Sunday, May 15, 2005

Effects of Minuteman Project being felt across the country

The Deseret News (Utah) brings us a report that three MP volunteers have returned home to Utah to start a Minuteman Project there (in a state without international borders). Says the report: "They're creating the Utah Minuteman Project in an effort to bring visibility to the illegal immigration issue by targeting businesses and working for policy change." Their website is http://www.utahminuteman.com/.

Meanwhile, in some other reports, people are still apparently lacking in their knowledge of basic English. (But, considering the topic, that shouldn't be surprising).

Please allow me to clarify.

Look up the word "vigilante" in any dictionary. You will see something like this: "One who takes or advocates the taking of law enforcement into one's own hands."

Please tell me how many members of the Minuteman Project during their stakeout in Arizona during the month of April have taken the law into their own hands (which would mean capturing, judging, and carrying out sentence). Then please tell me how many observed illegal activity and reported it to the proper authorities. Now do you see the difference? No, probably not.

Illegal aliens do have some rights (I refuse to refer to them as "immigrants"). They do not have the right to enter or remain in this country illegally. Because it's illegal, see? No, probably not.

Perhaps they're using "vigilante" in its original sense. Originating from the Latin vigilare, meaning "to be watchful." In that sense, they were being vigilant. They watched. They reported what they saw. But I doubt if these folks would actually look up the real meanings of words that they use. After all, they are professional journalists and historians, and I'm only some ignorant schmuck with an inconsequential personal blog.

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