By Thomas Thorspecken
The scene at the entrance of Alligator Alcatraz was chaotic with protestors who want the facility removed lining both sides of the street. Florida State Troopers and National Guard Troops were on hand to be sure the entrance to the concentration camp remained open. A helicopter hoovered over head. I am not sure if the helicopter was for media or the camp security.
There was a bit of a circus atmosphere around the entrance. was one pro Trump protestor who had a sign that said, “Send more Gators.” A family showed up later with a father waving a 1776 American flag and his daughter held a Trump, MAGA election flag. They were quickly surrounded by media like a swarm of mosquitos. The little girl spread her arms to unfurl the blue flag, then she wore it like a shawl over her shoulders to protest from the intense sun.
Protestors against the facility far outnumbered the people celebrating cruelty. The number of reporters far out numbered all the protestors on hand. My friend Stella P. Arbelaéz Tascón and I walked around on cameraman standing on the shoulder who was looking through his camera with his back to traffic. A blue jeep veered towards us at maybe 5 MPH. Stella and I jumped aside but the cameraman was blindsided and struck from behind. He fell forward twisting his body to look back as he fell. His left foot got caught under the front tire and then the car ran over his leg up to his knee. I was right beside him as it happened.
Though political opinions were divisive, people pulled together to help the man who was run down. The driver was panicked and clueless as she slowly backed up off his leg, off the shoulder and into the road. A thin white line separated where it as safe to walk and the traffic on the road. All traffic was stopped by state troopers after the accident. A national guardsman talked to the injured man and kept him still until EMTs could arrive. The shoe was taken off the man’s injured leg. If he was in extreme pain then he knew how to mask the pain. Thousands of photos must have been taken as he lay on the shoulder of the road. The ambulance arrived from inside Alligator Alcatraz and he was loaded on a gurney and taken inside. Legislators and representatives who toured the facility that day complained that they could not see the medical facilities. This one cameraman got to see the medical facilities first hand.
Stella had been interviewed by a Univision reporter in Spanish. Stella’s interview kicked ass since she was well versed in how development was encroaching on the natural beauty of the Everglades. Stella is from Colombia and speaks Spanish fluently, so her opinions carried weight as she spoke of Latino detainees with no criminal records being held in the facility. We looked t the comments with the now viral video and strangely few people addressed what Stella had said. Instead people seemed fixated on Boo Boo, her tiny dog who sat in her lap as she was sketching. People wanted to jump to the conclusion that Boo was suffering in the Florida heat even though his fur had recently been trimmed and he was in the shade of a golf umbrella. I can vouch for the fact that he is very well taken care of. People are instantly more concerned with the well being of a pet instead of having any compassion for humans being held under atrocious conditions in the detention camp. Steve, a National guardsman came over in his camouflage uniform and asked to pet Boo Boo. He explained that he had a small pup named Josephine Coco Pebbles. Josephine had her own social media page.
Any concern about the views of police, or National Guard, regarding the detention camp, melted away in part because people had to pull together to help an injured reporter. Boo Boo also helped bridge the political divide, allowing people to unite, or express concern about Boo’s well being, as he stood against injustice. The tiniest of pets can ignite concern while people celebrate cruelty to humans.