"Suffer the Little Children" ... Unless They're Illegal Mestizos

The New Testament is replete with examples of Jesus' love for children. "Suffer the little children to come unto me," was uttered in response to those who thought He had better things to do. This love for children is shared by all major religious traditions. But not the Lehigh Valley Tea Party.

They're blowin' oil because KidsPeace has agreed to accept some of the undocumented and unaccompanied children who, through no fault of their own, ended up in this country. They're being deported unless granted asylum. But we, as a civilized country, have an obligation to care for them until that time. As observed in Leviticus, "You must regard the foreigner who lives with you as the native-born among you. You are to love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt; I am Yahweh your God."

On Sunday, a day when most families take their children to church, a small army of about 70 boisterous Lehigh Valley Tea Party protesters gathered outside Salisbury Township's KidsPeace. That nonprofit exists to tell children that they matter, even if they've been abused or neglected. But the tea party was there, blocking the entrance, and delivering the loud message that they are unwanted. They were led by Chair Ronnie DelBacco, a failed Easton School Board candidate. Also present were Northampton County Council member Hayden Phillips and failed judicial and Bethlehem City Council candidate Tom Carroll.

(NorCo Council member Hayden Phillips on far left of this picture, which shows tea party members blocking KidsPeace entrance). 

Three Salisbury Township police officers had their hands full, trying to keep people from getting killed along Broadway, a very busy road.  Some tea party members took to their motorcycles and cruised up and down Broadway, waving signs demanding President Obama's impeachment, along with Confederate flags.

They began filling up the parking lot of the nearby "6 Pack" tavern, whose foreign owner complained and asked them to leave.

"I thought this was a free country," snarled one of them, while others drove off.

It is, and in a free country, property owners have rights. Even if they have a foreign accent.

Ironically, as I learned from a recently retired KidsPeace worker, it is highly unlikely that the Salisbury facility will house any of these children. The Schnecksville facility is better suited, and it could very well be that a bus slipped in there while DelBacco and his crowd were blocking the Salisbury entrance.

I sure hope so.

So all the noise and hollering fell on the ears of American children, many of them already abused. This is similar to what happened a few days ago in Arizona, when the tea party descended on a yellow school bus full of what they thought were Central American migrants. They were YMCA campers, each one an American.

Collateral damage, to people like DelBacco.

Across the street, there was a smaller group of counter-protesters, led by Easton Attorney Joe Welsh.

The wild group of counter-protesters included dangerous children like the two you see in the picture below,* along with adult Jeremiah Lormand.

Counter-protester Kara Rosa struck a pose in the picture you see below.

Speaking of hypocrisy, that came when DelBacco decided to lead everyone in prayer.

To me, this is not about immigration. It's about how we treat children.

* Blogger's Note: I do question the wisdom of letting children attend these events. The whole point of my post is about taking better care of our children.