About Those "Peaceable Goals..."

“Congressional leaders Thursday called on the Department of Homeland Security to investigate reports that U.S. Customs and Border Protection has given information to the Mexican government about the locations of U.S. civilian border watch groups. ‘We are deeply concerned that if the media reports are accurate and the Department of Homeland Security is relaying information to the Mexican government on the locations of these citizen groups, whether formally or informally, their safety is being put at risk and their peaceable goals undermined.'’' Daily Bulletin Ontario California, 5/12/06

http://dailybulletin.com/news/ci_3812890

“Peaceable goals?”

Let’s examine the goals of these armed people currently stalking illegals on our border. We can begin with a quote (noted by the ADL) from Minuteman leader Chris Simcox back in March 2003, “"So far we’ve had restraint, but I’m afraid that restraint is wearing thin. Take heed of our weapons because we're going to defend our borders by any means necessary.”

Call me over-sensitive, but it seems to me that when the leader of a group commands everyone to “take heed of our weapons” there’s something bellicose and even decidedly UNpeacable about it. As David Niewart at Orcinus pointed out Simcox had a haircut recently, and a shave, and has been listing the white supremacists his organization has given the heave-ho, but his claims to the Washington Human Rights commission that the Minutemen are “nothing more than a neighborhood watch committee” rings hollow given the Minute man’s emphasis on firepower.

And then there are all those pesky offshoots, those “citizens groups” inspired by the Minutemen. An Arizona Television station, KPHO, got some pretty fascinating quotes from one of these gangs, specifically a Mr. Fred Puckett of “Minuteman of One”, who, unaware he was speaking to reporters, went into “We-don’t-need-no-stinkin’-badges” mode. “We don't have no by-laws.. we don't have nothin'. We go out in two-man teams and we hit them like we did 40-years ago in Vietnam.”

Another comment from Puckett quoted in the same piece is more specific: ”And once you shoot a couple of these son of a b@#$%es, they'll think twice…”

But for the mother lode of rabidly murderous quotes about illegal aliens from a Minuteman source, you can check out some of the comments recently posted to the Minuteman National blog in response to an Illinois march calling for amnesty for illegal aliens.

“If the rats in washington hand-out amnesty its time to go to war with this non-government, face facts this is a drug dealers government and the guys running are low life vermin. oh yes its just a matter of time before the upheaval will start. didn't some guy say this would happen back in 1775? soon it will be time for blood. long live the bill of rights death to its enemies.”

And from another:

“Am I teaching my children to be racist ? , No I am teaching them to shoot and pointing our potential targets …There is nothing racist or un American about opposing this hispanic invasion , and when real Americans are backed into a corner they will feel the wraith , believe me , Buy lots of guns and rope patriots , we will have to take care of business because our gov't won't do it”

And from yet another.

“….It can't be much longer until sh*t hits the fan and America fights back. The rivers will flow blood from both sides, until the National Guard/Military arrives with fire power and evens the score. Then watch them run like rats back to the border! Hope the fence is up by then, shoot them climbing over the fence to mexico.”

Even more chilling are some of the less obviously hysterical comments posted on that same blog to an account of a Minutewoman’s ride on the border. Here, the merits of simply shooting to death illegal aliens on sight on the grounds that they are “trespassing” are discussed:

“As far as ‘shoot to kill’....maybe the politically wrong phrase, but most persons legal to carry know that if the intruder lives, he/she will sue you and may win. The family of the intruder doesn't have much of a leg to stand-on either, if the dead relative cannot testify. Training involves shooting at ‘center mass’ for FULL effect to stop them dead in their tracks, not in the leg or the arm. If you use the wrong ammo, he/she may live. As you very well know; a .22 handgun versus a .357 can make the difference.”

And from another commentator:

“I would suggest that all MM keep their weapons in their holsters or face possible prison time and loss of all assets. Another possible approach is shoot to kill, and have a backhoe handy to burry all evidence. (just joking at this time)”

What a kidder! And the “at this time” escape hatch is an especially nice touch. After all, if you get caught a few months from now out in the desert shoving bullet riddled bodies into a trench with a backhoe, it would be kind of embarrassing to have to answer to the border patrol’s complaint, “But we thought you were just JOKING!”

