This is going to be a political post, unrelated to anything saxophone. I will get back to saxophone history in the new year. Since it’s my blog, I decided I needed to tell this story. On November 15th, the Border Patrol led by the Nazi Greg Bovino came to Charlotte. Why do I call him a Nazi? Well he dresses like one, and he likes to Sieg Heil in public. And his tactics of racial profiling and abusing the public are also similar to Nazi tactics. On June, Bovino took over control of the Border Patrol tactical command. Before Charlotte, he became notorious in Chicago and Los Angeles for horrendous violence and abuse towards citizens in those cities.
If you have seen the videos of tear gassing children and neighborhoods, abusing citizens, shootings, firing pepper bullets at a priest, this is the command that is doing most of the damage. Bovino got in trouble in court, the judge admonished him and the Border Patrol’s actions. The unwanted attention and the brutal winters storms in Chicago forced him and his unit packed up to invade North Carolina.
In Charlotte, the Border Patrol set out to terrorize minority neighborhoods and businesses. They ambushed a church. Men were running into the forest to hide from the Border Patrol. Charlotte shut down fast. Businesses closed, children stayed home from school. Not content in Charlotte, the Border Patrol came to Raleigh on November 18th. They spread out throughout the Triangle, hitting up Cary and Durham. I was on my way home from the grocery store when I saw them in my neighborhood. Here my video of that encounter.
In this video, the Border Patrol had a car surrounded. When I started taping, they let her go. I didn’t know the person, but I knew I had tape their actions because I have seen the videos of the violence in Chicago and Los Angeles. I demonstrated that I knew my rights. The Border Patrol cannot arrest someone for violating any traffic laws. They also can’t arrest someone for videotaping them. They also have limited jurisdiction outside of the Border Protection Zone. Durham is not in that zone. And they never called the cops. They attempted to intimidate me, but I have this handy little disorder called Demand Avoidance (if you tell me to do something, I won’t) which is way stronger than the Border Patrol.
This operation in Durham netted in three arrests. The community was prepared and the realtime notifications helped people get to safety. Even though the Border Patrol had limited success, the overall goal of terrorizing the community succeeded. After they left, there have been protests almost every day. The city canceled the tree lighting ceremony. The college I teach at has been on lockdown, only one entrance staffed by security is open. Everyone is on edge.
The anger from school kids is real. There were school walkouts throughout the state. We teach these kids how to be safe from school shooters, we force them into lockdowns, and now the bullies with guns are from the government.
The next day, Bovino went onto his favorite Fox show to whine about the problems the Border Patrol has encountered in North Carolina, and demoralization of the Border Patrol by the residents of the state. I want to believe I helped in that effort.
This talk is nothing more than DARVO. Bovino is claiming people in North Carolina are the abusers and they are just trying to catch violent criminals. Bullshit. They are the ones bringing violence to our communities. Here is a picture of the same men who harassed me, taking out their anger on a more vulnerable person.
On November 20th, the Border Patrol packed up and left Charlotte. They were going to stay here a while. They couldn’t even last a week. They just arrived in New Orleans, setting up a Christmas terror campaign. I hope the residents give them the welcome they got in North Carolina.
Back in September, the Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision allowed the Border Patrol or racially profile people. Brett Kavanaugh wrote the following paragraph explaining his decision:
“Reasonable suspicion means only that immigration officers may briefly stop the individual and inquire about immigration status. If the person is a U.S. citizen or otherwise lawfully in the United States, that individual will be free to go after the brief encounter.”
This decision directly violates the 4th amendment of the constitution, so now this kind of stop is called the Kavanaugh Stop. If you think, I’m an American citizen, I just need to show them my ID and I’ll be free to go, this isn’t how it works. The Border Patrol doesn’t care about documents, they determine whether you’re a citizen by using facial recognition software. If you face shows up as a citizen, then you’re free to go, demonstrated in the video below of an eighteen year old in Cary who was subject to a Kavanaugh stop.
If you think your community will be safe from these assholes, it won’t. The reason they left with their tale between their legs is because the community and organizations sprang into action. Siembra NC was documenting their movements and warning people ahead of time. Thousands of people showed up for training on how to observe the Border Patrol and follow them. It’s the community that kicked them out.
After the encounter, I reached out to local organizations and the news to tell my story. It took days to even realize I should contact my representatives in Washington. To have this violence from government officials meted out on the streets and no pushback from lawmakers is unacceptable. They can do so much, hearings, reports, audits, etc. but yet they do nothing.
Know your rights. Here is a handy guide that informs you what the Border Patrol can or cannot do.
And finally, for some background info on the Kristi Noem insults in the video: I grew up in South Dakota not far from Kristi Noem’s home. She knows Watertown well, and so do I. Her life is defined by rural America: living in the country, rodeos, hunting, Laura Ingalls Wilder pageants, and State Fairs. She is trying to force this rural aesthetic on everyone. But I also growing up in the country, I know my childhood is far removed from most kids of today. Rural America has been dying for a long time. It’s a small minority of people, and it’s a hard existence. The weather, the isolation, the lack of amenities would break most people.
In reality, most of America actually looks like my current home in Durham. A multicultural city with immigrants from all around the world moving here. It’s the diversity that gives this area its strength. And I wouldn’t want it any other way.
the Operatic Saxophone 