Maybe They're People???
I’m gonna make this quick because I honestly hate to waste my breath or thoughts on something as dumb and hateful as what I’m about to discuss. Here it is:
As some sort of political stunt (and to waste maybe as much as 12 million dollars of taxpayer money) the jackass governor of Florida committed multiple crimes and sent immigrants to the tiny island of Martha’s Vineyard. I cannot imagine how this is remotely acceptable in today’s world. It’s easy and convenient for (mostly white) people to think of immigrants as an abstract thing. They are often talked about by politicians and the media as objects or concepts and not what they actually are: human beings.
I cannot think of a better example to show how heartless and cruel the modern Republican party is. That some people think this is funny or a great way to “own the libs” really highlights the level of brain damage we have in this country. The hate is unreal. It makes me wish that heaven really did exist because I know a bunch of smug assholes who aren’t getting in. Jesus would puke if he saw this behavior. And yet, the most “Christian” among us will applaud it. Yes, who can forget Jesus’ famous parable “fuck the poor immigrant on the road to Damascus”. I must have been sick that day in Sunday School.
This whole hating on immigrants thing is so old. I remember it when I was in elementary school. I remember Cubans floating across the sea on tires and plywood. I remember the same tired hateful messaging from Republicans back then. It’s gross and un-American. Unless you’re native, you floated here too.
“Ah, but Matt,” you might say. “My family came here LEGALLY and through the PROPER channels.” Oh yeah, explain to me that process. Because I’m willing to bet it was a lot simpler than today’s. Do you know how my ancestors came here? They showed up, they didn’t have cholera, and that was it. No lawyers. No decade-long waiting period. No ridiculous hoops to jump through. So shut up about your family. We don’t care.
All of this is to say that immigrants are human beings. They are fleeing unimaginable horrors. They are looking for a safe place to live and raise their children. They aren’t monsters. They aren’t objects to send around the country like overstock toilet paper. Shame on the people who did this and shame on the people who applaud it or laugh about it. You’re disgusting and I hope you never have to feel one ounce of the pain these people have endured. Clearly, you’ve lived a charmed life or maybe you’d have some compassion.
Oh and one more thing:
All of this is a crime. It’s human trafficking. Just because people aren’t here with the proper papers doesn’t mean the law can’t be broken. I mean, it’s not like you could just murder them. NPR is reporting that they were lied to and tricked into getting on a place. And obviously, that makes sense. Of course, that’s how they get them onto a place in the first place. I hope everyone responsible for this goes to jail. You cannot simply dismiss another being’s humanity and get away with it.