In Front of Our Noses: The Rhetoric of Invasion
A tidbit from Trump's Fort Bragg speech.
“To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.”-George Orwell.
For previous entries, click here.
In the spirit of this specific series of posts, it seemed worth making sure this didn’t get lost in the sea of news. Recognizing that this rhetoric is not new, it nonetheless remains noteworthy in its inflammatory nature and its clear desire to ramp up tensions and to justify extreme actions. It is even more extreme when delivered to a military audience.
Trump to troops chosen for their political preferences (see here) at a speech at Fort Bragg on June 10th.
Very simply, we will liberate Los Angeles and make it free, clean and safe again, it’s happening very quickly.
[…]
Generations of army heroes did not shed their blood on distant shores only to watch our country be destroyed by invasion and third world lawlessness here at home like is happening in California.
[…]
What you’re witnessing in California is a full-blown assault on peace, on public order and on national sovereignty carried out by rioters bearing foreign flags with the aim of continuing a foreign invasion of our country.
This is not an invasion. There are no foreign armies involved. I would remind everyone that this all started at least in part because ICE wanted to pick up day laborers at a Home Depot in Paramount, CA and locals started protesting (as is their constitutionl right, I would note). Think what you will about undocumented persons seeking to make a few bucks doing yard work or the like, but they do not represent an invasion in any reasonable sense of the word.
Keep in mind that people like Stephen Miller know that the word “invasion” has certain legal and rhetorical power, and they want to exploit both the law (such as the Alien Enemies Act) and fear to allow them to act as they please.
If Trump wants LA to be cleaner, it would be more productive to send the National Guard in to pick of litter and such than what is going on now.
And yes: throwing rocks and setting Waymos on fire is counter-productive. But reducing the protests to such action is also dishonest.
I also would prefer that protestors fly American flags instead of Mexican ones because symbols matter in these circumstances. But, again, reducing this all down to a handful of specific images, which cable news is really, really good at, is also dishonest.
But “invasion” sounds so much more threatening and immediate.
Turns out the Pentagon has plans for invading Panama and Greenland.
Since good war planning takes time, and accounts for various scenarios, capabilities and so on, I assume these predate the lush.
In itself, this is not a bad thing. If Greenland were invaded by Russia in the course of a wider war, or Panama by …. uh, Brazil? Honduras? Who knows, you’d want plans in place to take them back. Remember the Allies first invaded France.
But the drunk tv personality is obfuscating in a way that implies conquest plans for these places.
This is another version of the hand waiving “findings” this administration continues to rely on to trigger statutory authority no sane person would countenance and convince their side that this is a normal and beneficent use of presidential power.
It also relies on the fact that most Americans do not have the slightest idea what anyplace more than 6 blocks from their house looks like. So if some trusted entity says LA (as in all of LA) is a hell hole, they have no contrary perspective.
You know damn well he and his speech writer meant less brown and dusky. Just ask your Maga neighbors.
Yes. And if Republicans wanted the US to be cleaner and safer, they would stop blocking universal healthcare, high-speed rail, guaranteed housing, paid family leave, universal pre-K, debt forgiveness and free community college.
That’s the blueprint for a happy America with high quality of life, well-adjusted people, and healthy neighborhoods — not the ongoing Trump crime spree.
The Republican Party supports Epstein-bestie convicted felon Trump after he a) declined to call up the National Guard or Marines to stop his Jan 6 terror attack, and b) pardoned and released said terrorists on day one, when instead he promised to lower prices and end the Ukraine and Gaza wars on day one.
Conservatives cheer while Trump wallows in bribery and crypto corruption, defies 9-0 Supreme Court rulings, and disappears people into foreign torture camps without due process — like gay makeup artist and legal asylum seeker Andry Romero. So the right obviously opposes law and order.
Trump’s politicization of the military is just another example of his disgusting, anti-American fascism. If he cared about the people, MAGA wouldn’t be stripping 14 million Americans of healthcare with the Big Ugly Bill’s $4 trillion yearly deficits — while wasting a quarter billion dollars on domestic troop deployments and a USSR-style Dear Lear birthday parade.
The Fort Confederate Traitor military brass that allowed their charges to be politicized MAGA pawns may have broken the law.
Trump blamed Venezuela for the invasion in his executive order invoking the insurrection act. He has effectively declared war on Venezuela. We should hold his and the Republicans feet to the fire and make them vote on the declaration of war in Congress. A formal declaration of war would give him the powers he wants. Democrats will have to introduce the resolution as the Republicans no longer have the guts to walk their talk.