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This guy named Ben Palmer made an "Immigration tip line" and people call it thinking he's ICE.

He records them and shares it with the world.

What do people sound like when reporting their neighbors, coworkers, students? Are they confident they are doing a righteous good thing?

Witness the banality of evil in these sheepish suburban voices.

youtube.com/watch?v=zJnkikcrHA…

PEERTUBE option: kinowolnosc.pl/w/p/av2NQ5ug2M7…

This entry was edited (15 hours ago)
in reply to myrmepropagandist

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Misuse Case

“Kindergarten teacher wants to deport their students” sounds monstrously unbelievable but I knew someone whose wife was a teacher and apparently complained about all the ESL students in her school. I don’t know what those students’ immigration status was but she and her husband definitely *thought* they were undocumented.

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in reply to Aaron In Minnesota

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myrmepropagandist

@aeischeid @spreadthetruth @MisuseCase

I teach at a school with a bunch of grants and things and some of the brightest most neurotic kids in the city HOWEVER I have all kinds of teacher friends at all kinds of schools. Schools without nearly enough staff or supplies and lunches that someone should build a little fence around and hang up a "Superfund" sign.

I do not know any teachers like this.

@Misuse Case @Aaron In Minnesota @Spread The Truth
in reply to myrmepropagandist

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myrmepropagandist

@aeischeid @spreadthetruth @MisuseCase

The worst thing I ever heard a teacher say about students was this veteran NYC public school teacher in the Bronx who said "well you know they are from the crack baby generation that's why they can't concentrate"

No. They can't concentrate because they are 6th graders in a class with 32 students.

That is too many sixth graders. Have you met one? I have. Under 20 ALWAYS.

I yelled at him and he walked it back.

@Misuse Case @Aaron In Minnesota @Spread The Truth
in reply to Rob van Kan🔻

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Pete Alex Harris🦡🕸️🌲/∞🪐∫

@edgeofeurope
Or maybe we keep calling them monsters, because that's what they are. We *couldn't* be them, we *wouldn't* try to have a pre-school child deported. We shouldn't tolerate their poison amongst us.

We just have to recalibrate our intuition about how many monsters there are, is all. Just because they do normal jobs and wear a normal face doesn't mean they are us.

@Rob van Kan🔻
in reply to Rob van Kan🔻

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Madeleine Morris

@edgeofeurope
And yet we were also made by the same society, but chose differently.

Because it is possible to choose not to be cruel or enjoy cruelty. It is even possible to enjoy cruelty, know that it is wrong, and confine your penchant to something consensual.

I'm sorry. They are not like me. Because they made choices. Like I have made choices.

And they've made the wrong ones.

@petealexharris @futurebird

@myrmepropagandist @Rob van Kan🔻 @Pete Alex Harris🦡🕸️🌲/∞🪐∫
in reply to Rob van Kan🔻

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Pete Alex Harris🦡🕸️🌲/∞🪐∫

@edgeofeurope
I've heard the cliche before, I understand it, I just reject it.

You're better than someone who wants to deport a child, or I don't know what to tell you. People who wouldn't are better than people who would.

Did something in our society make them that way? Maybe. Are the people who don't want to deport small children responsible for the ones who do, somehow? Absolutely fucking not.

They are monsters of each other's making, perhaps, not ours.

@Rob van Kan🔻
in reply to Pete Alex Harris🦡🕸️🌲/∞🪐∫

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jonoleth

@edgeofeurope @petealexharris the problem with that attitude is that it makes people start thinking that bad people are easy to spot, or far away. It makes them blind to what their family, friends, or neighbors do because they're obviously not monsters. People are very quick to dismiss accusations of being a nazi or fascist because they genuinely can't wrap their head around that being a possibility.

Maybe you're not susceptible to that bias but the average person sure is.

@Rob van Kan🔻 @Pete Alex Harris🦡🕸️🌲/∞🪐∫
in reply to Rob van Kan🔻

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James Cameroun

@edgeofeurope Actually the people who ran the Nazi camps were not ordinary people, they were hardcore followers. And they didn't just obeyed "superior orders", they made the decisions they rightfully assumed were required the whole nazi project. Not to say ordinary people played no part, of course. But what Arendt called "banality of evil" is quite misleading.
@Rob van Kan🔻
in reply to myrmepropagandist

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Richard

This woman desperately wants to believe she is the victim of something--being taken advantage of by foreigners or being mistreated by a hotline employee. She is sadistically aching for somebody, somewhere to be punished for something no matter whether her life is materially affected in any way or not. She's like a frustrated toddler lashing out at anything within reach. A raging racist toddler with a cell phone, a job overseeing children, and voting rights.
in reply to myrmepropagandist

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myrmepropagandist

What disturbs me is the total lack of urgency and confidence in these “reporters” as soon as Ben simply describes what they are doing “so you are reporting this person so they will be removed from the country” they put all of the responsibility on him (one caller says “isn’t that what we are doing?”)

