"Conservative Anthony" is Part of the Racism Problem

Obviously as a blogger I am a firm believer that words matter. There is a power in the collection of consonants and vowels that make up our language.

Words have the power to incite hate and violence - like the words spewed from Adolf Hitler during the holocaust. He referred to Jews as vermin - which was a way to dehumanize them and justify the treatment of the Jews in Europe during World War II.

Words have the power to heal - like Robert F. Kennedy following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

On the heels of what has happened to our community I think its important that we stop the next tragedy from happening before it happens. That requires us to be vigilant and when we see something - say something.

Because words become deeds.

As we have already seen, President Trump has tied this tragedy to immigration. A man who hated raza, drove 10 hours to come kill brown people. Because he doesn't like Latinos in Texas and called it an invasion.

You know who else uses words like "invasion" when it comes to brown people in Texas? The so-called "Conservative Anthony".

His real name is Anthony Aguero and he's a candidate for congress here in El Paso. He's a felon and has been charged with everything from possession of a controlled substance to domestic violence. He nearly killed a couple of people when we drove down the wrong direction of the freeway when he was wasted.

But listen to that rhetoric. Listen to how he refers to other people. He calls them roaches - does that effort to dehumanize a person sound familiar?

He actually says he wants to physically assault one of the immigrants in the video - which would be a new thing for Aguero because according to his criminal history, he only hits women. He actually says "...makes me want to slap his ass..." which is tough talk from such a little guy. And a little guy who cowered in fear when he was confronted by a veteran when Aguero was lurking in the dark between cars at the Greyhound station around Christmas time last year.

Listen to the cries of the children he's terrorizing.



So when you wonder how extremists can become so reactionary and radicalized - remember videos like this. If you're like me, the things you hear him say will horrify and anger you.