The twincities.indymedia.org blog (HT/ Christopher Day) has a post on, “Anti-Racists Steal the Show at White Supremacist ‘Tea Party Against Amnesty,” with some pretty funny and ironic tactics against the anti-immigration folks:
Forty-five anti-immigration activists held a small rally outside the state capitol on Saturday. Counter-protest from members of Anti-Racist Action, Bash Back, the Minnesota Immigrants’ Rights Action Coalition and others was frequent, vigorous and hilarious. (“America is not for Russians! America is not for Germans! Europeans go home!”)
The cheerful crowd of immigrants’ rights activists held a banner reading “Stop the raids and deportations”. In conversation with members of Minnesotans Seeking Immigration Reform, the activists repeatedly pointed out that all non-native people in Minnesota are illegal immigrants–Minnesota was taken by force by whites from the native people who lived here for centuries before white arrival. One activist, under the name “Robert Erickson,” managed to get on the list of speakers and riled the crowd into a frenzy about the theft, murder and disease inflicted by illegal immigrants… from Europe, upon indigenous populations. In a “Yes Men” moment, the anti-immigrant crowd sat in silence, trying to figure out what just happened.
Here is part of Erickson’s speech (see video here):
It’s no secret that with an invasion of immigrants, comes waves of crime. We see them involved in massive theft, in murder, and bringing diseases like smallpox, which is responsible for the death of millions of Americans. These aren’t new problems though, they have been going on for hundreds of years, and continue to this day. I say its time for us to say enough is enough! Are you with me? Are you with me? Lets send these European immigrants back where they came from! I don’t care if they are Polish, Irish, English, Italian, or Norwegian! European immigrants are responsible for the most violent and heinus crimes in the history of the world, including genocide and slavery! Its time to restore the sovereignty of people native to this land! I want more workplace raids, starting with the big banks downtown. There are thousands of illegals working in those buildings, hiding in their offices, and taking Dakota jobs. Let’s round them up and ship them out. Then we need to hit them at home where they sleep, I don’t care if we separate families, they should have known better when they came here illegally!
Rather clever use of lampooning, indeed.
Because the indymedia-link mentions Arpaio, I have two questions please. Is there somewhere a website how many chain-gangs are still there in the US?
And is there any research how the human-rights denying treatment of prisoners and the public humiliation impacts American's ability to develop empathy or a sense for justice?
JWBE, Hernan Vera and I have grappled with the social alexithymia issue as part of the process of creating systems of oppression, that is, the collective breakdown of empathy. I discuss it in the Systemic Racism and White Racial Frame books as part of a system of racial oppression. Clearly, operations like the Minutemen, Arpaio, etc, reinforce and extend this social alexithymia. But I have not seen specific research that you ask for.
@Joe
I think that Arpaio ‘only’ lives the mirror of society. I also wonder that an individual can have so much institutional power for his human rights abuses and his personal sadistic perversion.
In America punishment and severe punishment seems to be so normal sometimes that it is very hard to comprehend as a non-American.
Recently it came out that an innocent person was executed in the 90s, he was definitely not the first one and won’t be the last one in America, but somehow this doesn’t seem to disrupt or stop the ‘routine’, executions continue.
So far 139 persons have been exonerated from death row and also this is not enough to stop executions.
There is a certain apathy it seems towards life and justice in general and a legalized brutality by the nation/country is acceptable, the norm.
I also think that whites can “hide” behind an alleged ‘racial empathy’, we as a collective are also not able to feel empathy for whites, our culture does discourage empathy and encourages empty bodies who function in a deadly system without asking questions.
edit last paragraph:
I also think that whites can’t hide…
Good questions, @jwbe. I don't know of a website that lists the number of chain-gangs in the US nor do I know of any research along the lines you suggest.
>I don't know of a website that lists the number of chain-gangs in the US nor do I know of any research along the lines you suggest.
it's somehow no surprise that there are no or perhaps only some studies because I think that we whites sometimes ask the wrong questions or don't ask them at all. The question of who we are and who we want to be as humans.
For the purpose of preventing these types of heinous comments, the YWCA started a movement called Stand Against Racism. The goal is to raise awareness that racism still exists in our communities and that it cannot be ignored or tolerated. Our objective is to bring organizations and individuals together, who believe like we do, that united we can eliminate racism. To learn more or to get involved visit http://www.StandAgainstRacism.org.