The Ox Blood Incident, Now Daily, And Brought to You by Your Masters

 

The Oxblood Incident was a book about due process, and it captured the perils of a rush to judgment, of acting before enough time is allowed to gather evidence, of simple "sweeps" to satiate a community's longing for immediate action to protect  property and sense of security.

Two cowboys arrive in a Nevada saloon to be told that cattle rustlers have killed a local cowboy named Kinkaid and made off with cattle belonging to Kinkaid's boss. 

Cattle rustling was rumored to be getting out of control in those parts, and the men who crowd the saloon decide to send a message to rustlers and to regain control of their part of the prairie, so they muster up a posse and leap on their horses, only to be briefly stopped by the town's judge who admonishes them to bring the men back to town for trial.

Shortly, three men are found sleeping around a campfire with cattle bearing the marks of Kinkaid's boss and they are seized. One of the men is Mexican. One, Martin, claims they bought the cattle but he cannot come up with documents to prove their legality and the posse hangs the men, only to meet the judge and sheriff on the way back to town and, wouldn't you know it, Kinkaid, very much alive. It turns out the cattle had been legally sold. The men were not illegals; they just didn't have the bill of sale.

Now, this, of course, is an allegory about the importance of due process, about the importance of taking the time to do the annoying, time consuming, important things we call due process to be sure we are not doing an injustice to those we have seized, over whom we have power.

It is about how easy it is to arouse passions, to coalesce around a perceived threat and to assemble a group with powers which overwhelm isolated individuals.

Governments can do this, especially if they have leaders who can sell a threat or who can sell a story about a victimized group to whom we must all ride to the rescue or commission others to ride to the rescue (better yet, so we don't have to get our own hands dirty.)

Courts, of course, have played the role of slowing this whole process down, because there can be no "law and order" without the "order" part. Sometimes, you need to shout "Whoa! Cowboy, just pause a moment."

But now, of course, our Supreme Court has said, "Go ahead. You don't need to worry about warrants, trials, probable cause or any of those inconveniences. Just act." In his opinion, Justice Kavanaugh said it only made "common sense" to arrest men because they were speaking Spanish, doing jobs like roofing (which illegal immigrants are known to do) or because they look like "members of an ethnic group" known to have lots of illegal immigrants. 

Justice Kavanaugh thinks certain people ought to suffer, like the unfortunate trio of "The Oxbow Incident," if  they are heard speaking Spanish, or if they are Hispanic looking, low wage workers  ought to be arrested, deported to El Salvador or Sudan, without trial, without stopping to ask, "Did this guy actually violate any law?"

Kavanaugh writes (Noem v Vasquez) approvingly of mass arrests without warrants, 

"So it is in this particular case, particularly given the millions of individuals illegally in the United states, the myriad of 'significant economic and social problems' caused by illegal immigration," using race, language spoken, work sites raided as the criteria for arresting and abducting these Hispanic, Spanish speaking roofers and landscapers only makes "common sense."

Notice, of course, the justice cites no evidence we actually have millions of illegal immigrants, or if we do, that the vast majority are causing economic or social mayhem rather than working hard, furtively at backbreaking jobs no White Americans want. He doesn't have to. He's a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, for life and he can just drive off in his $100,000 camper and see you later. (Or was that Justice Thomas? Or Justice Alito? Mad Dog cannot keep those guys straight. Maybe Gorsuch? Well, part of the dirty half dozen. None of these guys has ever climbed up to do a roof. And, none of them even speak Spanish, so they are not at risk for being shoved into a van.)

Of course, Justice Sotomayor, the only Justice who does speak Spanish (ever),  calls this opinion "unconscionable" but no matter, she is only one of three justices offended.

So, rest easy, America, we may act precipitately; we may cut some corners; we may hang out to dry the wrong people, but they're not White people, so no foul, no harm.

 

And as for the Constitution--remember the Constitution?--"Nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws"

--you don't need three years in law school to notice it does not say the State cannot deprive any CITIZEN due process, it says any PERSON who is here is entitled to protection of due process? Why? Because when it was adapted in 1868, many states still had not granted former Black slaves citizenship. And it is  because you are entitled to due process for just being here, that America has located Gitmo offshore, where Constitutional protections do not apply, because those guys are not "here."

No matter, the Supreme Court can make up its own laws. 

And the only people who will be hurt will not be White.