Reading racism into horse reins

 

Defenders of Critical Race Theory claim that CRT highlights the racial injustices of the past and examines their lingering effects in contemporary society.

Fine.

But the activist dimension of CRT asserts that racism is the norm in America. Therefore, the question is never: Did racism occur? The question is always: How did racism manifest itself in the situation?

The famous example that demonstrates this outlook is the dilemma of the store clerk. A white person and a black person walk into the store. If the store clerk offers assistance to the white person first, it’s an act of racism because the clerk assumed the white person had more money. However, if the store clerk offers assistance to the black person first, it’s also an act of racism because the clerk assumed the black person might steal if left unattended.

After decades of CRT trickling down into mainstream thought, it has become the norm for “educated” people to read racism into every situation, regardless of the circumstances.

The current crisis along the U.S. border involves Haitian migrants trying to enter the United States from Mexico. Recently, images surfaced of border agents on horseback attempting to get the asylum seekers to reverse course, but the El Paso Times reported that border agents had swung whips at the migrants shouting “Get out Now! Back to Mexico!”

The border agents were immediately branded “modern day slave catchers” on social media. The White House Press Secretary was grilled by reporters who read racism into the images and demanded to know if the border agents would face disciplinary action. The Vice President told the press the images evoked some of the worst moments of our history, that kind of behavior was used against African-Americans during slavery.

First, border patrol agents don’t carry whips. The agents held the reigns of their horses, but when racism was read into the images, the automatic assumption was the horse reigns were whips.

One border patrol agent, who was outraged at the negative press the border patrol received, told a reporter, “With basic knowledge and two brain cells, anyone knows those agents use split reins. They do use them as a whip, on their horses. This helps get a quicker response from the horse to move when needed, especially when the horse may be hesitant with groups of people or other animals … It’s clear those in charge [The White House] have no clue about our operations and frankly operate by ignorance and unhinged emotions.”

Second, images of border patrol agents preventing Haitian migrants from entering the United States in the 21st century are not analogous to slavery. In order to make that connection, you’d have to ignore the fact that slaves were brought to America against their will and condemned to a hard life of toil and poverty, but Haitian migrants willfully risk their lives to enter America in order to escape poverty so they can create better lives for themselves.

The El Paso Times eventually added this statement to their initial report. Correction: Our reporting team witnessed at least one agent on horseback swing his reins like a whip. We have updated the story to clarify that fact since it was not an actual whip.

When asked about all the “educated” people that read racism into this situation, one border patrol agent replied, “Just proves what absolute idiots they are.”

First published in New Pittsburgh Courier 9/29/21