Latest news with #AlligatorAuschwitz
Los Angeles Times
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Letters to the Editor: ‘Is this what we've become?' Readers bemoan Florida's ‘Alligator Alcatraz'
To the editor: At my nearby park, there is a 'hope and healing meditation path' that includes benches with encouraging messages. One has these words about compassion: 'You can never really know what someone else is going through. However, we can listen with our hearts and be open to the depths of others' pain.' That message caught my attention during my walk because I had just seen the president of the United States joking about people trying to outrun alligators at his new detention center in Florida ('Trump tours Florida immigration lockup and jokes about escapees having to run from alligators,' July 1). I've seen one commentator describe 'Alligator Alcatraz' as 'performance cruelty.' Clearly, the president missed a recent Los Angeles Times op-ed with the headline 'In an era that celebrates cruelty, embrace subversive kindness.' Clearly, he hasn't seen the message about compassion on our park bench in Corona. And sadly, his habit of making cruel remarks and his lack of compassion has spread to many in his administration and beyond. John Saville, Corona .. To the editor: As the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, it is horrifying to see the concentration camps that the current administration is setting up with wild abandon and then mocking those sent there by saying they shouldn't 'run in a straight line,' in order to avoid an alligator. Truly, is this what we've become? Wendy Winter, Los Angeles .. To the editor: When I saw the picture of the metal bunks in tiers, my thought was 'Alligator Auschwitz,' not Alcatraz. I find this so horrific I cannot even find words for it. It is beyond disgusting. Trump said he was going to get rid of dangerous criminals, murderers and rapists, but is instead going after people who never did anyone any harm. Their only sin was coming here illegally many years ago. Some were brought here by parents fleeing violence in their own country, wanting a better life for their children. Many have worked and paid taxes to the U.S. government. Some are married to American citizens. They are now called 'detainees' and will be housed in a nightmare of a prison until they are deported. How did our country sink so low? Lorraine Knopf, Santa Monica
Hindustan Times
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
‘These are human beings you're laughing about': MAGA loyalist blasted for gleefully flaunting ‘Alligator Alcatraz' hat
The new immigration detention center in South Florida called 'Alligator Alcatraz' has sparked controversy and protests since its opening. Located at an isolated airstrip, it can house '3,000 people in dormitories corralled by chain-link fences'. Though protestors have labelled it as an 'inhumane makeshift prison camp', many supporters are hailing it as a 'cost-effective' detention space. Amid the controversy, a MAGA loyalist, Benny Johnson, attracted the wrath of social media after he shared a video showing off his new 'Alligator Alcatraz' hat. MAGA supporter Benny Johnson with his 'official Alligator Alcatraz merch'. (X/@bennyjohnson) 'Hi guys. I have just been handed official Alligator Alcatraz merch. I repeat, this prison has merch. Things are going insanely well,' he wrote on X and posted the video. In the video, Johnson shows off his hat with the word "Alcatraz" written on it, just below a picture of an alligator. Throughout the video, he talks about the merchandise with a smile on his face. People have slammed him for being insensitive while talking about a space that is constructed to detain people. Take a look at the video: What did social media say? Slamming Johnson, an individual posted, 'These are human beings you're laughing about.' Another added, 'Imagine nazi merch back in the 1930s with 'Alligator Auschwitz' plastered on them as the camps were being built. That's where we're at right now.' A third joined, 'Benny, that place will be housing Americans in the not so distant future. Won't be so cool then.' Also Read: Man who rescued Florida girl from shark attack arrested by ICE, faces deportation A fourth wrote, 'While I agree with a lot of what's going on. The boasting of us building prisons, jails, and taunting people being deported sets us a class below the rest of the world. It's incredulous to see a world where we are making a mockery of such things.' A few, however, showed support for Johnson, adding that they love his new hat. Why the nickname "Alligator Alcatraz'? The detention center dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz' by officials is 'surrounded by swamps filled with mosquitoes, pythons and alligators.' Talking about the detention center, US President Donald Trump said, 'We're surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland and the only way out is, really, deportation,' Trump said, adding, 'This is an amazing thing that they've done here.' 'This is what you need. A lot of bodyguards and a lot of cops in the form of alligators.' the president added. 'This 30-square-mile [78sq-km] area is completely surrounded by the Everglades. It presents an efficient, low-cost opportunity to build a temporary detention facility because you don't need to invest that much in the perimeter,' said State Attorney General James Uthmeier. 'If people get out, there's not much waiting for them other than alligators and pythons. Nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide," Uthmeier continued. (With inputs from Reuters)
