Another excuse to further militarize the border
CHICAGO–On July 18 a dozen Tea Party members held a protest in front of the Mexican Consulate against the U.S. giving refuge to the tens of thousands of unaccompanied children from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico. This rally was one of many the Tea Party and minuteman-like organizations organized for the weekend of July 18 and 19. Most of these rallies were ill-attended with a dozen or so protestors, compared to rallies and protests held to welcome the refugee children and demand the wellbeing of these minors.
“One out of five American children goes hungry,” read a sign by one of the Tea Party protestors. This struck me as odd–Why are refugee children and the undocumented immigrants to blame for American children going hungry? How can the barrage of lies by corporate media obscure the fact that both the U.S. worker and undocumented immigrant have the same common striving in life: A society where all children are protected, have plenty of food and live healthy lives, spiritually and physically?
The 1%, the mega billionaires and their corporate-media are helping to foment and cultivate a culture of fascism in the U.S. Fascism is the unity of the corporations and the government. The ruling class needs this fascist culture politically and to support its interests in the economy. The government is step-by-step restructuring itself to serve the corporations.
Who is the 1%? They’re members of the same class of capitalists that is taking advantage of the immigrant issue, not only to instill panic. But in this way to pave the way for support to beef up its fascist infrastructure.
The militarization of the border is part of this infrastructure. Today in the U.S./Mexico border there’s a growing “standing army.” This “standing army” is made up of sophisticated cameras capable of operating at night as well as in the daylight, motion sensors, radar systems, and drones feeding information into operational control rooms. The border today is miles and miles of walls and barriers, physical and digital.
Customs and Border Protection (CPB) has more than 60,000 employees and is the largest federal law enforcement agency in the country.
The 1%, a web of power between the government and the corporations, is exemplified by the marriage of interests between the Boeing Corporation and the government.
Boeing is among the largest global aircraft manufacturers and the second-largest aerospace and defense contractor in the world. In 2013, Boeing recorded $86.623 billion in sales and was ranked 30th on the Fortune 500 list of the top 500 U.S. corporations according to revenue received. (Wikipedia)
By scapegoating undocumented immigrants and now their children the capitalists can justify their call for more money to militarize the border. President Obama is asking Congress for $3.7 billion. Of this sum almost $40 million would be destined for more drone surveillance and nearly 30 percent of it for transportation and detention.
Not to take a back seat, Republican Texas Governor, Rick Perry is calling for 1,000 National Guard soldiers (at a cost of $12 million a month) to be dispatched to the border.
But workers should have no doubt that this “standing army” will serve the 1% well in times of social unrest against all U.S. workers.
