In case anyone is still unclear as to whether or not it could happen here: it is happening here as we speak.
Like, notice what’s going on here. That random audience member wasn’t exactly unprompted. Look at what Trump is saying: “[…]we don’t let them and we can’t let them use weapons. We can’t. Other countries do. We can’t, I would never do that.” The implication here is clear - we’re the outlier because we aren’t randomly shooting people approaching the border, and while Trump would never recommend you break the law, isn’t it such a shame that our poor border patrol guards can’t defend themselves?
If he wasn’t explicitly looking for the “shoot them” response, he sure wasn’t surprised by it, or willing to push back on someone calling for the border patrol to murder people.
The most charitable interpretation of this is that Trump has failed to push back on the kind of statement that just is not funny any more given the radicalization and rise of far-right terrorism coming from his supporters. And that’s stretching credibility somewhat, given how he prompted exactly this response.
It’s yet another exceedingly fucked-up moment in this presidency that should make a difference.
Violent language and violent policies precipitate actual violence. Look at what’s happening now along the border: the administration has for the past year implemented a highly cruel and barbaric policy, which is directed not only at illegal entrants but legal asylum seekers. The administration makes no distinction between the two and instead labels them all as “invaders”. People have died as a result of these policies.
If that wasn’t enough, the administration is deliberately taking a very real humanitarian crisis and attempting to manufacture a political crisis along the US-Mexico border. We’re already aware that there had been discussions about releasing migrants in sanctuary cities, but what’s happening in Arizona is a prime example of what Trump’s anti-immigration radicals want to do. Assuming the reporting is accurate, there’s reportedly a simultaneously a surge in migrants in Yuma, AZ shelters while much larger Phoenix has seen a drop in the number of migrants in the shelters there.
There’s also this story about an activist whose “crime” was protecting migrants who make a perilous border crossing – jailing someone for giving them temporary shelter and the essentials needed to survive, like water.
If all this is true, then it makes sense that Trump would laugh at a joke to shoot migrants. I don’t think we’re that far away from actual violence, particularly considering how the policies have already cruelly separated children from parents and resulted in migrant deaths while in detention.
““Put Them All In A Gas Chamber,” A Militia Member Allegedly Said While Stopping Migrants At The Border
“Why are we just apprehending them and not lining them up and shooting them?” the militia member allegedly said.”
This is the same vigilante group, UCP, whose leader was arrested not too long ago:
It’s not that things are getting bad. It’s that they’re already incredibly bad and are getting worse.
I applaud the two black girls who were clearly uncomfortable with the racist fools around them and made no attempt to hide their disgust. I’m surprised they weren’t frog marched into a detention area by Secret Service and grilled about why they were so mean to Dear Leader.
The problem really isn’t Donald. It’s that there are so many who see him as giving them permission to act out on their racist tendencies. They may know that he doesn’t give a flying fuck about their health care or their jobs, they adore him because he hates the same people that they do. I certainly hope the better people get off their asses and vote this monster out next year.