Citizen patrols try to shed vigilante image

Dallas Morning News ^ | Thursday, November 3, 2005 | KAREN BROOKS

[TLI]

Citizen patrols try to shed vigilante image

•Hundreds of volunteers from across the country wrapped up a monthlong patrol along the U.S.-Mexico border this week, hoping to show that adding agents there would solve the problem of illegal immigration. In the last six months, about 40 citizen border watch groups have sprung up in more than a dozen states, watchdog groups say. The Texas Minutemen, based in the Dallas-Arlington area, was among those formed after an April vigil on the Arizona border drew international attention.

•Border states have requested federal funds to fight illegal immigration. A bill on Capitol Hill to deputize citizen patrols and give them millions in federal funds has 46 co-authors. At least two Minutemen are running for Congress.

[SwinneySwitch]

75% say the government isn't doing enough to prevent illegal immigration (15% say it is, while 4% say its doing too much).

SOURCE: CBS News poll of 808 adults, conducted Oct. 3-5, with an error margin of plus or minus 4 percentage points

[6% don't know what country they're in]

[ozoneliar]

Shedding an image implies that they(the groups) made the image themselves. Rather the "vigilante" label was mistakenly applied by the media itself.

[DumpsterDiver]

Shedding an image implies that they(the groups) made the image themselves. Rather the "vigilante" label was mistakenly applied by the media itself.

No kidding and Karen Brooks of the Dallas Morning News just did her part with a headline (Citizen patrols try to shed vigilante image) that perpetuates (again!) that the Minutemen truly are "vigilantes".

[DumpsterDiver]

ping

[gubamyster]

ping

[RonF]

How many people know what a vigilante is and how these patrols do or do not fit that definition?

How is it that the chief law enforcement officer of our country does not know what a vigilante is?

[Rightwing Conspiratr1]

Citizen patrols try to shed vigilante image

Bush's Fault!
He called then vigilantes.

[RonF]

Why don't the Governors of Texas, Arizona, etc. call out the National Guard of their state and put them on the borders? When a Governor calls out his state's militia, they can function as law enforcement officers; it's only when they are federalized that they cannot act as such.

President Bush would have to federalize the State Guards in order to stop this, and then what? It would lose him votes big time in his base, and look at what happened with the Miers nomination when he lost touch with his base. He won't be eager to do that again. Plus, if he federalzies them, he has to pay them. And then what? Send them home? If he takes them off the payroll, the Governors can just call them out again.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

Minute men are not vigilantes but when the law does not do it job of stopping CRIMINAL INVADERS than the time for real
vigilantes is about due.

[blackie]

Protect our borders and coastlines from all foreign invaders!

Support our Minutemen Patriots!

Be Ever Vigilant ~ Bump!

[Ron H.]

Citizen patrols try to shed vigilante image

Even if this were a true statement it would only be true in the bloodshot eyes of the anti-American OBL terrorists in America.

[judgeandjury]

Karen Brooks is a vigilante who writes for the Dallas Morning News.

[calrighty]

"[6% don't know what country they're in]"

R O T F L O L

[AZ_Cowboy]

If people really knew their history, we wouldn't even be having this debate. However, since the ordinary folks (and certainly the MSM) do not know or understand the history of this country, we're stuck with cartoonlike caricatures of what vigilantes are and what their purpose was.

I don't think you'll ever see a PR stunt to try and avoid the "vigilante" label be successful. The reason is that, just like the racism charges, the claim was baseless to begin with. It's your typical Goebbels-esuqe repeat after me hat trick. You will never persuade people like that, and the press gets their marching orders from the so-called Hispanic groups, who are so predictable it's sad. If you've heard one, you've heard all of those people.

I wish the Minutemen the best of luck in this project, but I wouldn't bet the farm (well, ranch) that it's overly effective.

[EternalVigilance]

If the Minutemen were truly 'vigilantes' there would be blood all over the deserts of the Southwest.

[gondramB]

And yet look at this headline to an AP story today...very sad


"Vigilante Anti-Immigration Group Gaining
By ARTHUR H. ROTSTEIN
Associated Press Writer

December 19, 2005, 1:51 PM EST

TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Minuteman Project was launched earlier this year amid fears that racist crackpots would rough up illegal immigrants trying to slip into this country. "

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-minuteman-phenomenon,0,4729464.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines