Mickey Z
Cool Observer
Monday, April 04, 2005
Got a Minute, Man?
The militia types are a godsend to people in the governing consensus. They keep migrant workers fearful, they’re creepily mediagenic and they’ll do nothing to stem the flow of the cheap labor which sustains neoliberalism. When they get completely out of control, their murderous ways make security state legislation easier to ram through. No one outside the paranoid right wing fringe has any warm feelings for them.
They’re the paramilitary cadres, in many ways, of revolutionary right wing neoliberalism. Stupid and angry as they are, they make good brownshirt types.
Posted by Harry on from 04/04 at 05:06 AMOn the 37th anniversary of King’s murder, you hit it on the head, Harry. This Minuteman thing, the people who stand outside the hospital praying for Shaivo’s life, the people who turn up every day at Michael Jackson’s trial to cheer him, the people now in mourning for a pope, etc., etc....it displays how far we have to go in this country.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from 04/04 at 07:20 AMDivide and conquer?
Is it any wonder why caring and rational people can’t get an organized revolution happening against the bastards who stole are government from us?
I don’t support the war at all. Never have never will. Iraq was a criminal action and the most heinous crime the federal government has ever perpetrated against not only Iraq civilians but also against our own troops. Hello, DU anyone?
I also don’t support NAFTA and I do understand what it’s doing not only to Mexico but also to Canada.
However I would think twice or at least look deeper into the situation with the minutemen. While the federal government increases it’s crackdown against people like you and I for speaking our minds and supporting humanitarian causes. They are also leaving our borders wide open for people to cross over into the states. I’m not going to say the Mexican’s who are coming over are wrong for trying. I understand the need they have to do it. My point is that I believe the federal government is allowing it to happen because it undercuts the support our own poor in this country need to survive. Lower wages can in part be attributed to “illegals” coming in to this country and taking under the table work. The Minutemen in there own way are trying to fight the same corruption and bullshit in the government as all of us are. We live in a really screwed up time where we have to get past this false left/right paradigm and work toward what we all want. A compassionate and nurturing society not only here in the states but also worldwide. There are plenty of Devils out there that need to be fought, don’t help them by turning against unlikely allies.
Another perspective on the Minutemen.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0%2C6903%2C1446342%2C00.html
Posted by Luna_C on from from here to maturity 04/04 at 11:36 AMI lived near that boder, Luna_C, and much of the militia movement is as close as you can get to government sanctioned without getting salaries. They’ve got close ties to the “Wise Use” freeloaders and could teach the New York mob a thing or two about racketeering. Unlikely is right. They’re not against corruption in any way and their harassment of migrant workers serves government interest well.
I care as little for the many false distinctions between right and left as you; the divide and conquer strategy. Sometimes the terms are useful, however, to distinguish between groups’ approaches to politics. In this case, right wing neoliberalism is accurate. Jingoism even more so.
Posted by Harry on from 04/04 at 12:33 PMFood for thought, thanks.
I’m not really sure I understand how their harassment of migrant workers serves the government interests. Could you elaborate on that?
I see your point about this smacking of Jingoism. I’m pretty torn about the whole illegal immigration situation. I would like to think the solution would be for countries to be able to support there own citizens, However it seems that in this case neither is doing that. I guess my point would be that probably the best coarse of action would be to dismantle NAFTA and corporate imperialism. Turn the system around so it favors the worker and the independent business person. Hopefully this would increase local economies enabling the people to support and care for themselves locally without having to ditch to a place they feel might give them a better life.
However that might come across as being a bit socialist. ;)
Posted by Luna_C on from 04/04 at 01:20 PMMore on the topic: http://www.counterpunch.com/frank04042005.html
Posted by Mickey Z. on from 04/04 at 02:01 PMHi Luna_C,
The militia people are racists and don’t discriminate between documented and undocumented workers. Pretty much anyone with a dark skin is fair game. The more fearful the migrants are, the less likely they are to seek protection against exploitation and abuse. That affects everyone regardless of legal status. As the article Mickey linked shows, they’re not intelligent either. They really do live in a jinogist fantasy.
