A Way Authoritarianism Spreads
Following the Dear Leader.
Via AL.com: Tuberville would send troops to fight ‘rampant crime’ in two of Alabama’s largest cities.
U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., says that he will deploy troops to two Alabama cities if he was elected governor as President Donald Trump has in Washington D.C.
During an appearance on “Longshore and McKnight” Friday, Tuberville was asked if he were governor would he deploy Alabama’s National Guard to fight “rampant crime” in Birmingham and Montgomery
Tuberville responded saying “you betcha.”
[…]
“President Trump’s given every governor that opportunity,” Tuberville said.
Emphasis mine. Bad action leads to further bad action. Authoritarian leadership begets more authoritarian action by followers.
Tuberville is almost certainly going to be the next governor, and I expect he will likely follow through with this threat.
Speaking as a resident of the greater Montgomery area, I do not welcome such a deployment.
As many have noted of late, troops are not trained in domestic law enforcement, and this is a waste of resources. Moreover, militarized streets are the things of dictatorships and/or countries experiencing substantial internal conflict. It was one thing to see the military in Colombia in the mid-1990s as I did when I lived there, but they were in the middle of a multi-front war against multiple guerrilla groups and drug trafficking organizations.
Yes, there is crime in Montgomery and Birmingham, two places I know quite well. Neither are facing problems that National Guard deployments will fix. Try a little investment in schools and social services. Or, if law enforcement is needed, try some community policing.
This obsession with uniformed military and their big guns will not end well.
The bad news is Tuberville may become governor of Alabama. The good news, for those of us not residing in Alabama, sorry Dr. Taylor, is that he’ll be leaving the Senate.
I’ll repeat an old comment. When Truman gave the Jews a homeland, he should have given them Alabama. Would have worked out better for everyone.
@gVOR10:
“When Truman gave the Jews a homeland, he should have given them Alabama.”
It didn’t work out too well when the Jews were given part of Alaska in Michael Chabon’s The Yiddish Policemen’s Union.
@Moosebreath:
Off topic: if things went well in fiction, people would not consider it entertaining.
@gVOR10: Be careful what you wish for. Tuberville will almost certainly be replaced by someone from the MAGA wing. And the odds are pretty good they’ll be smarter and more competent.