What--Exactly and In Principle--Is Wrong With the "Minutemen"?

So, I've stayed out of the debate about the "Minutemen" (not those from the Revolution, who I'm definitely in favor of, but the contemporary ones, who I'm tentatively in favor of). Dave Neiwert has his finger on the pulse of American racists like almost nobody else, and he's anti-Minuteman. But thus far I've found his arguments unconvincing--though I haven't read all of them I must admit. At any rate, Dave's judgments on this are better than mine, but here're mine for what they're worth.

There are at least two questions at issue here, as is usually the case: the question of principle and the question of practice. That is:

1. Are the Minutemen doing something that is wrong in principle?

and

2. Are the Minutemen, as a matter of actual fact, reprehensible?

Now, I don't know what the actual characters of the actual Minutemen are like. I'd guess they're a mixed bag, but I don't know. Neiwert is probably the man to go to on this question. I'll not address it.

However, I'm more interested in the first question anyway. Is there anything in principle impermissible about private citizens banding together to assist the authorities in apprehending criminals? It's hard to see how the answer to that question could be 'yes.' If the law in question is just, then it is permissible and perhaps even obligatory for us to assist the authorities in enforcing it.

So whence opposition to the Minutemen?

My guess is that it is based on some mixture of the following:

First, suspicion--warranted or not--that the Minutemen are, in fact, motivated by racism. (If they ARE racists, then, of course, to hell with 'em--but I'm in no way convinced that they are.)

Second, liberal antipathy to this kind of direct action by citizens.

Third, opposition to current immigration laws.

I'm actually a supporter of stricter immigration laws, because I think we're already over-populated. Some have grouped me in with racists because of this position. They point out that some racists advocate stricter immigration laws because they hate non-whites, and that I advocate stricter immigration laws...so... (At this point their little minds seem to go all awhirl, but you know what they're thinking...) My position here is an environmental one, however. I also think we should have fewer babies. Note that neither of these conclusions has anything whatsoever to do with skin color.

At any rate, if one advocates greater rates of immigration, then one should work to raise immigration quotas. Advocating illegal immigration is clearly not the rational solution. I'm more than willing to listen to arguments for the conclusion that we should raise the quotas--but more illegal immigration simply cannot be the correct solution to the problem.

Given this, and given that the government is currently ineffective in solving the problem, it is apparently a good thing that citizens should try to help out. Now, so long as they aren't hurting anyone but are merely assisting law enforcement, it's difficult to see what objection one could raise to their actions. One might, of course, object to their character, but that's a different matter. Again, if they are, in fact, racists, then to hell with 'em.

But my suspicion is that the charges of racism are (sadly, typical) knee-jerk reactions from the left. Many of the protest-prone on the left think that all white males who live outside of NYC are racists. They see a rancher with a pickup truck and a cowboy hat and the case is closed. But here's the thing: if I thought that our immigration policies were just (which I do), and illegal immigrants were cutting my fences, killing my cattle, and shitting on my land, and if the government wasn't stopping them, then I'd be doing exactly what the Minutemen are doing. And I'm as anti-racist as you can get. Consequently, acting as the Minutemen are acting does not ipso facto make you a racist, nor reprehensible in any way that I can discern.

So I look at the Minutemen and think there but for the grace of God go I. Only the fact that my folks' farm/ranch is in Missouri rather than New Mexico separates me from them. But for an accident of geography, those scrawny little rich kids in their studiously pre-shabbified Ambercrombie and Fitch t-shirts would be calling me a racist. Hell, I was bucking racism when those weenies were attending their upscale, racially integrated preschools. How irritating. How tedious. How predictable...

Liberals would do well to distance themselves from the kookier elements of the left, especially the knee-jerk yer-a-racist crowd. Among other reasons, liberals have--in case you haven't noticed--more important things to be doing these days.

[Note: as always, this is intended to be the next word, not the last word, on the subject. I'm more interested in hearing your reaction than expressing my own. As always, I could be wrong.]