Minutemen bringing collision of fascists to California

Violence Erupts at O.C. Protest

Three people were injured and at least eight arrested Wednesday in Garden Grove after a motorist drove into a crowd of 300 demonstrators protesting a speech by the founder of the Minuteman Project, authorities said.

When I first heard this story on the local news, it was reported as if a deranged white supremacist used his van as a weapon against anti-Minutemen demonstrators.  The Minuteman Project is traversing a very fine line with potentially violent bigots and a desire to stay within the law.  Have no illusions that the potentially violent bigots attached to this movement aren't patiently awaiting opportunities to exercise the legal right of self-defense.  They are.  I expect the anti anti-illegal immigration movement (protesters) in California will soon provide some Minutemen with the opportunity to defend themselves.  It may be much hotter in Southern California this summer than I care to consider.  But, this first outbreak was initially reported incorrectly.  The OC Register continued:

The motorist had attended Gilchrist's speech and was leaving when protesters began hitting his van with placards and other objects, said Garden Grove Police Lt. David Kivler. The driver, who was not identified but spoke to a KCAL-TV Channel 9 reporter, said he gunned his car engine to get away from the crowd. The man was arrested...

He said protesters began throwing filled soda cans at the assembled Garden Grove, Anaheim and CHP officers. At least eight people were arrested on suspicion of felony assault, while others were booked for disturbing the peace.

A witness, Eric Garcia, 22, of Anaheim said the evening turned ugly about 9 p.m. after the talk.

He said some protesters were in a driveway when someone in a car tried to leave and made contact with the group. "Then all hell broke loose," Garcia said. "People started throwing things, like rocks and bricks and stuff."

Within minutes, he said, there were about 30 police cars, and dozens of officers on horseback or wearing SWAT gear.

(emph. added)

Kivler's story, confirmed by witnesses, is that the car was attacked by "anti anti" demonstrators.  They were hitting the van; one protester tore off a windshield wiper; the driver panicked and accelerated, quickly stopping before seriously hurting someone.  He was promptly arrested and released without charges.   

The driver of the van was Hal Netkin, very possibly a white nationalist, who told his story on the radio shortly after being released.  His biggest concern was the lack of assistance he received from the police during the attack (perhaps they were busy fending off flying objects).  According to him, his vehicle was surrounded, and he waved frantically for help.  None came, so he drove his car through the angry mob towards the police, who arrested him, and locked him up for a few hours in the same cell as arrested protesters. 

The actions of the "anti antis," who reportedly blocked driveways and hurled rocks, bricks and soda cans at the police, amid other reports from meeting attendees of broken car windows, are perhaps the greater cause for concern.  The Minutemen, as far as I know, have still remained within the boundaries of the law.  The protesters clearly did not. 

This was a small meeting of Minuteman supporters, but wide-scale activity is planned for California this August; activity our resident political genius and goobinator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, endorses. 

California bears little similarity to Arizona, and nothern Baja shares little likeness with nothern Sonora.  Five Baja municipalities, gathered at the US border with California, comprise over 95% of the Mexican state's population.  In Sonora a slightly smaller population spreads deep into Mexico in over 70 municipalities. 

Both Arizona and California have a full spectrum of illegal immigration issues, from poverty-stricken families incriminating themselves while desperately seeking a better life; to hardened criminals trafficking drugs and spreading gang-related crime and violence. The border situation is simply ugly. 

In Arizona the activity is focused around the Tuscon corridor, but it also spreads out along a border three times the length of California's.  In California things are constricted by the shorter border, and condensed by the border region's massive population. 

Red Arizona recently passed an anti-illegal immigration bill, making the presence of the Minutemen more welcome; whereas blue California has a more understanding general population, which is already causing unwelcome contention with the Minutemen.  Making matters worse, California enjoys a large population of radicals on both sides of the issue-- Hispanic gangs and White nationalists. 

Arizona has significant gang membership in Brown Mexican Pride, Latin Kings, The Nazi Low Riders and a few others, with any number of associated "crews."  Prison gangs are primarily chapters of the Border Brothers, the Mexican Mafia (old and new), and the Aryan Brotherhood, but the latter is without a significant white nationalist population outside the prison system; certainly not in numbers approaching California's.  Fortunately, the threats from ultraviolent Mara Salvatrucha (aka MS 13) directed at the Minutemen in Arizona didn't have teeth. 

Southern California is a different ballgame.  All the elements in Arizona are multiplied here, but that's a very small part of the problem.  California is headquarters to Mara Salvatrucha and home to the notorious 18th Street Gang.  Both gangs boast over 20,000 members, are rumored to be uniting, and according to reports, illegal aliens constitute well over 50% of the gangs.  They are dependent on our open border policy.  The Minutemen will not be welcomed. 

In short, California is a powder keg, and what transpired this Wednesday could be a subtle harbinger of worse to come. 

If you're not familiar with Mara Salvatrucha, this chilling research by Robert Walker is a must read.  Then, consider the reported FBI information that top al Qaeda lieutenants are meeting with MS 13 in Central America.  It's an easy passage to the US from there, and little would please MS 13 more than bringing terror and chaos to America. 

