a 16-year-old Guatemalan migrant who died in May while in custody at a Border Patrol station in Weslaco, Texas. One member posted a GIF of Elmo with the quote, “Oh well.” Another responded with an image and the words “If he dies, he dies.”
Hardly stuff worth reporting. It’s mere moral preening on the author’s part. The same people who laughed at the attempted murder of law-abiding Americans at recent riots in Portland are now lecturing others on decorum.
But this is not about virtue signalling, that is just a tactic. The real issue is lese majeste to our appointed rulers, especially the sainted AOC, Peace Be Upon Her.
Members of a secret Facebook group for current and former Border Patrol agents joked about the deaths of migrants, discussed throwing burritos at Latino members of Congress visiting a detention facility in Texas on Monday and posted a vulgar illustration depicting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez engaged in oral sex with a detained migrant, according to screenshots of their postings…
Perhaps the most disturbing posts target Ocasio-Cortez. One includes a photo illustration of her engaged in oral sex at an immigrant detention center. Text accompanying the image reads, “Lucky Illegal Immigrant Glory Hole Special Starring AOC.”
Another is a photo illustration of a smiling President Donald Trump forcing Ocasio-Cortez’s head toward his crotch. The agent who posted the image commented: “That’s right bitches. The masses have spoken and today democracy won.”
Oh, the humanity! A citizen of the United States is ridiculing a politician. That is protected political speech. There is no law against ridiculing AOC or talking about throwing a burrito at her. Though another Congresswoman, perhaps even dumber than AOC, Frederica Wilson, wants to make mocking Members of Congress illegal. And that is the only evidence of racism they have, ridiculing the dumbest member of Congress.
Remember, the people calling for these BPAs to be terminated are the same people who have encouraged and publicized Federal employees secretly joining The Resistance after the election of President Trump. These same people, like Peter Strzok, attempted a coup d’etat, and we’re supposed to be outraged by gallows humor.
In another thread, a group member posted a photo of father and his 23-month-old daughter lying face down in the Rio Grande. The pair drowned while trying to ford the river and cross into the U.S.; pictures of the two have circulated widely online in recent days, generating an outcry.
The member asked if the photo could have been faked because the bodies were so “clean.” (The picture was taken by an Associated Press photographer, and there is no indication that it was staged or manipulated.) “I HAVE NEVER SEEN FLOATERS LIKE THIS,” the person wrote, adding, “could this be another edited photo. We’ve all seen the dems and liberal parties do some pretty sick things…”
Now, dead bodies are quite common in law enforcement, as they are with firemen and ambulance drivers. That is stressful, and humor is a common coping mechanism. Add to that the politicization of the issue on both sides. But it is not in any way a cause for concern by the public nor for any disciplinary action. Though I do expect Kevin McAleenan to attempt to take some scalps, just as Lonnie Schwartz was a victim of politically motivated DHS management.
This is the real reason behind the current Two Minute Hate. The left, and Pro Publica in particular, hate the enforcement of immigration laws and especially the Border Patrol. This is an attempt to thwart immigration enforcement, similar to the attempt by the Obama Regime to destroy the Border Patrol with false allegations of misconduct and excessive force. Those false and misleading allegations were baseless.
Sadly, much of this is the fault of President Trump. He has emboldened the radical left by his failure to control the border and by his appointment of opponents of enforcement, such as Kirstjen Nielsen and the current DHS head Kevin McAleenan.
So, dear readers, ignore the hyperventilation concerning the private opinions of BPAs and other immigration officers. As I pointed out in another private Facebook post when I addressed the issue, everyone has made a pointed or rude comment or joke. In the end, the purpose of this is only to stop immigration enforcement. Treat it as an issued designed to inflame. The problem appears to be that public has not been exercised by either the deaths at the border or gallows humor in response.