Minutemen, or should I say Minuteklan members are somewhat popular in the desert Southwest among certain parts of the population down there. Yet when their ilk come to the liberal bastion of the Northeast, and more specifically the campus of NYU, things are a bit different. The College Republicans invited the group's leader Chris Simcox to a panel discussion on immigration today. The crowd did not take it lightly, in fact they vehemently jeered and taunted the racist bastard.
From NYC Indymedia:
NEW YORK, NY – The last time a representative of the Minuteman Project came to speak at a New York college campus, he was chased out of town by students who did not want him there. Jim Gilchrist received a lot of press because of his Columbia University appearance, courtesy of the conservative press. Since then he lost his position as head of the Minuteklan, but the person who he co-founded the organization with, Chris Simcox, is still a part of the group, and it was his turn to visit the Big Apple. In his case it was New York University, and he was invited to speak by NYU’s College Republicans, the same ones who in February held a “Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day” on campus. Like that event, the Simcox appearance did not go over well, as students vocally protested and shouted him down.
Simcox was part of a panel discussion at NYU’s Kimmel Center that also featured Jan Ting, a recent Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Delaware and a frequent commentator on immigration and national security; Enrique Morones, founder of Border Angels, a group that provides water and aid to people trying to cross the U.S.-Mexican border; and professor Guillermina Jasso, a sociology professor at NYU. Bob Buckler, NYU's student activities director, will moderate the panel. The audience was quiet when Jasso and Ting gave their remarks, but became energized once Morones took the microphone. Morones first admonished the College Republicans for their “Find an Illegal Immigrant Day”. He then went after Simcox and his lack of character, noting past accusations of child abuse from his second ex-wife. When Morones talked of the anti-immigration campaigns going on in the country, he made note of the racism that has been more than apparent among the ranks, citing the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and the Anti-Defamation League as sources. Touching on the fact that some anti-immigration activists were Black and Latino, he simply said that the ascension of the Minutemen has shown the nation two things, “Racism is alive and well in America, and racism knows no color.”
Although the event wasn't as chaotic as when former Minutemen head Jim Gilchrist was thrown off the campus uptown at Columbia, the students certainly made their opinions heard. NYU is a center for free speech and Simcox got to speak (albeit with interruptions) but so did the crowd and the others on the panel that see through the racism that the Minutemen hold in their core.
The outburst was created by Sarah Chambers, the President of the College Republican chapter. She is known for leading the "Catch an illegal immigrant game" a few months back that got her deserved derision from the students, faculty and even Keith Olbermann. She has earned the disgust of the University, which might serve her well when applying for a job with the Republican party in the future. Who knows, she might even be the next Monica Goodling.
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