It’s Been A While
By Mitch Berg
…since a story made me as angry as this one:
An Arizona man who has waged a 10-year campaign to stop a flood of illegal immigrants from crossing his property is being sued by 16 Mexican nationals who accuse him of conspiring to violate their civil rights when he stopped them at gunpoint on his ranch on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Roger Barnett, 64, began rounding up illegal immigrants in 1998 and turning them over to the U.S. Border Patrol, he said, after they destroyed his property, killed his calves and broke into his home.
His Cross Rail Ranch near Douglas, Ariz., is known by federal and county law enforcement authorities as “the avenue of choice” for immigrants seeking to enter the United States illegally.
Government can’t, or won’t, protect him and his property, which has sustained immense damage from the depredations of the packs of illegals crossing his land.
But for goodness’ sake, be polite when you confront them:
Trial continues Monday in the federal lawsuit, which seeks $32 million in actual and punitive damages for civil rights violations, the infliction of emotional distress and other crimes. Also named are Mr. Barnett’s wife, Barbara, his brother, Donald, and Larry Dever, sheriff in Cochise County, Ariz., where the Barnetts live. The civil trial is expected to continue until Friday.
The lawsuit is based on a March 7, 2004, incident in a dry wash on the 22,000-acre ranch, when he approached a group of illegal immigrants while carrying a gun and accompanied by a large dog.
Attorneys for the immigrants – five women and 11 men who were trying to cross illegally into the United States – have accused Mr. Barnett of holding the group captive at gunpoint, threatening to turn his dog loose on them and saying he would shoot anyone who tried to escape.
On the other hand, a few more stories like this and perhaps the nation will come around…
…wait. No. Here’s the answer; round up the illegals at the border, and buy them airfare and cabfare to Malibu, to Cape Cod, to northern Virginia, and whatever parts of Connecticut all the nations news anchors live in.
When illegals file suits against Katie Couric and Jon Stewart – then you’ll see action on this issue.
February 10th, 2009 at 9:29 am
What kind of country is this when armed vigilantes can’t go around assaulting Mexicans?
Not surprisingly, the Washington Times misstates the suit in a way that’s calculated to enrage you right-wing types. A little Internet research shows it’s disputed whether the immigrants were on his land at all. Oops.
February 10th, 2009 at 9:38 am
I don’t know, AC. If a clown car repeatedly crashes into my front porch, I’d feel justified in trying to stop the next one at the boulevard, even though that bit of land isn’t actually “mine.”
February 10th, 2009 at 9:57 am
it’s disputed
Ah. so it’s “disputed”. In other words, some commie New York lawyer says that on the trackless void of the TexMex border a guy who’s been walked over literally by illegals and figuratively by the government might (disputedly!) have acted off whatever the notional idea of the borders of his land might be – maybe.
Because goodness knows lawyers never introduce red herring arguments into lawsuits. Nooooo.
February 10th, 2009 at 10:16 am
A little Internet research
Which you don’t share — link?
shows it’s disputed whether the immigrants were on his land at all. Oops.
What Mitch said.
February 10th, 2009 at 10:20 am
Meanwhile you choose to believe the armed vigilante who, by his own admission, randomly intercepts groups of Mexicans – on and off his property – and holds them at gunpoint. Naturally you have more in common with the gun-toting ultra-wingnut with 22,000 acres (piled knee-deep with the wet-backs’ garbage, I tells ya!) , than some poor Mexican schmuck who’s just trying to feed his family. But it occasionally happens that people getting sued make stuff up too. In America we have judges and juries to sort that kinda thing out.
February 10th, 2009 at 10:25 am
Meanwhile you choose to believe the armed vigilante who, by his own admission, randomly intercepts groups of Mexicans – on and off his property – and holds them at gunpoint.
You bet.
Naturally you have more in common with the gun-toting ultra-wingnut with 22,000 acres (piled knee-deep with the wet-backs’ garbage, I tells ya!) , than some poor Mexican schmuck who’s just trying to feed his family.
Wetbacks? Is this like Peev’s “Ay-Rabs” from last year – your projection of the traits you think “we” all have?
