But...he was not particularly gentle. Among other things, he was responsible for the massacre of about 500 native Americans at Acoma Pueblo. He also ordered many of the survivors of the massacre mutilated (all men over 25 lost a foot) and then deported to Mexico City where they were sold into slavery. In fact, he was so brutal that when King Philip of Spain heard about the events at Acoma, he had Oñate recalled from New Mexico, never to return.
Thus, the statue of him in Old Town has always been a bit of a sore point for the Native Americans of New Mexico, and for their allies. So, on 15 June, a group of them gathered at Old Town and called for the statue to be removed, the way that statues of Confederate soldiers are being removed from the South, and those of slave traders are being hauled away in the U.K.
However...
A private militia group calling itself the “New Mexico Civil Guard” also arrived at the site. They were very heavily armed and, according to news reports, began intimidating the protestors with their weapons.
What happened after that is still unclear, but apparently there was some sort of a scuffle between the protestors and one or more of the militia members. It seems that one of the militia men threw a woman, presumably a protestor, to the ground. Then, the crowd moved in on the militia man. He then did exactly what you’d expect. He pulled out his gun and used it.
As of yesterday, the report was that one man ...a protestor...had been shot and was in the hospital in “critical but stable” condition.
The Albuquerque Police...bless them!...swooped in and arrested the militia members. The shooter has been booked on charges of aggravated battery.
Now, why am I telling you all this? Because, for one thing, Albuquerque is my home town. I don’t live there right now, but I did for several years. And so I’m particularly interested in what goes on in the city.
And, for another...because I’m been saying for years that the presence of heavily armed “militias,” like the ones that invaded state legislatures during anti-quarantine demonstrations, are incompatible with democracy...and that it was only a matter of time before the militia members started trying to kill their opponents. Which means liberals, Democrats, Never Trump Republicans, and anyone else that they just don’t like.
Which means, this incident, if nothing else, is proof positive of my thesis...
When all this is done and said, and Trump is out of the White House, the next thing we must do is think long and hard about the fact that the Right has decided it is okay to use weapons against their fellow Americans in political disputes.
And we must decide what to do about that.
Before it is far too late.
Sources:
"Armed ‘militia’ members arrested, gunman identified after man is shot at Albuquerque protest," Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/06/16/albuquerque-militia-shooting-protest/
‘Horrified and disgusted beyond words’, Albuquerque Journal, https://www.abqjournal.com/1466626/one-man-shot-during-protest-in-old-town-albuquerque.html
***
About me: I’m a writer and former journalist who has published material on everything from computers to the Jazz Age. (Among my small claims to fame is that I interviewed Steve Jobs just after that talented if complicated man got kicked out of Apple, and just before the company’s Board came begging him to come back.)
Please check out my new book, Padre: To The Island, a meditation on mortality, grief, and joy, based on the lives and deaths of two of the most amazing and unconventional people I ever met, my mother and father.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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