John “Smallberries” is a volunteer pilot for the Minuteman Projects, a group of American volunteers on a month-long watch on the Arizona-Mexico border. John is back home, and he sent this report.
MinuteMan update:
Monday I returned from 4 days of work in Arizona helping to get the
MinuteMan project up and running. I’ll be going back on Friday to
spend 10 days of my ‘vacation’ time in Arizona, flying for the
MinuteMan air corps.
La Shawn asked me to give you all an update, so here it goes.
Despite predictions of the streets running over with blood, there has
been no violence, one minor tragedy, and only a single grievous human
rights violation. I’ll give the day-day/blow-blow account below.
Wednesday: Gear load-out and check
Spent most of the day checking radio equipment that we will need to
track the aircraft involved in the project, and ensure our forward air
controllers can relay information from the ground to the aircraft.
I’ve got two other friends going - Reno (a former US borderpatrol
agent) and Mike Bigboote’ (general technical wiz) Note to readers:
about 10 of us decided to take names from the film “Buckaroo Banzai”
as sort of an inside joke (on ourselves) and to ensure nobody took us
very seriously. Somehow that spread, and I’m still getting emails from
folks who want to sign up for MinuteMan as a “Blue Blaze Irregular”
Sigh.
Probably of more interest is what we decided NOT to bring. Sidearms.
While I know that comes as a shock to some, I’ll explain why.
First - I think NOT being armed sends just as powerful as a message as
showing up ‘loaded for bear’. This is a dangerous area, no doubt about
it. However - the primary weapon needed to succeed, and stay out of
trouble is located between my ears - not on my hip. By going unarmed -
this should force us to concentrate on avoiding trouble, rather the
following my natural instinct (so it seems!) to seek it out.
Second - We are pilots (or air controllers) Our job is ‘push tin’ and
get aircraft around the sky - extra radio batteries are deemed far
more useful then a sidearm.
Third - I’m so sick of the focus on “armed vigilantes” in the desert -
it’s time to explore the possibly of being an unarmed vigilante. Much
harder, but will certainly bring the level of play up a notch. I’m not
even sure you can be a vigilante without a weapon. But - I will do my
best!
Around midnight - we have my kitchen table (where we have replicated
the cargo bay of the plane we are flying out to AZ to ensure all this
junk will fit) piled high with radio gear, antennas, body armor, GPS
stuff, laptop computers, solar panels (to run radio gear in the
forward areas) signal panels, and sleeping bags.
Looking at this, about 1am we stood back, and enjoyed a brief laugh.
We know both the press, ACLU and various other groups are expecting
redneck ‘bubba’s’ moronically stumbling around the desert, or cammo
clad Rambos tearing around in pickups with Confederate flags on the
roof. We looked at each other, the stack of sophisticated equipment on
the load table, and said “Those guys haven’t got a clue about what is
coming….”
Thursday
0500 - Wake up, final gear check - toss stuff in car for transport to
airport. Had to squeeze cargo door closed, made a REALLY long takeoff
roll, plane was at its max weight, and slowly climbed into the sky. On
our way!
Arrived in Tombstone before noon, had a local pilot pick us up at the
airport and he drove us to the “Bible College” that is being used as
HQ. The place is “rustic” to say the least. Once - I’m sure this place
was nice - but that was about 50 years ago. Some of the buildings are
burned out, some are simply decrepit, some are in marginal states of
repair. We move into the best of buildings, the one with only some
fire damage, a few broken windows, and 3 showers that work! Yay!
The rest of the day is consumed with the very un-vigilante task of
cleaning (hard to feel like a tough guy while mopping out a toilet -
but I managed a growl or two) fixing broken plumbing, and getting
electricity and lights running. By midnight - we had basic services up
and running.
Which is when the minor tragedy happened.
Reno took it upon himself to organize the 30 or so retired police
officers into some sort of makeshift security force, and started
patrolling the grounds (which are about 10 acres) of open lots, and
burned out buildings. He and his partner (Pecos) ended up at the main
gate VCP (Vehicle control point) where they were stopping cars coming
into the grounds (this is private property after all) and checking for
ID’s. Reno and Pecos had made some makeshift ’stop strips’ out of
nails and old 4×4 lumber, and were set up to keep any crazies from
doing a drive by.
About 1:30am - Mike B and I were fooling with a recalcitrant radio,
when Reno called in from the gate “Call the Border Patrol, and tell
them I have a single (slang for an illegal found without a group) up
at the VCP. And get up here pronto with some food, water and a
blanket.
Not being a total idiot - I thought “This must be an April Fools joke”
- and I was NOT about to be the fool. However - Reno persisted - “No
really - call the BP and get up here” - Sigh. OK. I grabbed the box of
fig newtons I was munching on (love those!) and a gallon of water,
along with an old blanket, and headed up there - about a 3 minute jog.
Mike get on the phone to the BP. (who also thought we were goofing on
them)
And was astonished to see Reno sitting next to a small man, quietly
talking in Spanish to him! I had to stop and be stunned for about 3
seconds. He smiled broadly at me, I smiled back, and then he proceeded
to snarf the entire box of Fig Newtons, and drain a 1/3 of the water
jug. He had not eaten for days.
Thus - The entire rest of the weekend was conducted without a Fig
Newton in sight. Tragic. 
However - he needed them more then me.
Good 
And he was *very* happy to be found. This gent was from Guatemala, his
guide had abandoned him 3 days ago, and left him to wander in the
desert. He saw the lights of our operation, and simply walked toward
the camp, and right up to Reno and Pecos at the front gate. Despite
dire media predictions, he was not beaten, robbed, or lynched. He got
fed, and actually asked Reno to call “La Migra” to come pick him up.
