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Culture War Roundup for the week of September 12, 2022

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The migrants have as much or as little right to be in Martha's Vineyard as they do in McAllen, TX; restrictions on interstate travel in the U.S. are prima facie unconstitutional. They will suffer less privation in shady Martha's Vineyard than they would in outdoor detention facilities in the dusty Texas desert, so this is actually an improvement. Moreover, they're being shipped to one of the least violent places in the country; far away from the human traffickers and cartels. What, can undocumented people not cut the grass, caddy the golf courses, cater the garden parties, and nanny the fur-babies of the Vineyard? Is there not a massive New England employment crisis for lack of workers? Surely there are some "jobs Americans just won't do" there! I've heard that this kind of enriching diversity is a positive gift!

This is one of the best political stunts of my lifetime, because it is finally an example of chickens coming home to roost for the sanctimonious rich NIMBYs who are always so eager to be so charitable and hospitable with other people's neighborhoods and lives, but then insulate themselves and their own from the predictable consequences of their ideals. The migrants are already being used as chattel by the smugglers and the wealthy progressives who prioritize not having to see awkward and uncomfortable images that would result from enforcing the actual law and having an off-the-books workforce to abuse. This is just a teeny tiny step towards actually evening the burdens. You know, having the rich and privileged do "their fair share." Like a prominent Martha's Vineyard denizen said, "The defining issue of our time" is working "to apply the same rules from top to bottom" and not "settl[ing] for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by."The ruling class who refuse to preach what they practice must be made to put skin in the game, otherwise they have no reason not to continue to disassociate from the rest of the country and let it go to ruin.