Alligator Alcatraz: A Concentration of Evil

 

Alligator Alcatraz is a concentration camp. To pretend anything otherwise is a willful reflection of callousness and uncaring. To feign ignorance is a high level of ostrich-like head-in-the-sandism, as it defies all reason and logic.

An article by an expert in concentration camps, Andrea Pitzer, their development and history - her words, from an article entitled Don't Call it "Alligator Alcatraz" Call it a Concentration Camp - 

This facility's purpose fits the classic model: mass civilian detention without real trials targeting vulnerable groups for political gain based on ethnicity, race, religion or political affiliation rather than for crimes committed. And its existence points to serious dangers ahead for the country.

The overcrowding in inhumane cages, without privacy, without any respect for people, stacking an estimated nine bunk beds and eighteen people per cage.

Air conditioning? Maybe. Different sources say different things. Running water and bathroom facilities seem limited at best. 

Alligator Alcatraz has already been subject to flooding.

The Miccosukee Tribe, which lives near the facility, is very concerned about its environmental impact, as are others. I know -they make it sound like it's completely isolated - I guess it only counts unless it's conservative white families living nearby.

Much is made of it being surrounded by alligators, pythons, and other predators. Maybe. The worst part of that is having to listen to MAGAs gleeful at the prospects of people at the camps trying to escape and being eaten by gators. To further enhance their cruelty and inhumanity, they are snapping up Alligator Alcatraz merchandise! They want to display and wear their cruelty for all to see. How has this country fallen so low? At least Germans, for all their monstrosity, didn't wear t-shirts celebrating the ovens at Auschwitz.

But the alligators are not the biggest threat. The heat, swarms of mosquitoes and other insects, and the potential for exposure to storms and flooding all make this a perilous environment for housing detainees.

And remember, the detainees, brought in without due process, will often NOT be the hardened criminals you think that they are. ICE, so far, has shown an infinite capacity to sweep up the wrong people, and then has a hard time letting them go. Trump has even talked about revoking citizenship and sending those he simply does not like to places like this.

And the cost is horrendous. 450 million dollars a year for a tent city? And where did the money come from? It's money reallocated from FEMA. You know, the agency that's supposed to help with things like the flooding in Texas? Instead of saving lives, the money is going to be used to destroy lives!

But have no fear. The ICE budget, in the most recent Big Ugly Bill, is receiving dramatic increases, over $100 billion, a larger budget than most other countries' military budgets, and bigger than the budget for the US Marine Corps. It includes $45 billion for the construction of new facilities. Alligator Alcatraz times 90.

"Oh, Tom!" reich wing friends tell me. "It's only a temporary holding! They'll only be there a few days until they're deported!" 1) Deported where? Who's agreed to take them? El Salvador? Some other country that is not their country of origin? So they'll just be transferred to other inhumane facilities? 2) I don't believe for a second that many of them will be there just for a few days. That's not usually the experience with concentration camps. 3) I don't care how long it is. I don't care what the crime or civil offense is. This is NOT the way to treat people. You're trying to turn them into animals that, in your mind, it is ok to treat inhumanely.

Is this Alligator Auschwitz? No, not yet. But the German concentration camps did not start out that way either. The gas ovens were not there at first. But listen carefully about how the MAGAs talk about this - the glee over the potential alligator meals, the delight in the cruelty of it all. The fairest thing to say is we're on that path, but we're not there yet.

Which is why we have to speak out. Many of the German people knew what was coming, but out of fear, acquiescence, or complacency, did not speak out.

We cannot be quiet. Many of us are taught by our faith to care about all people, and that everyone deserves to be treated as we would treat ourselves.

I don't know how much of this nightmare we can stop.

But let's not be silent about it.

Alligators in the Sewers

E.T. is a great movie, one of the most popular movies of the 80s.

One of the scenes that stands out to me is when the boys are excitedly talking about strange phenomena at the dinner table, and one of them brings up "Alligators in the sewers." Little Drew Barrymore, also at the table, hears this and says with sly skepticism, "Alligators in the sewers," like it's just stupy boys being stupy boys, like it's the crazy paranoid nonsense that it actually is.

And that's how I react when I hear someone say -

Transgenders in the bathrooms

What crazy, paranoid nonsense  What a stupid rabbit hole to go down.

The right is always trying to gin up nonsense to fire up their base. They're always picking boogeymen to chase to distract from the fact that their actual agenda (tax cuts for the rich, cutting social security, eliminating health care assistance, allowing deregulated corporations to run roughshod, and sacrificing public safety, just to name a few) is extremely unpopular.

Whether it's fluoride in the drinking water, anthem-kneeling sports figures, welfare moms, immigrant caravans, Teletubbies, or Taylor Swift, it's always something  Like a con man or magician shouting, "Don't look over there; Look over here!"

Our transgendered citizens are one of the easiest of our marginalized communities to pick on. It doesn't matter that they've always existed in every society, at every time. It's difficult for some to understand, but it is scientifically accurate that a person's brain (and soul*!) can be wired differently than their genitalia. 

It's easy to frighten those already on the right with images of men dressed as women invading public bathrooms for the sole purpose of ogling women of all ages.

