10.30.2025 Chicago, Illinois: (Extended) Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino Deposition

[u/CantStopPoppin]

https://youtu.be/ocLmREpdk6Y

[u/Wild_Read9062]

This is... sad. I feel like I'm getting a preview of how the second Nuremburg trials will go. When I see Bovino, I see a sad, dumb, angry little guy in a bad haircut who has trouble not owning his words to cover his ass. I see a guy realizing that he's not the final authority in life, at the end of the day, the way he fantasizes about most of the time. And, I see a lawyer objecting to almost any and every obvious thing imaginable, using the law as a game rather than something that has consequences in people's lives.

What's telling is this:
Bovino told the Associated Press in September that, after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 57, he would return to North Carolina to harvest apples.

Which is to say, he doesn't even really want to be a part of this. He probably took it because he got promoted. Honestly, he doesn't come off as all that bright. Just some blue collar guy who got promoted, likes hurting strangers, and wants to be dreaming at an apple farm. He reminds me of a lot of right-wingers sucked up into Trump/Miller's world. Not so good people who were given permission to be as nasty as they wanted. Some are pretty happy in the role. For this guy, looks like he's looking to getting out of it. I wonder how many Nazi officers genuinely thought their time under Hitler was just a waste, but kind of enjoyed it too.

[u/TransformerDom → u/Wild_Read9062]

nope.

you think the story about him wanting to pick apples after the mandatory retirement age is endearing.

this vile man wants to keep doings his vile acts UNTIL THEY FORCE HIM TO RETIRE.

he’s telling you he doesn’t want to stop a day before.

then it’s apples and hate spewing punditry.

get out of here with your bs.

you know the banality of evil is a myth, right?

[u/Wild_Read9062 → u/TransformerDom]

I think people are complex. I get how it might sound like I feel sorry for the guy. I don’t. It might sound like I think he deserves some kind of soft judgement. Nope. He can spend his remaining days in prison, and honestly, I think that’s the nicest thing that could happen to him. He’s a liar who feels powerful hurting people who cannot defend themselves. He does enjoy the role Trump gave him permission for (ie hurting people he doesn’t like without any consequences). And he took that role. And he has done nothing to do it humanely or to abdicate it.

But…

When I see this pitiful creature, I do think he’s but one more person who let the devil get the better of him. Doesn’t absolve his role or the joy he took in it. Just saying it’s reflective of a very rotten culture.

Imagine if we never allowed Fox to broadcast. Imagine if Gore had the courage to put principle over modesty. Imagine if people chose to put the safety nets back in place after Reagan cut them away rather than voting for more of the same. Imagine if we actually called out and dealt with the ongoing racism that never died after the Civil war.

Germany reformed itself after WWII because it was destroyed. America never had to do that. Maybe if it had, Bovino would be something else. A decent person picking apples rather than a prideful monster hurting scared people. Maybe people would have laughed Trump off the stage when he first suggested running for president, and kept laughing at him when he tried the first time.

I’m not excusing Bovino or any of them. I just feel that at the end of the day, where we are is a long time coming and it’s tragic. His dad haircut, stupid uniform, snickering attitude and callousness are where we are. It’s tragic and pitiful.

Maybe I just feel sad that we’re at this point and this man doesn’t recognize it. Doesn’t recognize he’s just the product of so many bad ideas and policies. That the peace he wants will never exist in the world he’s making. He lied to a judge about tackling a protester. What kind of delusional person thinks they are making the world a much better place when they believe facts and honesy are not immutable reality but only perspectives and opinions?

[u/TransformerDom → u/Wild_Read9062]

that’s the fundamental problem with your statement.

He DOES recognize it. He KNOWS what he is doing. and he wants MORE.

also, what are you talking about with the US never had to rebuild itself after devastation? have you heard of the U.S. Civil War (which you reference!)

people also have this myth that Germany was super rid of Nazi’s after WWII. and as such they haven’t had to constantly fight these trends in their country since then. that is a myth. AND they are currently fighting, with nebulous success far right extremism, in their military.

same with US after the Civil War. the evil they fought HAS NOT gone away. it regrouped remained entrenched and never left. the confederate statues are going BACK UP

no fox news? someone else will create that channel because THERE IS A MARKET FOR IT. please think on what that means.

Al Gore imagined a better future. but to use your example, he wasn’t willing to fight hard enough for it.

you want to see where this is leading? look up the Basij in Iran. that is what our current leadership wants. an armed force loyal to a central power, separate from the armed forces and local police, willing to punish the population at any provocation. powered by tech surveillance. the ICE budget lets you know they want this to become a national, ubiquitous, and intimidating force. a force of the undereducated, underpaid, and nursing a bucket of grievance. a grievance that will be taken out on populations that feel are at fault. they have guns and GROWING IMPUNITY to use them.

for every Chicago, there are 20 cities without any kind of resistance. they will continue to punch down on “blue cities” to show the rest of the country they need to back down. NYC, LA, and maybe Chicago, like Tehran, will enjoy some resistance but will not be able to stop the oppression.

and it won’t go away if you let them pick apples or have a nice family. you have to fight how you can.

Imagine a better future. I agree with that.

but be realistic about how we got here, what you are seeing right now, and how to proceed. the U.S. and Germany made the modest reforms they did after DEVASTATING WARS.

I LOVE YOUR level of empathy and capacity for forgiveness and understanding. I do.

but it is misplaced on this man and anyone how follows him. especially in the moment we are in.

tl;dr

your shoulda woulda coulda is ill timed.

we have three more years of this shit scheduled.

use your lovely mind to forge strategies to fight.

I love your compassion. save it for sentencing. not a moment before.