Preferences

> No doubt the pendulum will swing too hard and too far, and ordinary decent people will pay the price.

It has swung, and they are *already paying* the price. That's the question.

> I can't blame the other side for sending in the goon squad to crack heads.

Even when it's your own head? Given the complexity of the system, it's implausible that any immigrant, including you (or I in Germany) have done everything perfectly. But it's worse than that, as people in the USA are currently facing removal for writing things on the internet which are theoretically constitutionally protected free speech.

And that's without any discussion about why nobody in power did anything about what Biden's admin said was about 11 million undocumented migrants:

The reason being the US economy, and of main importance the food supply, actually depends on their labour — depending on how fast they get removed, the USA would be looking a 50% supply cut in perishable hand-picked crops and dairy (if done instantly) to a mere 20% price inflation (if done over a few years). Similar for construction industry, but that's less critical than, you know, eating.


> It has swung, and they are already paying the price. That's the question.

Yes and no. It's polarised, far too polarised. I hope we can deescalate and reach some reasonable middle ground. But that's going to require a lot of concessions from the left that I don't see any hint of willingness to make.

> it's worse than that, as people in the USA are currently facing removal for writing things on the internet which are theoretically constitutionally protected free speech.

Meh, that's a big nothingburger. Noncitizens have never had constitutional rights or at least not for decades. I don't like it but let's not pretend this is some radical change.

ben_w OP
> Meh, that's a big nothingburger. Noncitizens have never had constitutional rights or at least not for decades. I don't like it but let's not pretend this is some radical change.

That's the first I've heard of it. Everyone else is saying it covers everyone in the USA, including the courts who ruled that kicking people out for blogging was unconstitutional and ordering the release of the people the US government had arrested: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.njd.564...

and: https://time.com/7284578/judge-orders-release-of-rumeysa-ozt...

But again, as you've not answered the "Even when it's your own head?" part, I remind you that you earlier wrote:

> I'm an immigrant and a minority myself, not that people like you ever actually care about supporting people like me.

I had assumed you were living in the USA, until checking your github account, so now I assume you're in Japan.

Please, imagine it is your own head that is the target of, in your own words, "the goon squad to crack heads".

What's happening today in the USA can happen anywhere, including where you live. (And where I live, but around here you can trip and fall over Stolperstein to be reminded of that latter part).

> That's the first I've heard of it. Everyone else is saying it covers everyone in the USA, including the courts who ruled that kicking people out for blogging was unconstitutional and ordering the release of the people the US government had arrested

People care about constitutional rights when it suits their politics, but unreasonable searches at the border have been standard for decades, under multiple administrations from both parties.

> Please, imagine it is your own head that is the target of, in your own words, "the goon squad to crack heads".

> What's happening today in the USA can happen anywhere, including where you live.

As an immigrant I don't have any rights, I can't even vote. Like it or not, that's part of the tradeoff.

But being realistic, I feel a lot safer, in part because Japan has quite strict immigration enforcement. It doesn't (yet, touch wood) have the US' dramatic polarisation and two-party split; rather there is a strong social consensus and a strong rule of law. And having seen how much crime and antisocial behaviour many of my fellow immigrants are responsible for, I'd far rather have that than the alternative. Yes, I don't want to be on the end of the riot squad getting sent in. But I think the best way to avoid that is to not get to the state of affairs where it makes sense to send in the riot squad.

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