I think the “imagine” part is a bit of a policy prescription. Another words, this is the ‘effective’ way to deal with immigration. Just ‘imagine’ how effective it would be. Add to that the pictures that people like Rick Perry and Sean Hannity are always posting made up in military gear and with locked and loaded weaponry pointed toward the border and I think it does become a policy prescription in the minds of the people they are trying to influence, at least.

Anyone who has to go out of their way to show off their toughness is not truly tough.

It’s dangerous, and stupid. Like a bunch of testosterone addled teenagers working each other up into a frenzy with dares and bravado until one of them finally does something stupid.

I feel like it’s a real systemic problem in our society, this toxic masculinity, and guys like Jackson are just a symptom.

While I, too, am tremendously sick of the right-wing macho tough-guy gung-ho military (and psuedo-military!) bravado, I can’t find it in this limited quote to extrapolate that he either (A) ignored rules of engagement during his tour or that (B) he is advocating for similar tactics in the US.

Saying “imagine our southern border, except for we were allowed to shoot ‘em.” is just a comparison meant, in this context, to give some understanding of what he was doing during his first tour, not a policy prescription.

I’m reminded of that DHS warning about veterans returning from war who may be radicalized and have the training to act on it. You know, the warning the GOP freaked out about.

–alopecia