SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Ron Colburn, president of the Border Patrol Foundation and former national deputy chief of the CBP, appeared on Fox & Friends Monday morning and claimed that pepper spray is so harmless you could "put it on your nachos" and eat it. (Screenshot: Fox News)
Shooting Pepper Spray at Children Okay, Former CBP Deputy Chief Tells Fox News, Because 'You Could Actually Put It on Your Nachos and Eat It'
"The layers of racism encapsulated in this short clip is extraordinary."
Nov 25, 2018
Amid widespread outrage and condemnation over the tear gassing of mothers, their children, and other asylum seekers and migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border on Sunday, Ronald Colburn, president of the Border Patrol Foundation and former national deputy chief of the CBP, appeared on Fox & Friends Monday morning and claimed the gas--which reports said led to children "screaming and coughing in the mayhem" that resulted from it--was really just a "natural" product and "you actually could put it on your nachos and eat it."
As one observer put it, the stupidity of Colburn's statement has to be seen to be believed:
\u201cOn Fox & Friends, Border Patrol Foundation president defends pepper spraying latinx migrants because \u201cit\u2019s natural. You could actually put it on your nachos and eat it.\u201d\u201d— Bobby Lewis (@Bobby Lewis) 1543233563
The outrageous claim and inhumanity of its implications did not go over well:
\u201cNachos.... The layers of racism encapsulated in this short clip is extraordinary. #txlege\u201d— Rebecca Marques (@Rebecca Marques) 1543242632
\u201cActually BOTH tear gas and pepper spray were fired at migrants. I\u2019ve been in a tear gas chamber for training purposes and know its effects. Either way, it\u2019s unconscionable. As to this quote, who doesn\u2019t like a side of racism with their nachos?\u201d— Tim Schenck (@Tim Schenck) 1543241439
"These children are barefoot. In diapers. Choking on tear gas." via @washingtonpost we would love to see the Border Patrol president and his kids eat some pepper spray and tear gas on their nachos live on @foxandfriends then FIRE HIM AND NIELSEN #DHS who gave orders 4 this
-- CSHecht (@cs_hecht) November 26, 2018
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Amid widespread outrage and condemnation over the tear gassing of mothers, their children, and other asylum seekers and migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border on Sunday, Ronald Colburn, president of the Border Patrol Foundation and former national deputy chief of the CBP, appeared on Fox & Friends Monday morning and claimed the gas--which reports said led to children "screaming and coughing in the mayhem" that resulted from it--was really just a "natural" product and "you actually could put it on your nachos and eat it."
As one observer put it, the stupidity of Colburn's statement has to be seen to be believed:
\u201cOn Fox & Friends, Border Patrol Foundation president defends pepper spraying latinx migrants because \u201cit\u2019s natural. You could actually put it on your nachos and eat it.\u201d\u201d— Bobby Lewis (@Bobby Lewis) 1543233563
The outrageous claim and inhumanity of its implications did not go over well:
\u201cNachos.... The layers of racism encapsulated in this short clip is extraordinary. #txlege\u201d— Rebecca Marques (@Rebecca Marques) 1543242632
\u201cActually BOTH tear gas and pepper spray were fired at migrants. I\u2019ve been in a tear gas chamber for training purposes and know its effects. Either way, it\u2019s unconscionable. As to this quote, who doesn\u2019t like a side of racism with their nachos?\u201d— Tim Schenck (@Tim Schenck) 1543241439
"These children are barefoot. In diapers. Choking on tear gas." via @washingtonpost we would love to see the Border Patrol president and his kids eat some pepper spray and tear gas on their nachos live on @foxandfriends then FIRE HIM AND NIELSEN #DHS who gave orders 4 this
-- CSHecht (@cs_hecht) November 26, 2018
Amid widespread outrage and condemnation over the tear gassing of mothers, their children, and other asylum seekers and migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border on Sunday, Ronald Colburn, president of the Border Patrol Foundation and former national deputy chief of the CBP, appeared on Fox & Friends Monday morning and claimed the gas--which reports said led to children "screaming and coughing in the mayhem" that resulted from it--was really just a "natural" product and "you actually could put it on your nachos and eat it."
As one observer put it, the stupidity of Colburn's statement has to be seen to be believed:
\u201cOn Fox & Friends, Border Patrol Foundation president defends pepper spraying latinx migrants because \u201cit\u2019s natural. You could actually put it on your nachos and eat it.\u201d\u201d— Bobby Lewis (@Bobby Lewis) 1543233563
The outrageous claim and inhumanity of its implications did not go over well:
\u201cNachos.... The layers of racism encapsulated in this short clip is extraordinary. #txlege\u201d— Rebecca Marques (@Rebecca Marques) 1543242632
\u201cActually BOTH tear gas and pepper spray were fired at migrants. I\u2019ve been in a tear gas chamber for training purposes and know its effects. Either way, it\u2019s unconscionable. As to this quote, who doesn\u2019t like a side of racism with their nachos?\u201d— Tim Schenck (@Tim Schenck) 1543241439
"These children are barefoot. In diapers. Choking on tear gas." via @washingtonpost we would love to see the Border Patrol president and his kids eat some pepper spray and tear gas on their nachos live on @foxandfriends then FIRE HIM AND NIELSEN #DHS who gave orders 4 this
-- CSHecht (@cs_hecht) November 26, 2018
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.