The Guardian covered the immigrant mothers protesting their detention in the private facilities run by GEO in Texas. Reading the comments on this article, I’m reminded of a story from my youth, some 60 years ago. We young boys would all head for the Midway of the “Iowa State Fair”.
The Midway is where all tents were set up with the tattoo artist, the two headed calf and the bearded lady. This area was sometimes referred to as “The Freak Show” They also had the scantily clad women who came out and danced on a stage for a few minutes to entice the men to buy a ticket for a more revealing show inside.
While the men stood mesmerized by the hoochie-coochie girls dancing on stage, we boys would quietly slip up behind them. Picking up a dirty ice cream stick, we would gently place it in their open hand. Without thinking, unable to tear their eyes away from the girls, they would close their hands tightly on the ice cream stick.
When the girls left the stage the men would come back to their senses; they would look down at their hand holding the dirty ice cream stick with a bewildering look on their face and then fling the stick to the ground, glancing around to see if anyone noticed.
You can be sure of one thing; GEO, the private prison corp. is reading these comments and loving it.
They have you all distracted while they put the “dirty ice cream stick in your hand” (picking your pocket).
I never quite figured out why they called it “The Freak Show”. Was it because of the bearded lady or those who bought the tickets to see her?
If you don’t stand up for these mothers, you probably wouldn’t stand up for your own mother.
