How Many Cups 40: Alligator Alcatraz Reminds Me Of The Time When...
here we go again
Sorry for the hiatus. Life happened, wonderfully. I’m back now. Expect more posts like this as well as some esoteric, indecipherable thoughts on cultural, social and political ideas.
“What’s ‘dehumanizing’ is when American citizens are stripped of their rights and their liberties by the invasion of illegal aliens!”
- Stephen Miller, Trump Administration, yesterday-ish
The recklessness of such an idea has me unsure how to package it to you, so I’ll keep it factual and short. In Ochopee, Florida a caged camp for soon-to-be deported undocumented immigrants has been erected. It sits on an old air strip, surrounded by seemingly every nightmarish creature Death’s Waiting Room has to offer, alligators included.
When questioned about “Alligator Alcatraz” both President Trump and sometimes rival - sometimes sycophant Governor Ron DeSantis have commented on the camp’s natural boundaries. They each remarked something along the lines of how the encampment is surrounded by alligators. Substituting gators in for guards may have saved some of the $450 million estimated cost it will take to run the camp for a year. Now that’s DOGE at work.
“Were babies ever used as bait?”
- Maria Granditsky, Stockholm to the Jim Crow Museum, 2013
It is more than just sad to realize that this is a totally fair question to ask an historian. It reveals the paradox of human monstrosity: the more heinous the injury to a person, the less likely we believe that a person could do it all. The more evil a human is, the less likely we think we could do evil as well. Still, were alligators actually fed human beings in America?
Kinda. Here’s proof from The Washington Times in 1908.
“The two crocodIles and all but four of of the twenty five alligators wobbled out as quick as they could after the the ebony mites who darted around the tank.”
This event occurred at the New York Zoological Garden when a zookeeper wanted to impress visitors by luring the alligators out of their hideaway. Furthermore, it was reported that visitors had the chance to shoot one of the gators and claim it as their prize. Black babies (“ebony mites”) were used as the bait, having their respective lives endangered by both salivating predators and also the alligators. If dodging jagged teeth weren’t enough, the younglings also had to pray for the bullet to hits it’s intended target and not them.
This is likely how the slur “alligator bait” came into the public consciousness. Indeed, even baseball legend Bob Gibson recounted how the racial epithet was hurled his way. But by that time, alligator bait paraphernalia had already been hotly sought after items, transforming the concept from regional lore to nationwide commonality.
Eight years prior to their zoo reporting, The Washington Times noted how alligator bait drawing-and-caption contests were gripping parts of the country. One contest in Knoxville required a committee to determine who the winner would be, bringing a new kind of community fun to Southern racists.
I could write thousands of words about the evil crimes committed against slaves and former slaves - America’s original sin. I could even tell you about times African-American skin was used to make leather clothes. Or, I could show you an image.
Oh, and one quick thing: I could care less about your political opinion, but if you are okay with alligators being used as a consequence for living somewhere other than the place you were born… I don’t know what to tell you. Your God will have a few prepared remarks for you, however. And if you are okay with people being okay with this concept, take a trip to Florida, permanently.