Happy to oblige amigo!
This leaked out to the press the next day, and comments were basically
“well - I suppose they didn’t lynch him - but they sure would of if
they had more time!”
About 15 minutes later, a small armada of BP vehicles showed up, and
agents got the story, laughed, and took him into custody.
Friday -
Friday was spent with more very un-vigilante like activity, fixing
more plumbing and electric, and building radio masts out of PVC pipe.
If you can image 15 engineers (somehow HAM radio guys always end up to
be engineers) trying to build 30 foot tall masts to put antennas on -
you might see the humor in this. While all of us swore an oath of
non-violence - several times it was pointed out that it covered
non-aggression only to people OUTSIDE the project. We were all fair
game for each other! I was pretty sure there was going to be a
lynching, especially after one guy glued his buddies hand (by
accident) to the plastic mast pole with the epoxy. We also lost a few
hours when one of the electrical feeders (installed by a EE)
overloaded and melted about 50 feet of wire. Phew!
About 8pm we had dinner, and the human rights violation occurred when
I was fed the worst chicken stew in the history of - well - history.
About 3 of us vowed to report the cook to the first ACLU lawyer we
found. Thankfully, this meal was not available Thursday, or we could
have fed it to our hungry Guatemalan amigo, and ended up with a (well
deserved) “assault with a deadly meal” charge on our hands.
Sleep came blissfully around midnight.
Saturday
Finally - we were going to get some “vigilante-ing” done! Bright and
early, we piled into a truck, went down the road a bit to local diner,
where we met out first “local” supporter. The owner came over to greet
us, introduced himself as a former Marine (o-rah!) and then proceeded
to get behind the counter and cook us breakfast. Cool!
We had to hide money for the food under the dishes, he would not take
our cash. (there were 8 of us, and we ate a LOT of chow - especially
after the ACLU stew on Friday) Awesome guy - we promptly declared his
place the official “Vigilante chow hall” and headed out.
Just a note on this - inside the project, it has become popular to
address each other as “vigilante” - as a goof on Bush’s idiotic
comment when he labeled everyone in the project as such. Like so many
other slurs, this one has become a point of pride. We don’t have Froot
Loops cereal in the kitchen - they are now “Vigilante Loops” (written
with a crude black marker)
Mike and I flew for a few hours, checking terrain, ensuring our maps
and control points were correct, and visiting the local airports. We
also mapped out and inspected numerous emergency strips in the area,
in case one of our aircraft had a problem and needed to set down.
Reno and Peco’s ate dirt all day, hiking around the border, looking
for places to set up a radio post, and establish comms back to the
operations center.
I took some news people up for a ride, the did a little filming of the
border (not me!) and I made their cameraman airsick. Fun. (the ride,
not making him sick!)
We got done around 8pm, got served huge bowls of awesome chili
(correction - vigilante chili) and then spent the next 4 hours
plotting all the data onto 2 giant maps we had made for the commo
center. Cool! Things were getting ready!
Sunday -
This was going to be our ’soft start’ day - day zero of field
operations. About 100 people were going into the field, and we were
going to fly our first border patrol and support mission.
After briefing on the weather (clear, but windy - going to be a bumpy
ride) I called the US Customs operation desk to let them know we would
be in the air near the border. For several weeks, we have been working
with them (and they have been VERY clear they do not endorse us - but
they also have been 100% professional) to make sure we don’t get in
their way. While I know true vigilantes are supposed to be reckless
devil-may-care types, I think even us “wild hate filled crazies” need
to take time to ensure flight safety.
We call them, give our (real) names and flight numbers, then headed
for the airport and for the field.
I have to tell you - it was a sight for sore eyes. The section of the
border we were working in was SHUT DOWN. The BP had over 100 jeeps on
the 10 mile stretch, MMP folks had set up lawn chairs, sunshades, and
coolers (for keeping soda cold) and were ‘watching’ the border. On the
Mexican side -there was a small army of orange “Beta Group” trucks,
warning people not to cross or they would be “hunted by criminals”.
Oh - and about 100 news trucks. Major circus.
If this was the case every day - we could pack it in and go home!
Things were actually pretty friendly. People on both sides of the
border waved at us - each one got a wing wiggle in return. Folks hung
out and talked. My observer thought he spotted a group moving north,
and he was right. However - the “group” in question turned out to be
four-legged upon closer inspection, so we decided not to report them
to the BP.
And that is the total sum of the first four days of wild west
vigilante action from Arizona.
Stats:
Dead - 0
Arrested - 0
Lynchings - 0
Shots fired - 0
People turned into BP - one
Suspected border crossing violations reported - 18
Fig Newtons consumed by me - 4
Fig Newtons consumed by hungry Guatemalan - 20
Human rights violated by Minutemen - 0
Human rights violated upon the Minutemen by our cook - 1
Terrorists discouraged from crossing border - unknown
Thanks for the support, and I will file more updates (with pictures)
when I get back to AZ this weekend!
John
—————————————————————————————————————————-
So what happens after the Minuteman Project comes to an end? ARIZONA WATCH.
Also see Part I and Part II of my interview with John.
Related posts: Modern Day Minutemen, We’ll See What Kind of Man George Bush Is and Who Will Protect the Minuteman Volunteers?
La Shawn:
You are really an early person - I thought you would still be asleep.
I am somewhat pessimistic at the success of the Minutemen. They are brave patriots, and they really represent “the people”, but politicians have a bad habit of ignoring “the people” when they conflict with special interests.
I fear that, when the Minutemen disappear, it will be back to “business as usual”.