I don’t know whether or not the border patrol has been notifying Mexico about the location of these citizen groups. I don’t even know whether it would be legal. From a humane standpoint, however, after reading some of the rhetoric on the Minuteman’s own blog, I wouldn’t blame them one bit if they were.

It’s interesting to note that when they get called on this kind of rhetoric, Minutemen and their apologists typically claim that it’s all just “hyperbole” or “satire,” that they’re just joking. A classic example is the that font of homespun American wit, Brian James, who, while filling in as a talk radio host in Arizona’s KFYI last March, offered up the following knee-slapper while comparing the cost of building a border wall with the cost of simply killing illegal aliens:

“For that same amount of money – how many bullets can you buy? I would like to see a nice 223 rounds shot from a high post somewhere and leave them out there. Pull out their ID if they got any, call their next of kin and say oops, sorry, they tried to cross illegally”

“…We’ll call it immigration roulette. What we’ll do is randomly pick one night - every week - where we will kill whoever crosses the border. Step over there and you die. You get to decide whether it’s your lucky night or not. I think that would be more fun… happy to sit there with my high-powered rifle and my night scope…. “

James and KFYI, of course, insisted afterwards it was all just “satire.”

Unfortunately, the following article May 6th in the Arizona Star does not appear to be satire at all. It’s a very brief piece, concerning the discovery in the desert of the body of “an apparent border crosser.” Tuscon Sector Border Patrol agents were tipped off by a call from the dead man’s family in California after “the wounded man or someone with him” called them to say he’d been shot.

http://www.azstarnet.net/allheadlines/127998

Let’s hope there wasn’t somebody listening to James who didn’t get that his proposal about shooting illegal aliens and then calling their families was just all in good fun.

But it's Chris Simcox, not Greg. I used to live about 10 miles from Tombstone, which is where he lives. :)

I've inadvertantly slandered an old college classmate!

:kick:

Great post, Pamela Troy! If there was ever any doubt regarding the xenophobia of these "Minutemen", this post helps settle the question. This is truly an appalling situation.

Welcome to DU. :hi:

If I am sitting at home, in my living room, minding my own business then I am being peaceful.

If someone then tries to break into my home, and I use deadly force to keep them out, well, that was the consequence of their action.

It's only not peaceful if these minutemen are crossing the border into Mexico or something.

The Mexican border from the Gulf to California is not your living room. A more accurate analogy would be if someone was crossing the corner of your yard to get to someone else's house and you step out on your front porch and shoot them, because, well unmmm....uhhh, you felt threatened! In most States, if someone steps into your yard and you kill them, you are going to jail.

Now are you going to create some other weak analogy to explain why illegals crossing the border in the desert are such a threat that it would be a good thing for a few to get shot by racist civilians?

Educate yourself about Simcox and his pals. How to create better border security is a good question, but Yahoos like the Minutemen are not the answer.

about armed bands wandering around the Texas border looking for illegal aliens to shoot.

There is also another side to this story that has had absolutely no coverage to my knowledge. Many of us hispanics are actually afraid now to travel to southern Arizona for fear of our safety. I am a citizen of this country. My family has been in Arizona since before it was even a state. Yet I recently declined an offer to travel south due to my fear of being mistaken for an illegal immigrant. I have spoken to other people with brown skin, even non-hispanics, who feel the same.

Some may call this over-reacting. I don't know if it is. I do know that the increased anger by these racists and the fact that they flaunt their guns, even through downtown Phoenix, does not make me feel safe. Being told to, "Go back to Mexico you wetback!" by a man with one hand massaging his holster is a scary thing. It's also not illegal, as I was told this by a police officer.

Of course nationally they are often reported as being patriots and that they are protecting America. They say they are protecting our borders and our freedom. Whose freedom I ask, because with them around I personally feel a little less free.

never considered what you as an Hispanic person might be going through. Thanks for opening up my eyes, and may I say that stinks. I'm sorry there are so many ugly Americans in this country. :(

guess it's ok to say that if you are a white guy.