Alligator Alcatraz is the nickname of the disgraceful South Florida Detention Facility recently constructed by Florida Governor/Trump lickspittle Ron DeSantis. That nickname has seen official use, which speaks volumes about the cruelty of those in power. The consistent reports of inhumane conditions at the facility are thus horrifying, but not surprising.
Few journalists have been allowed inside the facility, but photographer Joe Raedle has seemingly staked out the entrance. While there, he’s captured at least one protestor, as well as multiple pictures of people gleefully having their photo snapped with the facility’s sign, like so:
These images haunt me. The people in them are despicable. They are sick. They would pose with lynching victims, if only they could get the chance.
When I first saw these photos, I was absolutely disgusted, and I remain so. I feel compelled to express that, hence this sad post. A man named David Lynn felt similar disgust, and aptly summarized things with a letter to the editor worth quoting:
It is well documented that most people swept up in the immigration raids have no criminal convictions and that raids target businesses and churches; it is not about catching hardened criminals. It is also well documented that the Florida facility has insufficient, even inhumane (and I would suggest un-American) conditions, with a name and location purposefully chosen for harshness.
That people can go out of their way to proudly support a facility that isn’t up to the standards of a prison, designed as a holding pen for noncriminals picked up at Home Depot and your neighborhood church — this will be another shameful part of American history.
There’s room for debate when it comes to immigration policy, but there must be no tolerance for abuse. Regardless of their immigration status, we’re talking about human beings, and placing them in concentration camps should be unacceptable to every American.
I’m ashamed to share a country, or even a species, with people capable of reveling in the misery of others. Let us all try to be better than that.
