rant · moment 10 of 12
Rebar Rebecca and Why Didn't the Caravan Bring Rope
from Born on the 4th of Meat Pie · #124
Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.
9 minTim continues on the caravan, focusing on the woman who fell on rebar trying to climb a border wall near a beach, questioning why migrants didn't bring swimmies, rope, or a jackhammer, and imagining the PR win if ICE had let her in.
- 32:51Tim on the caravan and why tear-gassing kids seems inevitable given the border standoff.
- 33:29FBI had to screen for confidence and competence, but ICE was militarized after 9-11 without the same standards.
- 34:29Government builds up agencies like ICE after 9-11, then hands them to someone like Trump to turn on citizens instead.
- 35:31ICE agents used to seem idealistic; now they look like bullies motivated by violence and status rather than purpose.
- 36:52What was actually supposed to happen with the caravan—did anyone think ICE would just give up?
- 37:42The whole situation is politicized theater instead of a humanitarian crisis handled with any sense.
- 38:51Woman named Rebar Rebecca fell on rebar climbing the wall, and ICE blamed her for putting herself in danger.
- 39:17Why not let her in as a PR move—one good story would've made the government look human instead of cruel.
- 40:02Rebar is rough metal that sticks out of concrete; she had a genuinely bad day and deserved entry for toughness alone.
- 40:45Why didn't migrants just swim around the wall into the ocean instead of climbing it at this beach location.
- 41:25Tim expected a massive desert wall but it's actually a construction barrier on a beach with brush and sand.