One More Way to Humiliate Immigrants

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

I will admit right up front that I am not a fan of reality television shows, the type of crap that foisted Donald Trump into the national limelight.  I was aware of the phenom as it was emerging at the end of the last millennium, but I had a job that kept me out late many evenings, and when I did have some time at home in my little cabin in the woods and needed entertainment, my usual diversion was to pop a movie of my choosing into the DVR and relax my brain that way.

My first, and certainly one of only a few, encounters with reality television came when a relative emailed in 2001 gushing about this wonderful show that she was watching called "The Amazing Race."  I tuned in one evening, watched young people humiliate themselves for part of an hour in a sad attempt to win a million dollars for their two-person team, and then turned it off.  What a pitiful excuse for entertainment, I thought, as I was put in mind of the proletariat of ancient Rome being hustled into the Coliseum to watch lions maul and eat Christians.    

There are people who really get off on watching the disadvantaged struggle to get ahead, or even just survive, especially if that struggle is in the form of a savage competition.

Donald Trump, a man who came to full flower in the malodorous dung of reality television, enjoys wallowing in the suffering of others.   The urge to criticize and moralize from a comfortable perch is so ingrained in him that it likely has markers in his DNA.  This week it was revealed that a television producer had pitched a reality show idea, based on the struggles of immigrants, to the Trump administration, and it was something which was being seriously considered.

The story first surfaced in the British newspaper "The Daily Mail."  The show was being promoted by a producer named Rob Worsoff, and it was going to focus on twelve immigrants who were all seeking US citizenship.  In what sounds similar to "The Amazing Race," they would travel around the United States performing challenges along the way.  After the challenges had been completed and the shows had aired, viewers would then vote on which contestant should be awarded citizenship, and the winner  would be sworn in on the steps of the US Capitol - and maybe even receive a few nice gifts like a red MAGA cap from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, an assortment of fast-food coupons from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and maybe even a "Welcome to America" puppy from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

(Okay, I embellished about the prezzies, but it would be a nice touch!  And the losers could be shipped off to the human hog pen in El Salvador!)

Early reports were that Trump loved the idea - of course he did - and that a Homeland Security "spokesperson" had endorsed the concept.   However, after the ridiculousness of it all had time to incubate and fester among the general public, Secretary Noem and assorted administration toadies seemed to start distancing themselves from the proposed project.

But Donald Trump, a man who famously goes with his gut, will make the ultimate decision and let the world know his "final answer" in some late night social media rant.

And if he goes ahead with the show, and if it is a ratings flop, Trump can call Kristi into the White House, give her a comfortable seat in the Oval Office, call in the right-wing press, and loudly declare to his Homeland Security Secretary in front of the whole world:  "You're fired!"

Now that would make for some damned good television!