Only at the ballot box can this problem be solved. Only when the “incumbent protection acts” like the Texas and CA redistricting are overturned will incumbents feel that they have to pay attention to “the people” and seal the border.
This is not a question of ability or technology - it is a question of will. Even the third world Mexican Government has a sealed southern border.
Comment by Frank Zavisca — 04.06.05 @ 6:54 am
Vigilantes on the Border
La Shawn has an update from a volunteer pilot for the Minuteman Project on the Arizona/Mexico border.
Some excerpts:
Probably of more interest is what we decided NOT to bring. Sidearms. While I know that comes as a shock to some, I’ll explain why….
Trackback by Myopic Zeal — 04.06.05 @ 7:38 am
John ‘Smallberries’. I’m dying here.
The guy is evidently a Buckaroo Bonzai fan.
Comment by King of Fools — 04.06.05 @ 9:11 am
The WILL also requires focus and the passion to maintain that focus. Sadly we US Americans have become UN-focused and do not value the quality of life we enjoy. The risks considered acceptable to people of other lands to gain entrance to our nation should speak volumes to us about the value of our land and system. We must come to value it in the same way as well, else we lose it to the libs which group includes too many of our elected and appointed leaders.
Comment by Dan — 04.06.05 @ 9:33 am
John ‘Smallberries’? Is that his alias, or you alias for him? Either way, that is hillarious. Who’d a thunk geopolitics would come down to references to blue and red lectroids battling at the border of the 8th dimension. But, I guess the signs were all there… after narrowly defeating John “Warfen” and John’ Bigbootie’ in the last election.
Comment by Mr.Atos — 04.06.05 @ 9:56 am
You know, LaShawn, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the nation’s leading civil rights law organization, considers the Minuteman Project to be a hate group. But I guess that’s the kind of thing you and other America-haters like.
I sure do appreciate your taking the time to pollute my blog, Cowardly Commenter. And you’re doing so from Princeton University! Your parents must be so proud.
Comment by Cowardly Commenter — 04.06.05 @ 9:56 am
Cowardly Commenter
Huh?
“the nation’s leading civil rights organization” This usually means “anti-white.”
Comment by pajamazon — 04.06.05 @ 10:15 am
Minuteman Update ~ Watching Our borders When NoOne Else Will
La Shawn Barber has the latest from the Minuteman Project down along the Arizona border. For those who have been keeping an eye on this one, some of the more “looney” left leaning organizations who hide behind the disguise of “civil rights” groups…
Trackback by The Other Point Of View — 04.06.05 @ 11:01 am
One of the problems with “illegal immigration” is all the people who profit from it. During the confirmation hearings for various government posts it is interesting to note how many people seeking appointment to high office have had illegals in their employ. So they are seeking a position in the government when they themselves have been lawbreakers? If one can’t trust a high government official, who can you trust?
Comment by Evon Bachaus — 04.06.05 @ 11:12 am
The Southern Poverty Law Center is not as Pajamazon, puts it “Anti-white”. They are the #1 leading group who tracks hate-crimes in this country and does a service to this nation by actively combating white supremists, neo nazis, and the like. Before you start throwing around uninformed nonsense, do a little investigation and realize that they also include the Jewish Defense League, Black Separatist movements, Voz de Aztlan, and other ‘non-white’ groups among those that they track.
Comment by Joshua — 04.06.05 @ 11:17 am
Just an FYI to those who don’t get the “John Smallberries” reference: it’s a character from a cult sci-fi movie from the 1980’s called “Buckaroo Banzai” with Peter Weller.
Comment by Monty — 04.06.05 @ 11:21 am
Joshua.
There are no Hate Crimes. There is crime. To suggest otherwise makes you a con or conned!
Comment by pajamazon — 04.06.05 @ 11:41 am
So Joshua,
Since they investigate “hate crimes” (if there is such a thing…
I never hear them beating the war path in regards to all the children who have been killed over the past few months by child molesters or the pregnant women who have been killed recently either. Just like pajama said..
only a “hate crime” if a white person is involved on one side of the issue
And this is exactly why you and those who follow this mindset will continuosly have “hate crime” problems
Comment by Renee — 04.06.05 @ 12:26 pm
LaShawn,
Bless you for posting John’s 4-day wrap-up. Please tell me you’ll be posting more on this.
As for the SPLC, I’ve been all over tolerance.org; I had nice thoughts about them at one time, until I found out that SPLC considers a libertarian think tank a hate group. I lost all respect for them at that point and began checking out some of their other “hate groups.” It’s such a shame that the SPLC, which professes to battle hate, tends to spit it out more often than not.
Comment by Lornkanaga — 04.06.05 @ 12:32 pm
For those of you who don’t believe there is such thing as a ‘hate crime’, was the Holocaust just a random string of massacres that just happened to kill mostly Jews, or was it a targeted genocide? In my opinion there is something particularly insedious about targeting someone because of who they are. There is no economic gain.
As far as the Southern Poverty Law Center is concerned, let’s not forget that pre-9-11 the largest act of terrorism in this country was committed by a white man, with associations to white separatist groups. The SPLC charter has nothing to do with child molestation or the murder of pregnant women, so why should they make an issue of it? It’s like condeming the Southern Baptists for not speaking up about the price of milk in Rhode Island. . . . . .
Comment by Joshua — 04.06.05 @ 12:47 pm
Around the Blogosphere
The Minutemen La Shawn Barber, Blogs for Bush, The Wide Awakes, What Attitude Problem?, Pardon my English, Myopic Zeal Peter…
Trackback by JackLewis.net — 04.06.05 @ 12:47 pm
Lets see Josh…
murder is murder…
nothing rocket science about it (but for some reason the bleeding hearts that think they can fix all of man’s social ills need it to be more difficult than it is, and are continuously showing no signs of fixing anything… just making it worse)…
Geesh, you would think they are getting tired of this by now however, there is no profit in using common sense.
