And the Elise Stefanik award goes to ...
I’m proud to announce the launch of the Elise Stefanik award. It’s to honor luminaries in the worlds of politics, journalism, and tech, who have devoted their lives to trying to make people hate America.
The first official recipient of the prestigious prize is Ali Bradley, a correspondent with NewsNation Network and a self-described “Jesus Follower” in her Twitter bio.
There are many reasons people get into journalism, besides the lavish lifestyle (that’s a dumb joke please consider becoming a paid subscriber for $5 a month!). For some it’s about speaking truth to power. For others, it’s to berate a young asylum seeker on camera.
“You don’t care that we have to pay for all of this?” demands Bradley. The Moroccan 20-year-old she’s interrogating for seeking asylum at the border tries to explain, never losing his smile.
“Look… listen …” he counters.
“Americans are paying for all of this!” she yells in outrage. Lady if you’re worried about what America is spending money on these days… let just say Jesus wouldn’t be a fan of where our tax dollars are going, and his problem wouldn’t be that we’re paying for this kid to eat food while he’s legally not allowed to work.
“I can find work there I’ll find work here. I will work in the trash,” he says, continuing to smile beatifically, as she berates him.
“You’ll do anything?”
“Yeah. I’m ready to do anything for America. I’m here for work, I’m here for America, I will file my taxes.” He says like a million times how much he loves America. How many American 20-something year old men love America so much they say they’d work in American trash just to be in America?
“I respect America. I respect American laws … everything.”
“You say you respect America but you broke our rules!” she continues shrilly.
“No no no!” he says laughing.
When people break rules that are very stupid rules, rules that are impossible to follow, treating it like some big “Gotcha!” is the sign of a fascistic mindset.
The kid in the video wants to come to New York and work as an uber driver. His first plan is to get a bike so he can do deliveries (“Who’s going to pay for your bike?!” the now totally unhinged Bradley practically screams at him).
Our right-wing Mayor, in tones similar to Bradley’s, has hysterically been screeching there’s no more room in New York.
The responses to her post are a mix of folks demanding the man be deported and people telling her to burn in Hell.
But I think my favorite type of response is when people point out the guy in the video is more “American” — in the good sense of the word — than she is: Industry. Optimism. Hard work. Bravery. Smiling a lot (I’ve had conversations with Eastern Europeans about why the fuck Americans smile so much. It’s partly about being fake, but it’s also mostly having good teeth (if you can afford it) and the fact that giving someone a smile makes them feel good). Shit, these fucking asylum seekers are the only Horatio Alger characters in the country (yes I know the classist racist history).
The first Elise Stefanik award for a lifelong commitment to the endeavor of making more people dislike America goes to Ali Bradley (*even though in this case she failed. The kid really likes America!)
Nominations for future recipients are welcomed in the comments.
Watch the video here and tell me who best embodies American ideals.