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Minutemen: Appropriate Civic Action or Dangerous Vigilante Justice
They have been lauded as heroes and decried as bigoted extremists. In either case these Minutemen have taken to the Arizona border and are looking to simultaneously stop illegal immigration and shame Washington into taking action. Despite the fact that many in the Republican camp have hailed the movement, the president has called the group ”vigilantes.” Additionally there is some talk that this has brought to light a deep division in the Republican party between the pro-business wing that views illegal aliens as cheap labor and the socially conservative branch that sees unfettered immigration as a threat to national security.
With the organization looking to expand its operation to New Mexico, the question remains: are these volunteers mere vigilantes or concerned citizens exercising a new form of civil disobedience?
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A Functional Protest by markmcb
I’ve never been a fan of protesters. Protesters tend to stand in crowded cities, carry signs, and lay in front of cars. They make their message known, but they don’t tend to do anything. They remind me of my friend’s fat dad who sits in the house all day drinking beer and yelling at athletes on the TV for being no good losers. His voice is heard, but in the end, he’s not changing anything and by default is the loser.
But the Minutemen are redefining how I view protesters. These guys have done all of the usual protester stuff, but have added one key element: they’re showing everyone that there is a solution. They are doing something. Regardless of whether you support the cause or not, you’ve got to give credit to their method. It is working.
I don’t think they’re vigilanties as they’re not enforcing the law. They’ve made it very clear that they’re merely spotters who look for illegal activity and then notify the proper officials. It’s not any different from witnessing a crime and calling the police. In fact, that’s all they’re doing.
I think the Bush administration ought to be mindful of looking like hypocrits. After all, taking international law into it’s own hands in order to keep potential terrorists out of America has been the defining feature of this administration. Who are they to point the finger at a group that merely assists the law in doing exactly that? You would think that they’d be the first to applaud them. Clearly, the political machine is interfering with simple reason.
I wish more protests were done in this fashion. If you disagree with the government, that’s fine. But don’t leave it at that and expect anyone to care. Show everyone a solution. When you do that, it’s much harder for people to ignore you.