Comment by Renee — 04.06.05 @ 1:10 pm
If the SPLC considers the Minuteman Project a hate organization, I’d be fascinated to see what their criteria are for “Hate Group” status. Seems the ACLU, MoveOn.org, PETA, NOW, and the AFL-CIO should be real contenders, too. Also, wonder if they’d at least give honorable mention to MS13.
Regarding hate crimes (re: Joshua’s comments on genocide), I’ve never understood how vicious crime is made “more vicious” simply because it happens to someone of color, different religion, or blue-eyed, or left-handed, etc. All that ridiculous categorization accomplishes is to plant in some feeble minds that crime is fought based upon who the victim is, not because it’s criminal. It also sends the subtle message that a criminal act is somehow made more acceptable simply because it’s not a “hate” crime. Which makes one wonder…if a crime is not a “hate” crime, is it therefore a “love” crime?
HEKTOR
Comment by Hektor — 04.06.05 @ 1:40 pm
Entering US may require a Passport. In 2008.
Do you think everyone needs at least a Passport to enter the US? If so, this may come as a surprise to you:Day-tripping American tourists, business travelers and others who for years have traveled easily back and forth to Mexico…
Trackback by Carpe Bonum — 04.06.05 @ 1:53 pm
To Renee, pajamazon, and others,
It is fashionable in some circles to argue that crime is crime, and any given crime should be punished according to the details of the crime itself, and not according to the motive of the criminal, in particular, the criminal’s hatred of members of an identifiable group. According to this fashion of thinking, the concept “hate crime” is absurd.
But according to people whose job it is to enforce the law, including police officers, police chiefs, and prosecutors, there really is an identifiable category of crimes committed out of hatred of people for who they are. Crimes in the United States are in some cases targeted against people based on their status as immigrants (including lawful immigrants), religion (in particular, Moslem, and also others), sexual orientation (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered), race/ethnicity, status as an employee of the federal government, and other categorical hate targets. This is beyond dispute. For each of these categories, there are crimes where the perpetrator confessed or bragged about the reason for the crime, or where the evidence is otherwise compelling beyond any doubt.
One may argue that the punishment for a given crime, e.g. rape, arson, or murder, should be independent of the perpetrator’s motive, in particular the perpetrator’s hatred of some category of humankind to which the victim(s) belong. I don’t happen to agree with that; I think that such group hatred can properly be treated as a factor in determining the sentence. This is properly a subject for public debate.
But the existence of hate crime is beyond debate. It is like denying the existence of crimes motivated by greed or jealousy. Those exist too.
Since hate crime does exist, it is reasonable that American citizens would organize nonprofit organizations such as the Southern Poverty Law Center, to educate the public about the problem, to research what causes it, to expose it, to track down its perpetrators, and assist in their prosecution.
There are organized law enforcement programs to combat arson, child pornograpy, and countless other sorts of crimes. Hate crimes are an identifiable category, with specific, repeating patterns and syndromes. Therefore, it is sensible that federal, state, and local law enforcement work on the problem in some organized manner. In this way, we can help prevent attacks like the one on the Alfred P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City.
One final point. Abortion is not a hate crime. First, even if you think abortion should be a crime, ever since Roe v. Wade, abortion per se has not been and is not a crime in the United States. Second, women abort for many different reasons, some of which might be considered more or less justifiable. Some of the more justifiable reasons include being very young, having been raped, pregnancy as a health threat (including likelihood of death), and diagnosis of the unborn as having severe genetic disorder, such as one that leads to certain death within two years.
When women have to make the painful and tragic decision to abort, they are not motivated by hatred. “Well, they hate unborn children,” I hear a chorus of so-called pro-life people chanting. Not so. Many women who choose to abort either already have children whom they adore, or later go on to have children. There are many reasons, good and bad, that women choose to abort, but hate is not on the list. It’s a preposterous argument, and you are not going to win more adherents to your side, neither against abortion rights nor against hate crime legislation, by making it.
Respectfully,
Comment by Anomalocaris — 04.06.05 @ 2:00 pm
While I like the idea (though its inherent appeal to groups like the KKK and the CCC and Aryan Nations give me qualms), the Minuteman project will ultimately fail as long as our legislators don’t institute substantial criminal penalties for the executives and managers of companies that hire illegal immigrants.
Comment by flaime — 04.06.05 @ 2:05 pm
Anomalocaris
And that’s the difference between God’s truth and man’s truth
Comment by Renee — 04.06.05 @ 2:11 pm
Thanks for posting this, LaShawn, very interesting.
Cowardly, I know nothing about the SPLC, but I do know that simply telling us that Group A says Group B is a hate group and smugly believing you’ve proved a point is indulging in several logical fallacies.
No matter how noble the SPLC may be, one presumes that even you would not argue they are infallable.
No matter how wonderful the SPLC may or may not be, appeal to authority, ad hominem, and poisoning the well fallacies, among others, do not make your case.
The truth or falsehood of a position doesn’t depend on who does (or doesn’t) espouse it. The position here is that illegal immigration is, well, illegal, and that citizens of a free country are at risk since members of Al Queda may cross the border just as easily as any other illegal immigratn and do great harm. The borders are badly policed (both north and south) and a number of citizens desire to increase the security of our borders. I’ve seen no reports of hateful activities, and I fail to see what is ‘AMerican hating’ about that activity. I happen to be in favor of more open immigration policies (LEGAL ONES)- and in favor of closing the borders against all illegal activity.