Yeah.  Right. Someone who identifies as a woman, dresses as such, and THINKS as such is not doing it as an excuse to get into women's restrooms. Alk about your long con!

Is it impossible that a HETEROSEXUAL man would dress as a woman and get into the women's restroom? Maybe...but here's the critical thing to note - THEY"RE NOT TRANSEXUAL.

The primary driver of sexual and physical abuse is not the LGBTQ+ community. Transsexuals committing these abuses are rarer than people getting hit by lightning.

No, the primary driver of these abuses are authority figures in the children's lives who abuse their relationship - pastors, priests, youth pastors, teachers, coaches, and especially other family members, but the right doesn't seem to be worried about the real threat.

Of course, this fear has focused on public library bathrooms. All other bathrooms—in public places, in retail establishments, in restaurants—seem to get a pass.

So, please, can anyone explain to me -

Why are they focused exclusively on public library bathrooms? Even when libraries have single-stall, locking restrooms, it doesn't seem to matter. What is special about the library that they are being held out for special persecution?

Please.

Make it make sense to me.

I don't understand.

*yeah, I don't think a soul is a scientific term, but I nevertheless think it exists.

Standing on the Outside

I'd like to officially announce that my bid to be on the local library board was a bust. They chose instead a teacher, so I'm hoping that is a good sign for the local library. Not all teachers are enthusiastic about the library. Most believe that banning books and excluding serving all patrons is wrong, but it's not universal. 

 The Pierce County School Board has withheld its share of public library funding. Hopefully, that is temporary, but I fear that it is not. Meanwhile, the public library has had to reduce hours and staffing to stay within its reduced budget. 

It breaks my heart. Some dedicated workers need to see promotions and pay raises, not reductions.

There is absolutely nothing specific that the library has done. For better or worse, they've never had displays welcoming the LGBTQ+ community, nor is there anything offensive in their book collection. The people who oppose the library use the LGBTQ+, particularly the transgender community, as smoke screens for their real desires - to eliminate public spaces and to take control of them as mouthpieces for Christian Nationalism.

The LGBTQ+ community is not trying to indoctrinate anyone, but they sure as heck are.

Rest assured, I will not stop advocating for the public library. I will continue to support them every day I can. I will continue to use the library, participate in activities, including book clubs, their Eating Well program, Friens of the Library, reading at Storytime, donating books, volunteering for events, helping donate prizes. I will speak out whenever I can. I will continue to welcome everyone, even those intent on destroying the library.

Libraries are for Everyone.

I don't want that to just be a slogan.

I want it to be the accepted reality.

Join me in supporting the library. Become a user and enjoy the many benefits of participation. Speak out about your love for the library. Join me in opposing those who would destroy it.

A Party in the Grips of Madness

 

In the realm of policymaking, I have virtually nothing in common with Congressperson Liz Cheney. She votes on the opposite side of almost any bill that I support. And her father was primarily responsible for the disastrous foreign policy decisions of the 2000s, including being the chief architect of manipulating us into a war with Iraq,

Ideally, I would love to see her defeated by a bold progressive daring to run in deep red Wyoming. I also like unicorns and trips to Mars.

There is one thing that Liz Cheney and I have in common. We both advocate for a democratic republic and oppose authoritarian fascism.  

Last night, she lost her primary to a Trump sycophant by a depressingly large margin. 

At one time, she was the third-ranking Republican in house leadership. She voted with Trump 93% of the time. An A rating from the NRA, anti-choice, against all but military spending - she was the poster child for hardline conservatism.

But that wasn't enough. She dared to recognize how corrupt and unlawful Trump is; she spoke out for the truth - opposing the big lie that the election was stolen.

For that truth, she lost her Congressional career. She put everything on the line because the truth was more important to her than being a subservient toadstool like most of the House and Senate Republicans.

She lost even though the latest news makes it pretty clear that Trump stole documents from the American people, including highly classified documents whose possession puts him in violation of the Espionage Act.

It's easy to blame Trump for this descent into madness. But he just coalesced forces that were already in play. There has long been an authoritarian streak in a significant chunk of the American people, particularly among the Christian right. Christofascism is not the only element in the Trump coalition but is clearly the driver.

The Republican party is no longer the party of thinking conservatives. It not only has abandoned being the party of Lincoln (truthfully, that ship sailed a LONG time ago), deserted the party of Eisenhower, it is also not recognizable as the party of Reagan. 

It goes even beyond the Cult of Trump. Yes, they wear blinders when it comes to Trump, swallowing whatever is the current stream of lies spewing from his mouth. But Trump is just the frontman.

I honestly believe that Trump will eventually fade, whether jailed or not. But it will not be Liz Cheney, Mitt Romney, or any other reasonable Republican who will take his place. Instead, it will be another authoritarian fascist, likely Governor Ron DeSantis from Florida. And DeSantis will be more inclined to wear his Christofascism on his sleeve.

We know the Republican Party is in the grips of an anti-democratic madness. So the only question is - how well will it prevail in the November election against more mainstream opponents?

And with increasing voter restrictions in many states, including some where state legislatures may OVERRULE the popular vote, I don't know what the outcome will be.

We can only pray that democracy* prevails.

*Yes, I know we have a democratic republic and not a pure democracy. But it's a hell of a lot closer than our mad descent into authoritarian fascism.