Anyway – who do I have more in common with? Perhaps. My great-grandfather got off the boat at Ellis Island from Norway at age 14, alone, with $7 and no English but for a letter from a town on the Iron Range where his sister lived. He didn’t have a lot more going for him than the people tramping across my wingnut friend’s ranch – other than entering the country legally and following the rules, of course.
But it occasionally happens that people getting sued make stuff up too.
In other words, “I know he is, but what are we?” Good.
In America we have judges and juries to sort that kinda thing out.
Yep. And you are, at this juncture, neither. No more than I.
February 10th, 2009 at 10:30 am
AssClown defends the invasion of citizens from a foreign country that are effectively tearing down our hospitals, schools and clogging our justice system.
AssClown, why do Democrats hate America sooo much?
February 10th, 2009 at 10:38 am
randomly intercepts groups of Mexicans
Ah, see, they’re MEXICANS, not ILLEGAL IMMIGANTS.
February 10th, 2009 at 10:40 am
Anyone surprised that Clownie would defend the illegal alien against the evil American oppressor? I bet the guy’s white, too.
February 10th, 2009 at 10:41 am
In retrospect, I don’t think AC even believes his own nonsense. He’s just being the contrarian chain-yanker he always is.
February 10th, 2009 at 10:43 am
Chuck and his drunk friends are going to break into AC’s efficiency and urnate on his furniture. Eat his food. Drink his poorly chosen beer. Then sue him if he tries to stop us.
February 10th, 2009 at 10:46 am
I suspect that Clownie has an economic interest as well – a little internet research reveals that 72% of Mexicans who cross the border are actually seeking prop comedy.
February 10th, 2009 at 10:50 am
Angryclown thinks we have a lot more serious problems in this country than the hard-working brown people who come here to do all our shitty jobs, Shiftee. So we could reform immigration with a reasonable bill, as has been tried in the past, or just ignore the problem. Cause it’s just not that big a deal.
What’s really funny is watching you wingnuts get all in a lather about it. Heck, forcing McCain to recant on immigration certainly made him look a lot more Republicany and less mavericky, contributing to the recent electoral loss that has you grapenuts eating your hearts out.
February 10th, 2009 at 10:59 am
hard-working brown people who come here to do all our shitty jobs
And duck all our shitty taxes, and run up healthcare costs on the dime of us shitty actual taxpayers, and basically act as a severe financial drain on our country.
Honestly, MangyClown, if you’re not being contrarian for contrarian’s sake, you’re definitely a short-sighted dumbass.
February 10th, 2009 at 11:04 am
Angryclown’s ancestor, Cornelius van der Klown, came here long before there was a United States. If only Cornelius and his descendants had the good sense to send all your ancestors back where they belong, at the point of a musket, Angryclown would have to spend much less time correcting all your foolish ideas.
February 10th, 2009 at 11:06 am
Excellent point, Cathcart. So let’s legalize all of them and start collecting the taxes.
Amnesty! Who’s with Angryclown and Cathcart?
February 10th, 2009 at 11:23 am
Uh huh. No foreseeable problems with that approach, nosiree.
February 10th, 2009 at 11:34 am
Angryclown’s ancestor
Only one anscestor?
That does explain a lot.
February 10th, 2009 at 11:48 am
According to the records kept on file in Salt Lake City, Cornelius van der Klown married Lily von Schtupp in a quiet ceremony in what is now Bayonne, New Jersey.
February 10th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
As I’m sure you’d know, Mitch, if not for your family’s recent arrival in the United States, the custom of the Dutch in that era was to reserve names for males only. When a man of that time wished to use one of the townswomen, for purposes of procreation or beard grooming, he would refer to her by the common name: “haar jurk schoon te houden” which translates roughly as “wench” or “plaything.” As a result, there is no record of the various women that Cornelius used to satisfy his clownly lusts and to bear his children.
February 10th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
haar jurk schoon te houden
“Keep her dress nice and clean?”
De “grappen” zeelf schrijven!
February 10th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
I must admint, I agree with AC on this.
How couldn’t you???
The mean old man had a gun… he yelled obscenities for eff sake!!!
And what about this?
“Mr. Barnett’s attorney, David Hardy, had argued that illegal immigrants did not have the same rights as U.S. citizens.”
