As the weekend commenced, reports began to emerge from Springfield, Ohio, about Haitian immigrants dining on local pets and wildlife, showing that about the time you think the news cycle has gotten as weird as it can get, it turns around and proves you wrong. As Rick pointed out, the local PD claims that it has no reports of such incidents despite the mounting complaints of the residents. Then again, Jared Polis' office said there was no problem with Venezuelan gangs taking over apartments in Aurora, Colo., so be sure to grab a decent helping of salt to go with all those denials.
While all eyes have been focused on Springfield, a relatively boring midwestern town (I know this because I grew up just a few minutes away from there), a disturbing story emerged from New York this week.
Via The New York Post:
Animal sacrifices are surging in Queens, with chickens, pigs and rats being tortured, mutilated or killed in “twisted” religious rituals in parkland surrounding Jamaica Bay, The Post has learned.
In a little over a month, at least nine wounded animals or carcasses have been discovered in the federally-managed Spring Creek Park in Howard Beach and the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Broad Channel — including five live pigs with partially severed ears.
Creatures recovered from the revolting scene also include a near-dead baby rat tied up in a bag with chicken bones; a freshly-decapitated chicken head; a live hen in distress; and a dead dog with its neck snapped.
“It’s continually getting worse. The animal sacrifices are happening more repeatedly, more times a week,” Sloane Quealy, co-founder and president of Zion’s Mission Animal Rescue, told The Post. “The sacrificers know it’s open season.”
The article says that the issue is a decades-old problem, and many have linked it to a Hindu sect that worships the deity Kali and is tied to some people from Hindu Guyanese and Indo-Caribbean communities.
Acharya Arun Gossai, who runs the Bhuvaneshwar Mandir temple in Ozone Park, told the paper, “It’s a misconstruing of what the scriptures say about conquering the animalistic values. They’ve twisted it, and they’ve sacrificed an actual animal rather than sacrificing the animalistic qualities of man.” This particular sect may be twisting Hindu scripture, which is a problem for any religion, but the fact is that they are still doing it.
Where do we draw the line? If the local authorities decide to make arrests and even file charges for animal cruelty, will the defendants claim they have the freedom to practice their beliefs, no matter how cruel? How many will come to their defense?
Living in Utah, one is aware of polygamy. I see the women in the grocery and box stores from time to time in their prairie dresses, and they mostly keep to themselves. Authorities have raided polygamous compounds in Arizona and Texas, and polygamist leader Warren Jeffs is in prison. Why? Because of child marriages and multiple crimes of child sexual abuse. People may have a right to worship and believe as they wish but not to victimize others.
Amid the stories of ducks, geese, and housecats allegedly becoming carry-out dinners in Springfield and animal sacrifices in New York, there are also the issues of the impact of so many people on housing, services, and infrastructure and, for that matter, the danger to residents. One Springfield woman is dealing with immigrants threatening her, throwing garbage on her lawn, and trying to squat on her property.
I went to Haiti on a mission trip years ago. Given what I saw there, it is no surprise that Haitian illegal immigrants would feel entitled to throw garbage and squat in this woman's front yard. Haiti is a failed state, and crime and chaos reign. But these people are no longer in Haiti. They are in the United States, and what is SOP in Haiti is not SOP in the U.S. Well, given the headlines over the last few years, particularly from California and other blue areas, it is rapidly becoming SOP here, but that is another story.
If we are expected to turn a blind eye to these situations in the name of diversity, at what point do we say that allowing such latitude threatens the general welfare? At what point does the idea of "that's how they do it in their country" cross a line? Will those who wail, rant, and rend their garments over Mega-MAGA-Chrisitan-Nationalistic-White-Supremacists feign ignorance or even righteous indignation should Sharia courts and female genital mutilation become the norm in the U.S.?
It is worth noting that while Biden and the Left made sure we all knew about the dangers of white supremacy, they were attempting to divert attention from the influx of illegal immigrants to places like New York, Chicago, and, yes, Springfield. And now, many people are seeing the results of the administration's policy and misdirection.
At the Greek Orthodox church we attend, certain parts of the service are in English and Greek. It doesn't bother me since it is a Greek Orthodox church, and I expected there to be a lot more Greek than there is. Because the church attracts a variety of people, we recite the Lord's Prayer in English, Greek, and Russian. The church recently added a Middle Eastern language, although I do not know which one, and that is fine.
There is nothing wrong with retaining one's cultural identity and traditions. And yes, that goes beyond a restaurant or cultural festival. No one should come to this country and be forced to dye their hair blonde and take a potato casserole to the social at the First Whatever Church. One of the benefits of moving from a rural area to a more urban one is the opportunity to meet new people from different places and enjoy the diversity. Yes, I said the "D" word. And I enjoy it daily.
But just because something is de rigueur in one's place of origin does not make it a positive thing by default. Every time I have traveled overseas, I have made a point of learning the local customs and mores, specifically because my destination is not my country, and I should not expect the rest of the planet to conform to my worldview. And it is reasonable to expect the same from people who come here, especially regarding things that harm others.
This past spring, my wife read me an interesting post on Facebook. A California transplant who had moved to one of the yet-to-be-developed areas in the county was positively offended. She had opened her windows to enjoy the weather, only to discover that the owners of a nearby plot of land were burning their fields. The few people left who raise hay for animal feed burn their fields before planting. It has been this way for years. She was furious that someone should do what they always do at that time of year since it inconvenienced her.
The overwhelming response was similar to that little ditty that pops up from time to time: She left there to come here, and here is not there. If things were so great there, she was welcome to leave here and return there or toughen up and accept the situation here. If here is better than there, do not come here and try to turn it into there.
