It’s unclear to me if Rep. Rich Nugent actually believes what he is saying or if he just thinks its politically expedient to make racist comments about Central American culture.
A Florida Republican congressman called undocumented immigrant children at the border not children at all but gang-affiliated persons from a culture of thievery, murder, and violence.
“A lot of these children … quote-unquote … ya know, the first caller mentioned it, ya know, they’re gang members. They’re gang affiliated,” Florida Republican Rep. Rich Nugent said on WOCA radio Monday.
Nugent added that the culture the children were coming from was one of violence and there would be a complications in bringing the children into American culture.
“Listen, if you’re 14, 15, 16, 17 years old, and you’re coming from a country that’s gang-infested — particularly with MS-13 types, that is the most aggressive of all the street gangs — when you have those types coming across the border, they’re not children at that point. These kids have been brought up in a culture of thievery. A culture of murder, of rape. And now we are going to infuse them into the American culture. It’s just ludicrous.”
It’s true that Central America is experiencing a lot of gang-related violent crime and that there is a disturbingly high murder rate throughout the region. But to characterize them as having a culture of thievery, murder, and rape is aggressively insensitive.
Furthermore, the people who are fleeing are not the gang members but the people who don’t want to be in gangs or be subjected to their violence. Insofar as gangs are directly involved with the border crisis it is as extorters and exploiters of these children and their families.
Bet he calls himself a “Christian,” and goes to church every Sunday!
OY!
It’s one thing to be stupid and kind – it’s another thing to be stupid, bigoted, and viciously mean-spirited!
The Republicans know that if these kids ever do become US citizens, they won’t be part of the GOP gang!
Few people who go through what these kids are going through, grow-up to be as hate and fear-filled, as our American conservatives.
This one is easy. What Nugent is complaining about is the same thing that all of the GOP members are scared to death of. The are scared that ALL of the kids have the same moral standards of the current GOP. In other words they are scared to death of the huge amounts of COMPETITION!
That is why they are scared of these children for they are competition to the GOP.
Yah, he’s worried they’re gonna grow up and take over the financial markets.
Quote of the day: “Forget amnesty for the refugee kids, it’s time to work out a straight one-to-one trade. America gets those kids on that bus, if it ever comes, and Guatemala gets you. You’ll love it there, it’s got lots and lots of guns.”
Hey, how’ve you been, Ten Bears?
I haven’t seen your comments on Steve M’s site in awhile!
Many of the central american gang leaders that these kids are running from were deported from US cities. The MS-13 gang started in Los Angeles. With this wave of child refugees we are reaping the whirlwind of a half century of failed central american policy:
Your right. And I, old white guy that I am, am a member of a gang. Not any that you’ve heard of. America’s drug policies and easy money have trained up a generation of gang members who appall me.
Jewish parents on trains to the death camp at Treblinka would sometimes throw their children off the train, hoping sympathetic Poles would perhaps shelter them. A long shot, but they knew what was certain to happen at Treblinka—not a single Jew survived. Any guesses as to how the Nazis would have characterized the “culture” of these Jewish children?
This horrible Nugent wants his “conservatives” to block any possible action on this issue. It’s essential that the Repub Congress never do anything, that is Job One. Thus, one must always concoct arguments why nothing can be done about any crisis, and make your turd supporters feel good about the resulting paralysis.
So it’s straight to gangs, murder, rape (can’t forget rape!) and a Central American “culture of thievery”. I’m not sure why Repubs don’t just resurrect the term “subhuman”, many of their supporters would love a reintroduction of the word to politics…at least focus group it!
Is there any reason to think that this problem is “really” mostly about 16 and 17 year old (known) gang members? I’m not sure such kids are likely listening to their parents suggestions any more….and anyway, gang members probably would support the “conservative” movement’s decades-long Second Amendment campaign! The more guns, the better!