Arnold’s endorsement of Minutemen borders on lunacy

Now that our interim governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has endorsed southern border vigilantism, others are lining up to nab them a Mexican and maybe even an Ecuadorean or two.

It amazed many of us that the Gov would actually endorse the idea of armed citizens chasing down illegals, but one must realize that, among bodybuilders, the size of the brain diminishes in direct proportion to the growth of the pectoral muscles.

All that the bigots, defrocked cops, retired lance corporals, gun collectors and psychiatric outpatients needed to form into a civilian militia was his praise for the recently disbanded Arizona Minutemen as having done a “terrific job.”

The governor, whose idea of vision extends about half an hour beyond where he is, has already alienated teachers, farmers, firefighters and janitors by his words or policies, and now he is about to have the American Civil Liberties Union on his back.

I would rather have the devil poking me in the behind with his pitchfork than have the ACLU after me.

The idea of a civilian army at the Mexican border originated when a group calling itself the Minutemen began patrolling 23 miles of the Arizona-Mexico border. The members were armed with handguns to stop illegal aliens from crossing into the country through their state. That the ragged army of Arizonans wasn’t set upon instantly by an equally large army of state troopers ordering them to disband and give up their guns is one reason why living in Arizona probably isn’t a great idea.

Tensions bristled along the border during their patrol. I held my breath, fearing that the combination of guns and a tacit approval to use them would result in blood on the ground. Fortunately, the border vigil ended before triggers were pulled. The Minutemen declared they had saved America from a return of Pancho Villa and left.

It was shortly after they went home to their retirement villages, their country clubs and their favorite Phoenix bars that Schwarzenegger praised them. Now anyone with at least a high school education knows that praise encourages others to emulate the praisees, and that’s what’s happening.

In Chino, a sleepy little town in San Bernardino County, a group of men who obviously hunger for approval have announced that they intend to patrol the Mexican border near San Diego this summer instead of going to a family camp, Yosemite or Las Vegas. There isn’t a lot to do in Chino, so the idea of marching down to San Diego, where there is a lot to do, and saving California from the Mexicans at the same time is an appealing idea.

They call themselves Friends of the Border Patrol, but the U.S. Border Patrol, fearing possible encounters with drug dealers and others of evil intent, isn’t all that knocked-out happy with their plans. While Friends promises only to observe and report, some of its members will carry guns and, once more, the potential for a shoot-’em-up presents itself. If they don’t end up killing an immigrant guilty of only wanting a better life, they could end up killing themselves.

I realize that not all of those who join such crusading efforts are racist. For them, it’s a question of economics. If California were on the border with Sweden and the Swedes were slipping in and taking away the jobs that Americans crave, such as pulling weeds, digging holes, busing dishes and cleaning houses, we’d feel the same way about them. People who join outfits like the Minutemen or Friends of the Border Patrol have a vague notion that cutting down the number of immigrants who sneak into the state will contribute to more jobs, higher wages, better healthcare and improved education, but that’s not going to happen. It’s the whole system that’s out of whack, and no one we’ve elected or appointed in the last 25 years has been smart enough to fix it.

Schwarzenegger, accused of groping women, has turned to groping California. He lacks the wit to understand the possible consequences of his misguided praise for those who, in other times, brought justice to the Old West by hanging anyone who rustled cattle, stole horses or committed other crimes essentially rooted in economics. Not rustle a cow and go to jail, but rustle a cow and swing from the nearest tree. One can only guess how many innocents went to their graves.

Our governor pro tem, if he has any cranial development at all above his perfect pecs, should immediately withdraw his praise for vigilantism and order those proposed armies of angry citizens to stand down before the first shot is fired and the first victim lies dead along the bleak and troubled border.

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Al Martinez’s column appears Mondays and Fridays. He can be reached at al.martinez@latimes.com.