Viva La Difference

The Colbert Report has a new feature called "The Difference Makers," to honor those normal, everyday people who make a difference -- even if they are not "superheroes" -- a la Bush and Cheney. The first episode tells the story of Tim Donnelly, "the leader of a band of heroes called the Minutemen, who work day and night on weekends to keep our borders safe." See video: The Difference Makers (via One Good Move).

Oh, those good ole boys, the Minutemen. We have our own contribution to the Minutemen, with a Pennsylvania contingent. The Philadelphia Inquirer featured an article in March (no longer available online) about John Ryan, the Quakertown resident who founded our local version. As the article, entitled, "Border worries reach from Mexico to Phila. - Local group joins illegal-immigrant watch," noted:

The mission of the controversial organization - and of loosely allied groups such as Ryan's - is to keep out illegal immigrants it believes could be terrorists, drug traffickers or disease carriers and who depress U.S. wages, founder Chris Simcox says.

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While Simcox and his followers call themselves a "national town watch," others, including President Bush, have used the word "vigilantes." They are the Minute Klan, opponents say, a group whose rhetoric has racist overtones, particularly toward Latinos and Muslims.

* * * *

The Minutemen group "doubtless contains some well-meaning people," said Mark Potok, a director at the Southern Poverty Law Center. "However, it embodies a lot of what's scary about the [border-control] movement: a mix of weapons, bigotry and conspiracy theories."

Minutemen are definitely heroes -- of the Republican, Christian Right. Just the right mix of Family Values they hold so dear.

Tags: Politics, Minutemen, Immigration, Colbert, Video, Racism