You seem to be comparing that behavior to Nazi Genocide. One hopes that college will improve your logical abilities.
Comment by DeputyHeadmistress — 04.06.05 @ 2:12 pm
While I once thought highly of the SPLC, after MinuteMan was labeled a ‘hate group’ simply because some crazies (true hate groups) endorsed the project, I lost a great deal of respect for them.
Doing some research on the SPLC, I found this article from Harpers magazine.
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3a3e5cb925c4.htm
Anyway - I’m fine with people passing judgement based on our actions (which need to be above reproach) but I object to being called a ‘hate group’ as a reflex. Tossing around labels like this are counter-productive to having an intelligent and open dialog on the problem.
The real problem with the current border status is national security, and the safety of all our fellow citizens. Everything else is secondary.
Comment by John Smallberries — 04.06.05 @ 2:13 pm
I like the way Michael Medved describes hate crime and why that phrase shouldn’t exist; *all* crime involves hate.
I write that knowing that the level of hate in crime varies: Holocaust vs a purse snatch, but I think Medved’s thinking is true.
Comment by David — 04.06.05 @ 2:25 pm
Anomalocaris. whew!
I’ll bet you’re a university graduate. No offense intended but the scammer trick of “overwhelming data” has no weight in the sphere. Words are cheap!
I’d like to show you the folly of your “points” but I doubt it would worth the time.
“hate crimes exist! Just ask the folks paid to investigete them!”
Comment by pajamazon — 04.06.05 @ 2:42 pm
“hate crimes exist! Just ask the folks paid to investigete them!”
Too funny pajama
Comment by Renee — 04.06.05 @ 2:58 pm
Dear pajamazon,
Yes, I am a university graduate. So are President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and probably every member of the Bush cabinet, most of whom have postgraduate degrees. You, not I, used the expression “overwhelming data” so don’t put words in my mouth.
Do you seriously deny that Tim McVeigh specifically targeted the Alfred P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City out of hatred for the U.S. government and by extension its employees? Do anyone seriously believe that hate plays a role in most bank robberies?
I agree with DeputyHeadmistress where she said that the SPLC’s allegation that some group is a hate group does not make it true. But maybe this claim about the SPLC is itself untrue. SPLC’s website is http://www.splcenter.org/ and if you go there now, you’ll see the featured article is about the Minuteman Project. If you click on that link and read that article at http://www.splcenter.org/intel/news/item.jsp?aid=12, you will not find SPLC calling the Minuteman Project a hate group. It does, however, include this paragraph, which I’m converting to italics here.
A self-professed member of the white supremacist organization National Alliance posted to the same forum: “While Minuteman is not affiliated with ‘Hate Groups’ (like the ones you or I belong to), most of the volunteers smell smoke and know there’s a fire that needs putting out. This is a good opportunity to reach out to people who are ‘half awake’ and help them the rest of the way. I’m a missionary for racism and I see fertile recruiting ground!”
The Southern Poverty Law Center does not call the Minuteman Project a hate group — at least not on this page — but it provides evidence that actual self-proclaimed haters are piggybacking off the opportunity provided by the Minuteman Project. The fact that others might do that does not make the Minuteman Project bad. The Minuteman Project should be judged on its own merits, not on what racist organizations do to piggyback off it.
Respectfully,
Comment by Anomalocaris — 04.06.05 @ 3:59 pm
Hey, John–I forgot you read the comments, and reply.
Thank you and yours for all your hard work. I’ve been lighting candles daily for more than a week and praying for the safety of all.
I’ll be showing your write-up to my sweetie tonight–he’s a pilot as well.
Comment by Lornkanaga — 04.06.05 @ 4:01 pm
Anomalocaris–Pajamazon used the phrase “overwhelming data” to describe your volumnous rant.
Someday you’ll learn that less is more. ;^)
Comment by Lornkanaga — 04.06.05 @ 4:06 pm
!
Comment by RedBeard — 04.06.05 @ 5:05 pm
Lornkanaga,
A rant is a bombastic declamation expressed with strong emotion. In contrast, my calm appeals have been mainly to logic, not to emotion. Kindly do not accuse me of ranting.
Pajamazon accused me of a rhetorical trick rather than providing actual evidence. I was accused of positing “overwhelming data” (with the quotes!) when by implication such data do not exist. But it’s not I who is guilty of a rhetorical trick, it is Pajamazon. It is, emphatically, a rhetorical trick to disparage my purported use of the expression “overwhelming data” as a way to deny, by implication, the existence of such overwhelming data.
A Google search for “hate crime” (with the quotes) finds about 537,000 pages. This does not prove that hate crime exists, any more than the 1,960,000 pages for “Santa Claus” proves Santa’s existence. But it’s a good place to start.
The very first link is to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports website, and if you go there, you’ll find that the FBI counts thousands of hate crimes every year. The FBI reports “During 2003, 11,909 law enforcement agencies provided the UCR [Uniform Crime Reporting] Program with 1 to 12 months of hate crime reports. Of those agencies, 1,967 agencies (16.5 percent) reported 7,489 hate crime incidents involving 8,715 offenses, 9,100 victims, and 6,934 known offenders.”
Now let’s say that 75% of the crimes that law enforcement agencies called hate crimes were actually not hate crimes. I think this is unlikely; if anything I would bet that the errors would tend to go the other way. But suppose anyway. That’s still over 2000 hate crimes a year.
The expert analysis of 11,909 law enforcement agencies does constitute overwhelming data. And that’s just a five-minute examination of first Google hit. There’s lots more to see at the FBI’s website, and half a million pages after that.
