Mike Davis reports that the vigilantes are back. The so-called “Minutemen” project headquartered at the Miracle Valley Bible College, is part of an anti-Latino backlash that has the backing of California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is following in the footsteps of former governor Pete Wilson and the anti-immigrant Proposition 187.
The Minutemen are “the latest incarnation of the anti-immigrant patrols that have plagued the borderlands for more than a decade. Vowing to defend national sovereignty against the Brown Peril, a series of shadowy paramilitary groups, ordinarily led by racist ranchers and self-declared “Aryan warriors” — and egged on by rightwing radio jocks — have harassed, illegally detained, beaten, and possibly murdered immigrants crossing through the desert cauldrons of Arizona and California.”
Unfortunately, Woody Guthrie’s song “Vigilante Man” still has relevance today.
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