…and on that topic, this just popped up on my feed:
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See here:
No, it doesn’t make sense. Yes, it is morally indefensible.
Nevertheless, that is what you’re up against.
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Of course. But when the response to pointing out how this administration is worse and getting worse still is to show how bad the last one was, that sends a certain message. I, and I suspect most regulars here, agree with the position that American Imperialism (and Imperialism in general) is bad, but the context of the discussion has bearing to the individual messages. People aren’t saying the Obama administration, or any of its predecessors, were good governments. We’re saying it’s getting worse. And you can say Trump is a symptom, and in a sense I agree, but he’s a symptom of more than just imperialism-as-usual, and that’s the distinction that seems to get dismissed.
I think apathy played a part. A lot of Establishment Democratic voters assumed Clinton had it in the bag. That’s not in any way incompatible with the corruption and incompetence of the party elite.
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It’s worse. What he actually said is that he thinks tormenting parents by taking their children might dissuade them from attempting to immigrate and that he has found a legal basis to do that. Don’t let him walk it back. The suffering isn’t a regrettable side effect of the policy, it is an intentional result.
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Interesting audio interview on NPR’s Morning Edition re differences between President Obama and Trump’s respective immigration/separation policies.
https://www.npr.org/2018/06/20/621726918/obama-official-on-family-separations
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I think one of the take aways from this - and one may agree or disagree:
Be careful what power you give your government. Even something passed with the best intentions can be used against you in the future.
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This more or less just in. (I wonder what the GOP promised Trump in return):
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Good post here from Michelle Martin, a Cal State professor, of various myths vs. facts about Trump’s immigration policies (with a followup here) which covers the point about previous administrations detaining families but not separating children from parents:
Myth: This is not a new policy and was practiced under Obama and Clinton - FALSE. The policy to separate parents and children is new and was instituted on 4/6/2018. It was the “brainchild” of John Kelly and Stephen Miller to serve as a deterrent for undocumented immigration, and some allege to be used as a bargaining chip. The policy was approved by Trump, and adopted by Sessions. Prior administrations detained migrant families, but didn’t have a practice of forcibly separating parents from their children unless the adults were deemed unfit.
https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1049751/download?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
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Yup.
However, see here for a complication:
https://rewire.news/article/2018/05/08/jeff-sessions-separated-immigrant-families-obama/
It’s worse now, and the child separation policy is a major part of that, but it really is bastards all the way back.
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Even if that’s true. it’s totally beside the point. It shouldn’t prevent us from rising up and fixing the problem today.
Can you point at anything I’ve posted anywhere that suggests that I think that people should not rise up?
My point is that you need to have a real understanding of what the problem is if you want to have any chance of fixing it. And the problem is a lot bigger and older than just Trump.
https://twitter.com/blacksapphic/status/1009613482726182913?s=21
https://twitter.com/eoinhiggins_/status/1009233357975293952?s=21
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Ok, good luck with that. Seriously. But frankly, what Obama did or didn’t do is not that important to me. I’ve got lots of things to worry about.
Here’s what the dRumph’s really think.
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Another pre-Trump failing.
“Whenever they used to restrain me and put me in the chair, they would handcuff me,” said a Honduran immigrant who was sent to the facility when he was 15 years old. “Strapped me down all the way, from your feet all the way to your chest, you couldn’t really move. … They have total control over you. They also put a bag over your head. It has little holes; you can see through it. But you feel suffocated with the bag on.”
Gitmo Jr.
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