I didn’t say so before, but I’ll say it now. Overwhelming data confirm the existence of hate crime in the United States.
Respectfully,
Comment by Anomalocaris — 04.06.05 @ 5:26 pm
The SPLC is nothing but a communist front organization,,
Morris Dees was
arrested and removed from court in 1975 for attempting to suborn perjury [bribing a witness] in the Joan Little murder trial in North Carolina. Little, a black convict, was accused of killing a prison guard with an ice-pick . The felony charge against Dees was subsequently dropped, but the presiding judge, Hamilton Hobgood, refused to re-admit Dees to the case. The refusal was upheld on appeal after the Supreme Court of the United States refused to hear Dees appeal. [Ibid.]
“The great untold story of the JoAnn Little trial was the role of the Communist Party, through its National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, in controlling the entire political movement surrounding the case. Angela Davis, a leading figure in both organizations became the most frequently quoted movement figure and constant companion of JoAnn Little… Party members were visible and influential on the defense committee, and the party frequently set up rallies of support around the country.” [Columbia Journalism Review. Pirsky, M. March/April, 1976.]
This is only a fraction of the story of the ‘Real Morris Dees and the Southern Poverty Law Center along with this phony organization and the activist courts.
Morris Dees is no friend of the undertrodden, the poor or for that matter any minority except where it suits his purposes.
Comment by Mark — 04.06.05 @ 6:12 pm
Anomalocaris —
I already know what committing the crime of “armed robbery” is or committing “murder” is. Please explain to me what commiting “hate” is.
Comment by Scott — 04.06.05 @ 7:16 pm
Dear Scott,
Citizens, organizations, and government can fight crime in many ways. One way is to notice patterns and deal with crime based on such patterns, and not treat every crime as a completely unique case. By recognizing patterns, we can anticipate and even prevent crime.
Some patterns are in the type of crime committed. Other patterns are in the motivation of crime. For example, if we notice a string of attacks and threats against judges based on a resentment of judicial decisions, we can work to prevent such crimes. If we notice a pattern of attacks against an identifiable group, and if we notice that those attacks are connected with an organization that proclaims hate on its websites and propaganda, it is sensible to use that pattern recognition in an effort to fight crime. In fact, it would be insane to ignore the pattern. Again, one may reasonably agree or disagree that the fact of hate should be an additional factor in determining the severity of a criminal sentence. But to ignore the patterns of hate in fighting crime, when the FBI counts thousands of hate crimes a year, that would be absurd.
I hope this answers your question.
Respectfully,
Comment by Anomalocaris — 04.06.05 @ 7:36 pm
Mark’s analysis: Morris Dees defended a convict 30 years ago and was accused of suborning perjury, but the charges were dropped. Angela Davis, a companion of the convict, was associated with a communist organization. He concludes that therefore the organization Morris Dees works for is a communist front organization.
And yet, I’m the one who is accused of ranting; I’m the one accused of making lame rhetorical arguments instead of providing real evidence. Hmmmm.
Comment by Anomalocaris — 04.06.05 @ 7:48 pm
Actually you didn’t answer my question. Let me help you out. If “murder” is the taking of life and “armed robbery” is the taking of possessions while possessing a firearm then “hate” is…
Comment by Scott — 04.06.05 @ 8:02 pm
The FBI has to call it hate crime because legislation enacted by Pres. Clinton made it so. That does not make it an overwhelming endorsement of the existence of hate crime. It is contrived by special interest motivation that forced its way into our laws. No one would dare vote nay in the House or Senate on the hate crime legislation because of the all feared label of racist. Politics and bleeding hearts played way ahead of common sense.
All crime has some form of evil behind it. To assign extra significance because of the circumstance of the crime diminishes the same behaviors and crimes committed that do not qualify for “hate” status. If my wife was killed, since she is Latina, what determines that the act was a hate crime. Would the same act committed on me be any less hateful if it were because I was carrying $1000? It is just as evil for someone to kill because of race as it is to kill for money, or drugs. These types of special legislation are illogical and detract from the main issue of deterring crime and punishing those who violate the law.
Comment by Chris Roberts — 04.06.05 @ 8:29 pm
Scott: let me help you out: if you want to know about hate, don’t ask me. Go to the website of recognized hate organizations and see what they have to say, if you can stomach it. I won’t provide the URL, but Google “Aryan Nations” (with or without quotes) and then click on the first link. You’ll be on a hate website, one of many. There are plenty of other hate organizations. According to the FBI, there were over 8,000 hate crimes in the United States in 2003. Happy now?
Comment by Anomalocaris — 04.06.05 @ 8:37 pm
On the Border
Over the last several weeks you may or may not have been following the Minuteman Projects story about citizen volunteers preparing to patrol the Arizona-Mexico border. If you’ve been following the story only through the mainstream media (somehow…
Trackback by The Night Writer — 04.06.05 @ 9:01 pm
As I said anomalocaris, that is only a fraction, he is also an avowed communist..
More to follow
Mark
Comment by Mark — 04.06.05 @ 10:42 pm
Anomalocaris:
“If we notice a pattern of attacks against an identifiable group, and if we notice that those attacks are connected with an organization that proclaims hate on its websites and propaganda, it is sensible to use that pattern recognition in an effort to fight crime. In fact, it would be insane to ignore the pattern. Again, one may reasonably agree or disagree that the fact of hate should be an additional factor in determining the severity of a criminal sentence. But to ignore the patterns of hate in fighting crime, when the FBI counts thousands of hate crimes a year, that would be absurd.”
