By: Daniel Nardini
What happened was truly tragic. A known racist and former member of the National Socialist Movement, Jason Todd Ready, shot and killed his girlfriend, his girlfriend’s daughter, his girlfriend’s 16-month old granddaughter, and his girlfriend daughter’s boyfriend. Ready then turned the gun on himself and committed suicide. The whole mass killing was the result of a violent domestic argument. Jason Todd Ready was also the leader of the U.S. Border Guard—an extremist racist group that did “patrols” along the U.S.-Mexico border in order to “stop the invasion of illegals” (the name should not be confused with the U.S. Border Patrol—a federal government agency). It is questionable how effective such patrols were, and whether such patrols will continue now that their leader is gone. The U.S. Border Guard has vowed to continue their “vigilance” along the U.S.-Mexico border, but according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, it is highly unlikely the group will be able to finance their operations without their leader and with group membership already being down even before Ready killed himself.
The U.S. Border Guard was never a large organization to begin with. At its height, it had 319 members. Now it has 178….maybe. Its very existence owes to Ready himself. He created it, financed it, and brought in the people who run the organization now. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, such groups only survive as long as their leader or leaders live. These groups eventually disintegrate without their leader, or the membership gets into serious internal fights that causes these groups to go their own separate ways. These extreme groups exist on the ideology and leadership styles of their founders, and rarely can the mantle of leadership be passed to someone else. Yet because of what they are makes them scary. They are clearly anti-immigrant, anti-Mexican and anti-Latino. Their whole premise for existing is due to “stop the brown invasion.” Like the U.S. Border Guard, the Minutemen Project has largely been curtailing its efforts at patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border for lack of funds and for added pressure from civil rights and Latino groups against their activities.
One sad aspect about the whole subject of this anti-Latino hysteria—it has been taken up by the politicians in various states throughout the country. In some ways these extremist groups no longer have to search the border or attack Latinos—that is now happening from the state politicians who have been passing state immigration laws. At present, Arizona’s state immigration law is now before the U.S. Supreme Court. We can only hope that this law will be ruled unconstitutional, although the ramifications will be disastrous if it is ruled acceptable. Just about the only good news is that with the death of its leader, the U.S. Border Guard may also disappear.
One Group’s Possible Demise
By: Daniel Nardini
The U.S. Border Guard was never a large organization to begin with. At its height, it had 319 members. Now it has 178….maybe. Its very existence owes to Ready himself. He created it, financed it, and brought in the people who run the organization now. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, such groups only survive as long as their leader or leaders live. These groups eventually disintegrate without their leader, or the membership gets into serious internal fights that causes these groups to go their own separate ways. These extreme groups exist on the ideology and leadership styles of their founders, and rarely can the mantle of leadership be passed to someone else. Yet because of what they are makes them scary. They are clearly anti-immigrant, anti-Mexican and anti-Latino. Their whole premise for existing is due to “stop the brown invasion.” Like the U.S. Border Guard, the Minutemen Project has largely been curtailing its efforts at patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border for lack of funds and for added pressure from civil rights and Latino groups against their activities.
One sad aspect about the whole subject of this anti-Latino hysteria—it has been taken up by the politicians in various states throughout the country. In some ways these extremist groups no longer have to search the border or attack Latinos—that is now happening from the state politicians who have been passing state immigration laws. At present, Arizona’s state immigration law is now before the U.S. Supreme Court. We can only hope that this law will be ruled unconstitutional, although the ramifications will be disastrous if it is ruled acceptable. Just about the only good news is that with the death of its leader, the U.S. Border Guard may also disappear.