Fearful workers take whatever is dished out in terms of being shortchanged. All of them pay some taxes, but get very little, comparitively, in return. The pressure their desperation puts on the labor market forces wages downwards, which serves amoral business interests well and, effectively, government interests.
The rest, you already know.
Posted by Harry on from 04/04 at 02:26 PMFunny enough I just finished listening to an interview on the Jeff Rense show from 3/31/05 with Chris Simcox the founder of The Minutemen Project. He doesn’t seem to fit the stereotype you describe and actually sounds like an honest citizen attempting to do what the feds aren’t doing. You can visit his website here:
http://www.minutemanproject.com/index.html
Posted by Luna_C on from 04/04 at 05:55 PMGood post, Mickey! Thanks for making the link between Mexicans crossing the border into the US and Americans invading Iraq and Afghanistan. Apt comparison!
Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 04/04 at 07:14 PMLuna_C,
It’s entirely possible Simcox is a man who really thinks he’s doing a good thing. The thing he’s doing is idiotic, serves the interests of people he claims to oppose, is racist, violent and ultimately completely ineffective, but he could be, as you say, honest. That still doesn’t make him or his Minutemen good people.
The Feds are already turning back hundreds of thousands of would-be migrant workers. The border is already an armed camp. Adding Simcox’s armed mob to the mix will turn it into a war zone. They’re as likely to start shooting at the police on the border as any border crossers. The lower ranking career police are going to feel insulted and a little scared. The politicians at the Federal level don’t care about that. It’s mediagenic to have honest citizens “taking responsibility”. In a sick way, there’s something very democratic about a lynch mob.
After the Minutemen kill enough people, their cheerleaders will turn on them, more security state legislation will be enacted, some of the higher profile members will do time and the rest of them will be embittered. They’ll find new leaders and pick another hot issue.
Posted by Harry on from 04/05 at 04:34 AMGreetings all:
Thanks for adding your comments to this post… For some of us, these comments are an incredible learning experience.
Question: what is “jinogist”? I haven’t searched it out yet, and my dictionary results are null.
I’ve been in many countries and I can understand the desire to provide for family and self. Not so many years ago all I would hear in Oregon was how (those) Asians were *stealing* our country. The problem with this notion is that I had pulled many of those Asians out of riddled boats in the middle of the Pacific and seen those desperate eyes and fearful looks. Oh I pulled them out of the water alright, but I also gave ‘em my clothes and personally walked them down to our onboard galley to feed them. Point is, I walked on the soil they were *forced* to abandon--I knew why they left and understood why it was better (for them) to take a shot in the dark with only a shanty of a boat on the water than endure the subjugation and utter poverty they left. no regrets…
<mean while, 20’ish years later>
I helped a local Civil Air Patrol (CAP) squadron rebuild their ranks and infrastructure. At first I thought I was doing some kind of good for our community. Later, after they started taking in young “cadets” I realized that they were turning the kids into little (marching) solders. That really bugged me seeing these kids march with their toy guns. Later, while at a state conference, we learned that we were going to start air patrols over the US/Mexico boarder. Why? Because the CAP would get federal funding for it. The breaking point for me was when new missions were going to be assigned involving surveillance flights over the U.S. to find pot growers…
The U.S. can pay for all this but has a problem with financing public education… I decided it was time to look into better ways of trying to support *my* community.
Now-a-days, I’m not so concerned about letting the Mexicans into this country as I am about making sure I can get out it!
Peace
--
Wishing you well.Posted by J Byrd on from Eureka (like the vacuum) CA 04/06 at 04:22 AMExcellent post, JB...thanks. Btw, here’s what I found for jingoist: “Extreme nationalism characterized especially by a belligerent foreign policy; chauvinistic patriotism.”
Posted by Mickey Z. on from 04/06 at 04:33 AM
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