From the above, should I infer you accept the logic of profiling Muslim males as potential terrorists, and singling out those who conform to the terrorist “pattern” for special attention in aircraft boarding? I believe the ACLU and SPLC would take issue with that…might even consider it evidence of “hate” if not a hate crime itself.
HEKTOR
Comment by Hektor — 04.06.05 @ 10:50 pm
Anomalocaris, I think you’ve done a very good job of supporting your position, and at this point nothing is to be gained by people who are unwilling to accept that hate crimes exist. They want to play a game of semantics, or pretend it is a conspiracy to undermine white people, or a communist plot. . . . why then are we waging a war on terror? The whole premise is that there is a larger connection to global politics and ideologies that must be stopped because there is a connection. If murder was just murder we would have killed OBL and called it a day. The truth is fickle . . . .
Comment by Joshua — 04.06.05 @ 11:09 pm
Behind the scenes Minuteman update
Don’t miss this personal Minuteman update from from the field.
Trackback by Jeff Blogworthy.com — 04.07.05 @ 8:06 am
Hektor,
So you’re saying that, if we declare terrorism a hate crime and al-Qaida a hate group, *then* we can profile male Arabs between 17 and 35 years old?
Sounds like a plan!
Anomalocaris,
If the SPLC is a nonprofit organization, please explain to me where its millions (received in donations annually as well as settlements in law suits) are spent each year. The impression I get is that the vast amount of money is spent on printing costs and postage–so that they can send out donation requests to its patrons.
(seriously, point me to a webpage that shows the SPLC’s “good works” along with dollar amounts)
Comment by Lornkanaga — 04.07.05 @ 9:13 am
Hate Crimes, by definition is a criminal offense usually involving violence, intimidation or vandalism in which the intended victim is targetted because of his race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender or mental or physical disability.
Clearly the dragging death of James Byrd Jr. was a hate crime according to Liberals, but it was also murder.. The scum that perpetrated this ‘hate’ crime all got the Death Penalty. What could attaching a charge of HATE to the indictment have been worse than getting the death penalty ?(I know it sends a message that you liberals, CARE, but the guy is still dead)
Does a hate crime mean that the death of James Byrd was more heneous that the death of Polly Klass the 12 year old who was kidnapped , raped and then murdered, Was this a hate crime ? Is it not just as despicable as the James Byrd Murder.
Fact number one, James Byrd is still dead Murdered.
Fact number two, the low-life scum that Murdered James Byrd will soon be dead.( unless some bleeding heart liberal somehow get them out of jail)
How would a hate crime law have made a difference.
But going by the definition of Hate Crime, and it clearly says ‘mentally or physically disabled’ then their are a bunch of people guilty of a hate crime in Florida, especially in Pinnelas county. Where the murder of a person was ordered because she was Mentally impared she committed NO CRIME. If you want to push the Hate crime, start here.,
Why dont you liberals apply the law equally instead of making up ‘feel-good’ legislation and then pass it off as actually accomplishing something.
Again, Rush is Right, hate crime legislation is nothing more than, Symbolism over substance. As if to say that Liberals CARE more than the rest of us . Oh yeah, they have put a name on it.
To take it one step further, just the other day a school in Lousiana, a school board member is being charged with the most obscene charge, I mean the ACLU wants this guys head, he committed the most vile of offenses and should be jailed and fined according to the ACLU, HE had the audacity to, over the schools PA system to say a prayer before a high shool baseball game.
Again according to Hate Crime, he is being persecuted because of his religious belives. Shouldn’t the ACLU be charged with a hate crime ?
Comment by Mark — 04.07.05 @ 10:00 am
The purpose of hate crime legislation is to make guilt-ridden liberals feel good about themselves. Nothing is solved, but hey, look at us, we’re just such wonderful, caring people.
It’s much the same as renaming streets for Dr. King while utterly failing to fix the crumbling public school that fronts on that street; it sounds good and does nothing.
Feel-good legislation is worse than none, because it diverts attention from real problems.
Comment by RedBeard — 04.07.05 @ 10:58 am
Lornkanaga:
Good point…wish I’d been bright enough to see it myself! Many of the people who accept the concept of “hate crime” as an especially evil subset of crime appear to be the ones who object to profiling on civil libertarian grounds. Defining terrorists and terrorism accordingly would certainly hoist them on their own petard. I’d like to see such a move gain momentum, if only for the entertainment value afforded by watching the verbal and mental gymnastics they’d play trying to have it both ways (i.e., keep hate crime statutes, while trying to avoid defining terrorists as such). I imagine those enamored with the illusion that hate-motivated crimes are somehow more punishment-worthy than “vanilla” crimes would choke on this particular application of the rule.
Actually, I was attempting to show the logic trap you fall into when you define crime by a subjective sliding scale. Logically, hate crimes can be considered logically consistent only if the following applies:
1. Hate crimes carry heavier punishment– longer sentences, larger fines, etc. [I exclude the death penalty, since last I checked, you can’t make someone “deader”]
2. They’re defined as crimes against “groups” rather than crimes against individuals. If you try to dance around this by claiming a crime against an individual who is a member of a “protected” group is therefore a crime against the group, then everyone in the group can legitimately claim to be “victims” of the crime. In other words, every “hate” crime potentially becomes a class action suit. Madness, but the lawyers would love it.
I believe hate crime legislation is simply a scam some “legislators” and “leaders” have resorted to in election years so they can show action and activity, absent real progress in addressing issues. As long as they keep their constituents endlessly debating ethnically- and religiously-based imaginary “hate” crimes, keep passions engaged on things that contribute not one iota to real progress in intercultural harmony, then they can lead very comfortable (i.e., nonworking) lives.
