COMMENTARY

“THE WORST OF THE WORST” ALWAYS MEANS EVERYBODY

The straight line from America’s registry system to ICE detention centers

Is it just me?  Does anybody else see the direct connection between our experience as people on America’s offender registries, and our nation’s latest boogeymen, immigrants?  Let me get this straight:  The vast majority of those being swept up off our streets and warehoused in the most disgusting concentration camps America has ever seen have committed no crime, not even a speeding ticket.  Many are arrested when they show up for appointments meant to straighten out their immigration paperwork.  Many more have been arrested even though they have Green Cards or other established protected status.  Some aren’t even immigrants.

Gee whiz, gang, I sure hope all this sounds familiar, because it’s exactly the kind of viscous campaign the police have been carrying out against us for decades.

We shake our heads and say, How can this even happen in America?

To answer this question we need to talk about “The Worst of the Worst,” because that’s where it always starts.  It’s where it started for us, and it’s where it started with immigrants.  “We’re only doing what Americans rightly demand – we’re going after the Worst of the Worst.”  Americans all nod their heads and say “Oh yes, that’s what we want!”  And then the police, or ICE agents or whoever, use that mandate to go arrest everybody.

We shake our heads again and say, How can this even happen in America?  Here’s how:

The original premise sounds good – among society there is a group that most consider to be “Bad People.”  Us.  Immigrants.  Gays.  Non-Christians.  Good citizens are concerned and afraid.  Demagogs step in and say, “Your concerns and fears are justified.  We will respond to your fears by going after the Worst of the Worst of these Bad People.”

But of course that’s not enough, because now you have created three groups – the Bad People, the Worst People, and the Worst of the Worst People.  Once you do that, Americans will rightly ask, “Hey wait!  Why are you only going after the Worst of the Worst?  We also fear the Worst People, and even the Bad People.  You have to go after them too!”  Mission creep.

Then there’s the failure to define who the Bad People really are, which means you can’t possibly know who the Worst are, or the Worst of the Worst.  That’s how you get CP cases as Tier 3 in California’s so-called “tiered registry” (and several other states). 

Are so-called “violent” SO’s the Worst of the Worst, where so-called “hands on” SO’s are the Worst and all other SO’s the Bad People …? Or are ALL SO’s the Worst of the Worst, where other offenders are the Worst, and Democrats are the Bad People …? (Remember,  Q Anon says the Democratic Party is a nest of pedophiles, AND that they love illegal immigrants).

More mission creep.  Pretty soon the police are engaged in registry sweeps to scoop up otherwise law abiding PFR’s, ICE is sending otherwise law abiding immigrants to concentration camps, and Donald Trump is continuing his campaign of retribution against his enemies list.  Welcome to America.

But there is one more issue to address – the difference between America’s reaction to ICE detention sweeps against law abiding immigrants vs. police registry sweeps against otherwise law abiding registrants.  It seems that many Americans are, after all, able to differentiate and say about law abiding immigrants, “Wait a minute – not only aren’t these folks the ‘Worst of the Worst,’ they’re not even the Bad People!” 

Sadly, nearly all Americans seem unable to reach a similar conclusion about otherwise law abiding registrants.  That’s because nearly all Americans have been conditioned from an early age to believe that every PFR is a determined reoffender hiding behind the nearest bush waiting to strike. 

What, if anything, can we do to force Americans to see us differently?  I’m not sure, but simply appealing to statistical studies and reason isn’t going to work.  We see this in the battle against inhuman treatment of immigrants – every study shows that immigrants are in fact more law abiding and pay higher taxes than other Americans, yet none of that means anything to xenophobes.

What, if anything, can we do to force Americans to see us differently?  I’m not sure.