I have an old friend who crossed the border illegally in 1991, married a Budweiser Girl a couple years later (no kidding), and is living the American Dream happily ever after.  That won't sit well with Skinheads, but Hernan is a great source of information on the immigration problem.  He was a Federale in his past life, and he still keeps tuned to the Hispanic street.  His stories are as interesting as they are frightening.  He supports strong immigration reform; bases his support on the associated crime problem (not self-loathing); and he hopes the Minutemen continue to peacefully get the word out.  He's not alone as an Hispanic with such opinions. 

He doesn't believe MS 13 or 18th Street will come after the Minutemen.  The last thing they want is attention, especially the type of attention a dead redneck protecting the US might bring.  He does agree the demographics will produce angry demonstrations this August, and it's hard to imagine a scenario, considering players on both sides, that will end peacefully.  More worrisome to him are the "wannabe crews," which are mostly laughable punks, who might want to gain street creds by attacking the Minutemen, and he agrees the geography would work for them.  They could do their damage and slip back into society like terrorists in Iraq.  This wasn't as possible in Arizona. 

Racial tensions directed at and by Hispanics in Southern California have been building for years.  When I first met Hernan over a decade ago, he used to joke about Aztlan and the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.  It was a historical gotcha, spoken of lightheartedly.  In Chicano folklore and Mexican schools, children are taught that the land taken from Mexico in the war with the US was stolen and still rightfully belongs to them.  Hernan says it's not funny anymore, and in truth, I don't think it was ever funny to him.  He was indoctrinated to think this way, as were millions of Mexican immigrants now living in Aztlan (CA, AZ, NM, TX) today.  In Southern California, the highly controversial text, Mexican American Heritage, is used in high schools with heavy Hispanic enrollments.  On page 105 it reads, "Latinos are now realizing that the power to control Aztlan may once again be in their hands."  And so it is, they are the majority. 

Unfortunately "control" and "conquer" are one and the same to many in the gang movements.  So it should be no surprise that Mexican Supremacists surface complete with a heavy dose of paranoia and anti-Semitism.  Almost, but not entirely through the gang movement, anti-White Aztlan ideology is spreading like wildfire from the lighthearted historical gotcha to a violent creed.  Southern California combines that nitro, with its well-documented white nationalist glycerin, and along come the Minutemen to shake it all up.  Maybe, hopefully, I'm being alarmist, and gang leaders will leave the protesting to the ACLU and concerned citizens in good standing.

Henry David Thoreau once said, "There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root."  That fairly describes the ultimate folly of the Minutemen. 

The US does have a serious immigration problem.  If it could be compared to cancer, the disease is spreading north from the border, but it was caused by smokers-- rich corporatist vultures perched in skyscrapers with Presidents and Congress in their wallets; waging class warfare and sacrificing America's poor and middle class for cheaper labor; never worrying about the barbaric criminal element that walks in the shadows of the impoverished, harmless migrant worker.  Applying heavy doses of chemo and radiation (prudent immigration reform) to the malignancy is necessary treatment, less invasive than surgery (Minutemen), but if the smoking doesn't stop, the disease will eventually kill (many more than it already has and continues to kill). 

-- Zap

Additional reading:

Border Patrol told to stand down in order to invalidate Minutemen.

Maybe the Minutemen could have saved these 12 people from dying last week.

Comments

[Ronald Rutherford]

Excellent piece!
This post made me think hard about the "illegals" I have met here in California. While I can attest that all the illegals I met were law abiding citizens (Aside from violating our immigration policy). As individuals I can appreciate their hard work and dedication to making their lives better and as a result all of us better off. But as a group of law breakers I can not condon or tolerate violation of the USA borders.
The first I remember was from Sweden that stayed past her visitor visa and ejoyed partying.
The second was from Nigeria and was granted amnesty under Reagan. I met him when he was working for me at retail corporation (32000 employees) and was one of my most loyal and dedicated employees.
I met a messed up young lady from Sri Lanka that was past her work visa and got married to avoid deportation. The only one I felt needed to be deported but understood her desire not to go back to Sri Lanka.
A past girlfriend from the Philipines also was past her visa and after she was laid off she had a tough time finding a job. She asked to marry me but by that time I was involved with someone else. She also had many good traits of hard working and devoted to family and God.
I also met an East Indian that tried a variety of schemes to stay here but ultimately used an H1 visa to stay. But this meant he had to be paid more than what he was getting to justify an H1. Thusly he paid higher taxes than what he should have owed! What devotion to this country when someone says they would be happy to pay more taxes even if no one else does.
Most of the Mexicans or peoples from south did not reveal their us status to me so I don't know. But some would be suspicious if I asked for an ID for retail purposes.

Thanks again for such a great post.

[Zap]

Thanks for the comments RR. This topic is rather personal with me being a San Diegan for so long now. I have two visions in my head of how this may go down. One, SD is so lovely and the rest of the border so blazing miserable in August that all the MM head for the beaches and enjoy America's finest city while trying to continue their PR campaign. Or, riots ending with bloodshed.

The real trouble could occur in Mexicali-Calexico (very pro illegal immigration community), but it is so so hot there in August, I should hope the MM will be discouraged.

I'd really like to see something done about the very serious and under-reported, non-immigration related crime wave festering around the border problem, but we seem to be living in times where complicated problems are avoided if they cannot be handled with simplicity, or complicated problems are excacerbated by over simplified solutions-- like the Minutemen. I wish they'd just stay away. Sometimes the zeitgeist is entertaining, sometimes it's scary.