Final point…the “subjective sliding scale.” WHO decides WHAT is a hate crime, and determines included groups? When does a group “graduate” and is no longer considered a hate target, and who makes that determination? Hate crime statutes eventually lead to everyone claiming to be part of a “hated” group, ultimately making every crime a hate crime. When every crime is a hate crime, it becomes a distinction without a difference…all you have is “crime.”
Joshua: If this is another semantics game, please accept my humble apologies. Just trying to be clear.
Cheers//HEKTOR
Comment by Hektor — 04.07.05 @ 10:59 am
This week I heard Alan Coombs? [sp?]on Hannity & Coombs [sp? again] fussing about how the Minutemen were setting off motion detectors and generating complaints from some Border Patrol Agents. Yet the number of illegal aliens entering where the Minutemen were went down drastically. In one training seminar for employees that I attended this would be the difference between an activity and an accomplishment. Listening for the motion detectors to go off is an activity. Preventing illegal aliens from entering is an accomplishment. No wonder the Border Patrol is ineffective if this is an example of how they view their job description.
Blogs like this are a wonderful alternative to MSM reports. I almost wouldn’t recognize that the same event was being described.
Comment by Evon Bachaus — 04.07.05 @ 12:54 pm
Evon:
Strange thing is, the MM apparently aren’t the ones setting off the alarms…it’s supposedly all the ACLU and media types who’re down there to “watch the watchers.” The MM are reportedly staying in designated positions and simply monitoring/reporting.
Of course, this begs a question. If this was one of the most widely penetrated sections of the border, how come the illegals weren’t setting off the alarms BEFORE the MM showed up? Is it possible nobody was bothering to check the alarms before the MM, media, and ACLU came?
HEKTOR
Comment by Hektor — 04.07.05 @ 2:06 pm
Hektor–excellent points, all!
Comment by Lornkanaga — 04.07.05 @ 2:10 pm
I HATE okra & eggplants! Does that make me an intolerant veggie bigot?
Gen 4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
Gen 4:5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
[SNIP]
Gen 4:8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. (Also see 1Jo 3:12 & Jud 1:11).
So did hate come into play? The motivation to kill was not hate, nevertheless hate sealed Abel’s fate. But then again, when one looks at any sin — which God labels as an act of vile rebellion and wickedness — it seems to me that “hate” is at work, whether a simple “white” lie or murder.
Looking at the original sin, Adam & Eve disobeyed God and His single simple commandment. Eventually, God wound up handing down 10 commandments, but leave it to Man to not leave well enough alone and begin parsing sin and expanding upon God’s laws until we end up with the ridiculous assertion that there is murder and then there’s “hate” murder.
After stripping the hysteria away from Matt Sheppard’s murder, the truth comes out that his murder, albeit gruesome, was simply a drug releated crime in which being homosexual was irrelevant.
I guess that’s what we’re left with when we take God and His laws out of the picture and have to classify “evil”.
————————
To J. Smallberries, congratulations on your work.
All the same, I’m left wondering as to what ever happened to the MS-13 punks that were swearing to come down/up/over from wherever and do whatever to break up your party.
I guess siestas and/or committing mayhem in the urban jungles, where the hacienda is just minutes away is preferable to actually roughing it out in the hot desert miles from anywhere.
As deftly as Bush has handled WOT and other issues, this is the one area that he has botched, even tho I’m for increased immigration and guest worker programs.
Comment by Andy — 04.08.05 @ 12:16 am
Vigilantes Strike at the Border
John “Smallberries,” a volunteer pilot with the Minutemen, is blogging at La Shawn Barber’s Corner. After reading his latest report I can only thank God the ACLU is down there protecting us all from these dangerous vigilantes:
Trackback by The Templar Pundit — 04.08.05 @ 2:52 am
Anomalocaris -
I do believe that many crimes are motivated by unreasoned hatred. But.
My objection to the term ‘hate crime’ is based on the difficulty, if not the impossibility, of reading what is in another person’s heart and mind.
Who reads the minds? You? Me? A jury?
Why does someone’s mental state make a crime worse?
What public good is served by making these distinctions?
If someone unprovoked cracks me with a baseball bat, they should go to jail.
If it is thought that they did it because of my color, beliefs, religion, sexual orientation, height, weight, or taste in shoes really doesn’t signify, to me.
Comment by Parker — 04.08.05 @ 9:34 am
Excellent job La Shawn, for getting the real story out! Somebody needs to disolve the vigilante myth that the president and the press are so obscessed with creating.
My local paper, the San Jose Mercury News, ran an Op-Ed piece yesterday condemning the “vigilante” volunteers. Their readers, self included, flooded them with letters refuting their use of the term “vigilante”.
Comment by Doug Purdie — 04.08.05 @ 2:02 pm
I love reading about the Minutemen! Please keep it up! I wish I could be there, and since I can’t this is what I would like to see!
John is doing a super job!
Comment by Leslie — 04.09.05 @ 10:10 pm
Minuteman Project Volunteer Writes A Detailed Report On His First 4 Days Along The Border
You have to read this report over at La Shawn Barber’s Corner from a Minutman Project volunteer. He covers his first 4 days with the group and what they have accomplished so far. Here’s a little blurb from it. Just…
Trackback by Diggers Realm — 04.11.05 @ 8:25 am
Entering US may require a Passport. In 2008.
Do you think everyone needs at least a Passport to enter the US? If so, this may come as a surprise to you: Day-tripping American tourists, business travelers and others who for years have traveled easily back and forth to Mexico…
Trackback by Carpe Bonum — 04.11.05 @ 1:02 pm