People scoff at insects following pheromone trails but the average ant puts more thought into her next action than some of these people. “The government says report these people better do it”

This entry was edited (2 days ago)

reshared this

in reply to Jargoggles

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Su_G

@jargoggles
Yes, so true! She was a real piece of work! 😐When she wasn’t admired for dobbing in (informing against) a couple of apparently blameless parents whose child had the ‘misfortune’ to attend the kindergarten she worked at, she identified herself as the ‘victim’… of possible sarcasm… !! Truly petty, as well as a racist bigot. ☹️

#AUSPol #ICE #petty #racist # bigotry #informants #dobbers #victim

@HeatherMJ @futurebird

#ice #auspol #racist #victim #informants #petty #dobbers @myrmepropagandist @Jargoggles @HeatherMJ
in reply to myrmepropagandist

glitchsoc - Link to source

Semitones

I almost called the police once. I was anxious and wanted to visit a public park. There were people different than me playing soccer and hanging out. I had heard that some cars were broken into. I noticed a guy walk up to my car and look in the windows. He seemed to be looking in other cars. I think he clocked me and walked back to the group. I drove away. I thought about calling but:
* looking in cars is not a crime
* I was afraid, my judgement was cloudy
* I don't trust the police.
in reply to Semitones

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myrmepropagandist

@semitones

It’s probably a good call. If I see someone like that I try to ask someone “do you know who that is?” (eg. ask some of the checkers guys if it’s summer or maybe the postman in winter)

If I’m not intimidated by the person I say hello to them.

There much less risky was of being nebby— and in the US at least cops are not very helpful or effective at investigating crimes that impact regular people— they are happy to use any noise you make to justify their own ends.

@Semitones

myrmepropagandist reshared this.

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Semitones

these are great suggestions of better solutions! Your analysis is spot on.

As a kid, we had police come to our summer camps with their dog to talk to us and tell us if we see something, say something for people acting suspicious in the neighborhood. Kids have to hear other adults explain to them the nuances, or they might blindly trust the "good cop" authority, and not recognize their own biases.

in reply to ersatzmaus

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TrimTab 🇺🇦

@ersatzmaus @FediThing This. It is the explanation.

These people have two things in common as i see it:
1: A pathetically miniscule world view that doesn't extend beyond their tiny back yards, which breeds selfishness and chauvanism.
2: No concept of Gods infinite love; his complete inability to see superficial things that might make us look different, let alone to pick one arbitrary attribute to base his love for us on. What kind of God would be such a prick? Not mine.

@FediThing @ersatzmaus
in reply to myrmepropagandist

mastodon - Link to source

𝓒𝓱𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓯 𝓓𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓽

We Germans remember very well, how those people sound, when fascism is over.

"Nobody knew, what they were doing."
"I've always tried to fight back."
"We had no choice, but obey."
"But he promised more, better jobs."
etc.

The same we still hear from communist collaborators from eastern Germany.

Mark my words, this is, what you'll hear as well. It's always the same, no matter which color the oppressor uses as justification.

in reply to myrmepropagandist

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Byrnensorg🇮🇪🇺🇦🇵🇸🇬🇱🇩🇰

I can just imagine what spurred on this teacher to do this, it wasn't her rigid application of the law or her moral obligation. It was something even more simple... like she seen the mother or father turn up in a car that she couldn't afford or else she seen the child get better care taken of than she ever got. Envy is a powerful motivator on the weak minded and insecure.
in reply to myrmepropagandist

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Maj - 🇨🇦

this is a fantastic example of the conservative imperative: people "belong" in specific places - literally and figuratively.

Being "out of place" is the worst sin. It must be stopped at all cost.

It's also why they disdain empathy and harm mitigation. Punishment is what keeps people in line.

#uspol #conservative #moralFramework

#uspol #conservative #moralframework
in reply to myrmepropagandist

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Ann T. Phở

Before even considering moving to a new neighborhood or doing business with a new company, I create a Nextdoor account using the new address or an address near the business owner to scope the scene. It's remarkable how openly brazen the racists are, but I always make sure to leave several messages warning others to avoid the dangerous neighborhood or business.
in reply to myrmepropagandist

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Mark Wyner Won’t Comply

JFC. Imagine being that nonchalant. “You make it sound terrible.” OF COURSE IT’S TERRIBLE, YOU WRETCHED SCUM!!!

The propaganda about “foreigners taking our jobs” and whatnot has dug its talons deep into the American psyche. It’s repugnant.

Sorry for the rant. Thank you for sharing this. I just wish he was doxxing these folks instead of embarrassing them anonymously.

in reply to myrmepropagandist

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undead

One YT comment was, "You know that kid gets all kinds of abuse when no one is watching."

As someone who grew up LatinX in the US, I can believe that is absolutely happening. Because it happened to me, family, and friends of mine growing up, and her voice is the "reasonable tone" of voice I would hear behind that abuse from years ago.

Not a damned thing has changed.

in reply to myrmepropagandist

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Steggy

I won’t watch the video for my own MH today, but some “regular” people have such capacity for evil, and even more when they can be anonymous.