Who honestly believes that? Of course
illegal immigrantslaw abiding trans-boarder North American workers in favor of hope and change deserve and are entitled to the same rights as US citizens. They’re entitled to our money, too.February 10th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
(Mitch notes he has attempted to speak Dutch exactly once since he hitchhiked through the Netherlands, and then only with a retail staffer who had an interest in being ingratiating. So no warranty as to the accuracy or comedic value of my attempt at Dutch is stated or implied).
(Niet dat jedereen weten besser)
February 10th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
That must be why so many hounds and sheep bear a striking resemblance to AC’s family.
February 10th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
Let’s see, a dutchman narc’d on Ann Frank, Angry Clown is Dutch, therefore AC is a Nazi!
February 10th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
All right Angry Clown. Don’t play the laughing boy.
There’s only two things I hate in this world. People who are intolerant of other people’s cultures, and the Dutch.
February 10th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Hey Bozo- What part of “entering the country illegally” don`t you understand?
February 10th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
The part where I have furious clown sex with your mom, jimf. She’s so ugly – hard to understand why Angryclown keeps doing it.
February 10th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
Bozo- Thanks for answering the question! Lame, very lame
February 10th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
A ‘sex with your Mom’ joke! From Angry Clown!
This has to be a first!
Hey, AC, how’d your sister’s doctor visit go? Got some skeets for the weekend shoot?
February 10th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
I was on the side of the vigilante up to the part where he is alleged to have held them at gun point.
I have no idea if one is allowed to make a citizens arrest of illegal aliens (might be interesting to find out), but it does make sense to me that taking people prisoner, rather than simply maintaining their weapon (and large dog) for sel defense, gets into some questionable territory. I can agree with insisting someone leave, if they are trespassing. Calling the authorities, and directing them to the offending individuals (as in pointing which way they went). Taking their pictures or videotaping them for purposes of prosecution.
Giving someone cause to fear for their lives if they are willing to go away, not so clear cut.
February 10th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
“I was on the side of the vigilante up to the part where he is alleged to have held them at gun point.”
For Christ sake, I wish people would look up the definition of “vigilante”.
“Roger Barnett, 64, began rounding up illegal immigrants in 1998 and turning them over to the U.S. Border Patrol, he said, after they destroyed his property, killed his calves and broke into his home.”
Yeah, why doesn’t he just call a police officer to his home? I am sure there is a precinct house right down the block.
February 10th, 2009 at 10:34 pm
And of course no one would ever go too far in objecting to illegal immigrants?
It’s possible to work with the border patrol, instead of trying to replace them.
A point of information, as context, violent hate crimes over all are down. The exceptions are sharp increases in hate crimes against people perceived to be illegal immigrants (whether they actually are illegal or not), and the other occasion for a sharp increase in hate crimes are against people for perceptions about their gender / sexual orientation.
I may have missed something in the account, but one of the legitimate reasons to have the appropriate authorities take action instead of taking the law into one’s own hands IS establishing actual legal or illegal status, something that Mr. Barnett is not qualified to do.
I am sympathetic to Mr. Barnett’s circumstances, I do not support simply allowing individuals – immigrants OR domestic criminals – to break into homes, kill livestock or otherwise destroy property. (Assertions which may or may not be accurate, another point to be determined by the appropriate authorities.)
That doesn’t make Mr. Barnett’s solution a good one, for his own safety or for the safety of the alleged immigrants.
The “great wall” notion of the last administration was particularly stupid, but I do certainly believe that we have a serious problem with too porous borders. It would be a better use of our resources, including our armed forces if necessary, to focus on our domestic security instead of what we have been doing in Iraq, for example. I don’t think anything less than boots on the ground would do much good to resolve our border issues.
February 12th, 2009 at 9:11 am
Dog Gone, are you serious? “…establishing actual legal or illegal status, something that Mr. Barnett is not qualified to do.” Barnett encounters groups of Hispanic people on his ranch, right on the border, in the middle of nowhere, and you think that there is a credible explanation for their presence other than that they are illegal immigrants? What, are they merely lost, looking for a terrific quesadilla stand? And should Barnett not be armed? The coyotes guiding these poor souls wouldn’t hesitate to kill him, and some of the illegal immigrants might take that action as well. Stay in that ivory tower of yours. It’s nice and safe. I even suspect it has padded walls, judging from the rationality of your thought processes.