OPINION: Milking the fears of our huddled masses

No need to panic — yet. Your pets, though, could end up on the menu of a starving, uncivilized Syrian or Sudanese refugee. Or meet a more sanguine end as part of a gruesome Haitian voodoo ritual.

As much as that is a nauseating, preposterous page from the political playbook for most, for some it is sufficient to trigger a low-grade panic. A perversely calming confirmation for long simmering hatreds and prejudices. Voters though (especially those that swing) are complex beasts and carry along with them other prejudices which can outweigh or even challenge their own fear mechanisms.

Perhaps I am willing to sideline the prospect of Fido being skewered by some dark-skinned alien, if that person is willing learn English, pay the rent on time, and milk my cows. Because Idaho is a dairy state, to the tune of close to a billion dollars in GDP, we get treated to a front-row seat to this soap opera. These same fiery romances are playing out in states across the country in a tug-of-war between economic interests and unapologetic, fear-based patriotism. While this is no psychological brief, my fascination lies in the fact that these gargoyles and angels often reside within the same person.

“In my opinion, we should not be using taxpayer dollars to serve folks that should not be here in the first place.” That from Rep. Jordan Redman, and it found a chorus of sentiment in the Idaho House regarding Bill 615, which would prevent undocumented workers in Idaho from accessing publicly funded assistance. The “folks” that draw Redman’s ire number some 35,000, mostly Mexican; they milk cows each day in 12-hour shifts (with a 30-minute lunch break) and as I’m aware aren’t after ritually sacrificing any of the farm pets.

And then in steps the Idaho Dairy lobby, the economic titan with an outsized “Schindler’s List” of laborers essential not only to dairy farmers, but also the broader supply line that includes big employers like Chobani yogurt and Glanbia cheese, companies that “utterly” depend upon those undocumented types to operate. “They add to society,” says Rick Naerebout, head of the Idaho Dairymen’s Association, “they’re very stable, and they’re a part of our community.”

Bill 615 didn’t make it out of committee, to the glee of many, including family members in Mexico who depend on those earnings — over three times the equivalent Mexican wage.

Re-invigorated by the Trump administration, the precarious balance between the gargoyles and angels may tip the other way as Idaho engages in a sibling rivalry with Texas to win favor with our fairly elected paternal monarch. With this in mind, Bill H-753 was introduced by Rep. Jaron Crane. If passed, the new law would empower local police to act as U.S. immigration agents; they could require anyone to show their legal status, the absence of which could result in a felony charge. A similar law already passed in Texas.

The inner dynamics of these love-hate dramas playing out in our Idahoan backyard are a kind of staging ground for what lies ahead (and a reflection of what has already been). The reality or threat of economic misery can and will act as a decisive lever to capture the emotion of those desperate for a scapegoat, desperate for ballast against the foreign phantom. Deeper still is the threatened identity. The religion and color of the other cannot be overlooked, particularly in precarious economic times when the underlying sense of pride begins to fray.

What is America’s better nature? The answer will elude us — till the cows come home.

After years of globetrotting, Todd J. Broadman finds himself writing from his perch on the Palouse and loving the view. His policy briefs can be found at US Resist News: https://www.usresistnews.org.