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April 05, 2005
Minuteman Project Update
If you’ve read my previous posts on immigration (here, here, here, and here), you can probably guess what I think about the “Minuteman Project.” To be honest, when I first heard of the project, I envisioned a bunch of mullet sportin' rednecks, riding around in pick-ups with a full gun rack, two cans of Blue Ribbon in hand, strands of chew spanning the gaps between their teeth, and "red neck woman" blasting from the AM radio - achin' to spot some "spics."
I’m relieved that there haven’t been reports of abuse or vigilante violence; in fact, some reports I’ve read have made the volunteers look very professional, and even, Christian (see this for example). That said, I still think the project is ill-conceived. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but the whole concept just doesn’t sit right with me. I guess I can't get the redneck/mullet/pickup/gunrack/blue ribbon image out of my head. And, with volunteers continuing to disrupt the Border Patrol’s work by tripping sensors, I can’t help but wonder if the net impact of their efforts is more, not less, illegal border crossings.
I haven’t forgotten about my immigration series as I'm still collecting data and thinking through the issues. I must say though that writing on this topic is really stretching me and definitely requires research. Opinions are nice, but often fueled by emotion. I’d prefer to tone it down a bit and look at our immigration “problem” a little more calmly and factually.
HUD Consolidated Plan public review deadlines are this week, I’m gearing up for finals, and I’ve been defending/discussing my exit poll paper over at Mystery Pollster and DailyKOS (~350 comments - read them all for a real culture shock). The exit poll discussion has been an interesting experiment in on-line peer review and I'm having quite a bit of fun with it. For the most part, the Kossacks haven't assailed my faith or politics, but have stuck to the merits/demerits of the stastitics and logic. I can't say the same for the folks at Democratic Underground.
I figure the immigration topic isn’t going anywhere. I’ll get to it. In the meantime, any of the other SCO writers care to share their thoughts on the subject?
Posted by Rick at April 5, 2005 02:32 AM
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From Wired News: Volunteers who have converged on the Mexican border to watch for illegal immigrants are disrupting U.S. Border... [Read More]
Tracked on April 5, 2005 10:36 AM
Comments
Glad you're not stereotyping those who volunteer their time for what is, essentially, a neighborhood watch project.
I'd go drink a Blue Ribbon if I drank. But I need a new coat of varnish on the gunrack and the mullet needs a trim. And, unfortunately, I gave my last $1000 in discretionary spending to tsunami relief.
Posted by: Kelly at April 5, 2005 10:21 AM
"I can’t help but wonder if the net impact of their efforts is more, not less, illegal border crossings."
Considering that the response of the border patrol to the Minutemen has been to drastically increase observation of the Arizona/Mexico border by adding 534 new agents and 23 new aircraft it looks pretty clear that the net impact of the Mintuemen will be less illegal border crossings.
Posted by: Pete The Elder at April 5, 2005 10:52 AM
With all due respect to Rick, I believe he just got schooled.
Posted by: Matt at April 5, 2005 02:13 PM
To quote my friend Will Robinson:
"I think that, besides just a way to vent their frustration, this is a way to draw national attention to the ridiculous policy we have for border and immigration control.
You have to admit, when you examine what the law says and what we actually do to enforce it we come of like the U.N. pretending to contain Saddam Hussain."
The Minuteman project itself is probably not very useful. But the added media attention it's drawing is making people talk about it, and it's making the government take notice.
Posted by: LotharBot at April 5, 2005 02:35 PM
Rick - It sounds like you've fallen prey to the stereotypes presented by the MSM & liberal elites.
It's not funny how the potential cause of violence is attributed to the Minutemen, but Fox's military response doesn't seem to cause any such concern. Furthermore, the real violence caused by illegal aliens on our border citizens is totally ignored, as is the cost of criminal activities by illegals on a nationwide basis.
Read the stories at Ranch Rescue @ http://www.ranchrescue.com/stories.htm. I'm sure that there are many more stories out there that are not published.
I don't know who all volunteered for the Minutemen. I wish my husband & I could have -- and we're not rednecks. We're professionals from the sad state of IL. And you should note that the volunteers came from all over the US, not just the southern regions.
These brave citizens are assembling legally at great risk to themselves. I honor them regardless of their haircuts.
Posted by: Monika N. at April 6, 2005 12:26 AM