Lost In Translation

 Part of me, the part that enjoys a good prank, was initially amused by the notion of dropping a planeload of migrants in Martha's Vineyard. That would be much funnier if it were a sketch from a comedy show, that would be pointing out just how ridiculous the gulf between our immigration process and our realities are as a nation. In actual practice, this was a move by Governor Ron "The Merry Prankster" DeSantis to "troll" Vice President Kamala Harris. Never mind that this funny gesture was lost on the dozens of migrants who were herded into a chartered plane and told they would be sent to Boston to find work. While the approximate geography is similar, the difference between Boston and Martha's Vineyard is vast. These folks were dropped into a resort community that had no idea that they were coming. 

Ha. Ha. Very funny, Governor Ron. However, the effect of using human beings to make a political point is cruel at its base. "See how you like it," doesn't apply to the fifty people who were thrown into an unfamiliar setting. It is aimed squarely at embarrassing government officials by creating a media event with innocent victims at the center. No matter that these displaced persons will need to be dealt with during and after this media event. 

There are those in the legal community that would say this was a case of kidnapping. Taking people from someplace against their will and lied to about where they were being taken. What is the ransom? Some sort of political capital, we assume. And the fact that TV crews are there to get some boffo video allows for everyone to put their collective spin on the experience. Fox News might have one angle. MSNBC might have another. 

Governor Greg "Giggles" Abbott from Texas pulled his own trick on a couple of busloads of migrants that he sent to Maryland to drop them off in front of Vice President Harris' home. A whole lot funnier than a pizza that nobody ordered. When a Faux News reporter made a lame attempt to speak to some of those innocent victims in Spanish, but cut the interview short saying, “I’m not going to be able to translate all of that I wouldn’t even try because it wouldn’t look good on live TV." Those who understood Spanish heard the man say that they all fled the “difficult” country, and endured the arduous journey, because they hoped to “triumph” in the United States.

Difficult country? Welcome to Estados Unidos.