I am fully aware the President signed an executive order that will keep migrant families together when detained. But, the truth is there should've never been a need for the order in the first place. The President and his supporters are acting as if he should be applauded as some hero. No, he is no hero for fixing a problem he unnecessarily created. C'mon! Be serious.
Actually, he should be rebuked for not only implementing the policy but for the groundwork he laid as justification for the heinous policy. It's groundwork that has been laid before for justification of heinous despicable policies. That groundwork is dehumanization of groups of people the "majority doesn't like and/or want in America.
Roll your eyes. Get triggered. Cue your fake ass pearl clutching. I'm about to keep shit real...really real! It's been common practice in this country, as well as others, for the majority to oppress and suppress other groups of people-people they see as inferior or "others". It's true. It's true. It's damn true.
In order to justify the oppression or suppression or simple bigotry disenfranchising and dehumanizing is performed. It is seen as a means of easing one's conscience or assuaging guilt.
Let's start with America's original sin-the raping and pillaging of Native Americans and their land. The Natives were initially befriended before they were bamboozled, defrauded and robbed. The "justification" for this was the process of dehumanizing the people. They were labeled animals, savages, uncouth, un-godly and thus inferior. Now, I'm certain some jackass is saying right now, "Well, they scalped people." Yes, yes, they did. And, Europeans raped innocent women and burned people alive. So, on the civility scale let's call the competition of who was truly uncivilized a "push". The Natives were treated inhumanely because they were dehumanized.
Let's revisit the United States of America's other original sin, slavery. The treatment of Black people was brutal and reprehensible. Black people were literally seen as property. They were enslaved. Babies were ripped from their mothers' arms at birth literally. Families were routinely and callously separated. And, this was all justified by the distortion of the Bible and dehumanization. Blacks were called "animals", "mongrels", "vermin", and "savages". They were considered less than people, so enslaving them, raping them, unmercifully beating them and demoralizing them was perfectly ok. Many even said it was "Godly". Shit, in the original Constitution Blacks were described as "3/5 of a human being". Don't get mad. Just stating facts. #FactsMatter
Next, let's revisit treatment of Native Americans. In the 1830s the current president's favorite president (aside from himself, of course) Andrew Jackson spearheaded a campaign designed to eradicate...errrr...I mean relocate Native Americans. He basically placed them on reservations. Again, some families were separated. Also, again they were labeled "animals" and "dangerous". Like Blacks they were told this inhumane treatment was for "their own good". It was all justified by dehumanizing them; thus easing the conscience of those who might have been uncomfortable with any of the actions.
Oh, but this behavior didn't stop there. It continued later on into the 1800s with the Irish and the Chinese. Then, in the 1940s it was the Japanese's turn. As they were placed in internment camps, they were told it was for their own good. The public was told they were being treated humanly. Reality was they were being treated like animals. Children were being separated from their parents. Again, the campaign of dehumanization was utilized. The Japanese internment camp victims were labeled "dangerous", "potential spies", "animals", ect.
And, now, here we are in 2018 with Mexicans, Guatemalans, Hondurans and other Hispanics having their families separated. They're being labeled "animals", "subhumans", "criminals" and "uncivilized". This is all done under the guise of national security and protecting the country from gangs. Make no mistake the gangs, drugs, sex trafficking and MS-13 are legit threats and concerns. But, the labeling of all these migrants these things is wrong and factually incorrect. Many of these migrants are fleeing their countries because of these things. Turning away two year olds on the basis of saying they're MS-13 is asinine. But, this is all justified by dehumanizing these people. A certain segment of this country has a distinct bias against people from south of the border and are inclined to believe anything negative and brush all of them with a broad stroke. While most of the country was mortified by the separating of migrant children from their parents a substantial swath cheered it on. They were perfectly fine with it. Why? Because they see these people as less than human so their conscience is eased. Their moral compass is "ok". "These are animals and it's ok to treat them as such."
Some people keep saying, "This isn't who we are." Others have responded, "Actually, yes, it is." I say it is certainly who we have been. But, isn't it past time we be better. And, I know the President signed an order stating families be kept together. And, while there are certainly some gray areas and question marks about the order, I'm glad he altered the course set by the DOJ and DHS' policy. However, none of them deserve kudos because the policy should've never been enacted in the first place and then subsequently lied about. The fact the President, Attorney General Sessions and Secretary Nielsen thought this was acceptable is distressing and concerning.
We are supposed to learn from history so we don't repeat it. However, America keeps repeating history. We really need to do some serious introspection why we continuously dehumanize certain groups of people and why we're always distorting God's Word to do it. This is a problem of our soul. It's a problem that's persisted for well over 400 years.
Isn't it time we be better?
