“Democracy,” quipped H. L. Mencken, “is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.” Whatever truth is in this witticism was laid bare by the recent political comedy surrounding Martha’s Vineyard and its ever-so-brief encounter with “diversity,” courtesy of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The good people of Martha’s Vineyard are the kind who vote, but never pay the bill for their stupid, reckless ideas. DeSantis let them experience democracy for a change, and they quickly realized that they don’t like it very much.
The system of government they prefer, the one under which we currently live, is not democracy but oligarchy. This reality turns Mencken’s aphorism on its head: the average American today seldom gets what he wants out of politics, but what so-called elites want for him. So it was gratifying to see the elites finally get a taste of their own medicine. Like many, I’m sure, I found myself wishing that DeSantis would turn their quaint little island into a favela. But I think the point has been made with devastating economy (just 50 migrants for a “humanitarian crisis”).
Like a good joke, the artless hypocrisy of Martha’s Vineyard requires no elaboration. Either you get it, or you don’t. You know who definitely doesn’t get the joke? Martha’s Vineyard. “They enriched us,” said one resident. And people who cannot find this funny have lost a part of themselves:
Martha's Vineyard residents cheer as illegal immigrants are led to a bus to a military facility pic.twitter.com/0iLDln2Pmn
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) September 17, 2022
DeSantis discredited some of the most absurd, self-important people in the country at minimal cost to everyone involved. That includes the migrants, who thanks to DeSantis are now closer to a final destination in the wealthiest country in the world. Some on the right question the prudence of DeSantis’ tactic for this reason. But it was a glorious bit of political theater that got the nation’s attention. Not something to be repeated often, but, like the follies of youth, worth doing . . . at least once.
The only people who have been harmed in this whole production are the white liberals who should be embarrassed for having been exposed as frauds, although they hardly seem to realize this. But they do know that they are very upset about something. What they are really mad about is that DeSantis presumed to treat immigrants, as liberals have done for decades, like tools of political warfare. In the white liberal mind, immigrants are rightfully theirs. Of course, they provide cheap household help, which is always a plus, but above all they are treasured fetish objects and blunt instruments for keeping “racist” white proles in their place.
The wealthy white Democrats who supported forced busing in the 1970s all sent their kids to private schools while the poor white kids got beat up at public schools miles from home. Things haven’t changed. The sovereignty that Martha’s Vineyard apparently enjoys is but a dream for countless Americans who have had their towns and their way of life transformed without their consent. This applies not just to immigration but a whole spectrum of things: crime, “gender-affirming” transgender insanity in schools, take your pick. The “elites,” of course, do not see an issue with this oppressive relationship. They find the rubes too contemptible to think about with anything but horror and disgust.
DeSantis thumbed his nose at these snobs and the unwritten rules of their rigged game. In so doing he provoked all sorts of interesting questions, like: if pretty little white towns filled with Biden voters can say no to “diversity,” why can’t the rest of us?