I remember about 10 years ago when I was with some neighbors and they were all banging on about immigrants this and immigrants that. I said “I’m an immigrant” and they said, oh, not you. I’m white. I knew exactly what they meant by that, and I knew they couldn’t be trusted.

in reply to myrmepropagandist

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Indy Richard 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Wasn't the US defining principles that all men were created equal and endowed with unalienable rights, including Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness?
When was this swept under the carpet to bring in behaviours familiar in Nazi Germany, where people were encouraged to report on family, neighbours and friends to the Gestapo? How long will normal folk in the US put up with this shite?
in reply to Indy Richard 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

mastodon - Link to source

Chinga la migra! 🍉🌈

@IndyRichard Unfortunately they left out "white" in the all men created... The US was founded on racism and genocide. As for how long will we deal with it, we have been dealing with it for coming up on 250 years now. I don't see it changing anytime soon. The bread and circuses haven't ended.
@Indy Richard 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
in reply to myrmepropagandist

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BeeCycling

It seems like as soon as there's a number to call or address to write to for the purpose of "tipping off" the authorities about whatever, people cannot wait to start denouncing their neighbours. Doesn't matter if they've got no evidence of wrongdoing, that person gave them a funny look once, or they don't trim back their trees, or they let their dog bark too much, or they're just being wilfully foreign. And if they know the authorities don't care about evidence either, why not call?
in reply to myrmepropagandist

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Hey Gus

what’s most surprising to me is seemingly so many people are shocked by maga being made human like this.

The Karen meme exists because it’s making fun of reality because what else can you do? Completely average ass suburban white women are sometimes filled with as much hate and anger as that swastika neck tat skinhead selling meth at the gas station.

This shouldn’t at all be a surprise to anyone. People really need to get out their bubbles.

in reply to Mad Dog Ace Run

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obscurestar

@BluesHarp She's the same kind of person who makes excuses for why stupid apes like her should be able to beat kids half to death despite copious studies that show such behavior does little to nothing to curb bad behavior and everything to drive future bad behavior. Most right wingers shouldn't be allowed around kids IMO. They just aren't fit.
@Mad Dog Ace Run
in reply to myrmepropagandist

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obscurestar

You can bet this find upstanding piece of shit expresses her racism in other ways too. You'd almost certainly find kids of color get worse grades and more reported problems in her class.

This is the CORE of racism. Some sick evil ADULT bullying 5yr olds. Making it clear to them they are hated, that the system will destroy them, that they shouldn't even bother competing because some scum will always have their finger on the scale. So fucking sick and evil.

in reply to myrmepropagandist

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Sco

Most of my sympathy goes to the kid & parents. If the teacher reports to a real hotline, at best, that family has a very unnessicary amount of explaining to do. At worse, their taken from their home.

But I have some sympathy for the teacher who has been influenced enough to inflict either on the family. Convinced to shed her sympathy. But to be clear, I want, and believe, she can regain that sympathy. But might not if she is singled out like this. And prob double down.

in reply to Sco

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Sco

By I might have the least sympathy for this video maker. This has a good chance of being fraud. But is also bias enfocing human slop. Cops, but for liberals' enjoyment. To get progressive clicks. I get he wants to expose this. But there are better ways.

I get that shit is fucked. And this can feel cathartic, in the short term. But I ask if it is more harmful in the long term. And if there is better catharsis.

in reply to myrmepropagandist

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Fardels Bear

This reminds me of something I read about the Gestapo in Nazi Germany. They were quite a small organisation with not enough resources to carry out their work. So they relied on ordinary people to tip them off about neighbours and colleagues. Mostly based on secret grudges and unfounded suspicion. This teacher is a rotten human being and shouldn't be allowed near children.

Zhi Zhu 🕸️ reshared this.

in reply to Fud4thort

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Incognitim

@Fud4thort
Fittingly, and not surprisingly, it stems from the Holocaust.

Taken from #wikipedia :

'"Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil" is a 1963 book by the philosopher and political thinker Hannah Arendt. Arendt, a Jew who fled Germany during Hitler's rise to power, reported on the trial of Adolf Eichmann, one of the major organizers of the Holocaust....

#Wikipedia @Fud4thort
in reply to Incognitim

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Incognitim

@Fud4thort
'Her thesis is that Eichmann was actually not a fanatic or a sociopath, but an average & mundane person who relied on clichéd defenses rather than thinking for himself, was motivated by professional promotion rather than ideology, and believed in success which he considered the chief standard of "good society". Banality, in this sense, doesn't mean his actions were in any way ordinary, but that they were motivated by a sort of complacency which was wholly unexceptional.'
@Fud4thort
in reply to myrmepropagandist

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Rejin

The casual assumption that the parents must be undocumented because they were born in other countries ... do these people not know about green cards? They talk about "doing it the right way" but don't even consider that someone with an accent might be here legally, that there is such a status as permanent legal resident. And they let someone this ignorant be a teacher 🤦🏽‍♀
in reply to myrmepropagandist

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

8Petros [cracking the system for a living]

First, downoad the clips before they are taken down.
Then, somebody keep checking on Ben Palmer every once a while, so he is not disappeared.
Finally, bring him here!

Having said that, start preparing for denazification of the US society. It will not be soon, it will not be nice, but there is no future for the US without the deep purge.

Chumbawamba - On The Day The Nazi Died

⇧