Working towards the Frito Führer

Trump’s MuslimBan™ was implemented without advance notice and with what seems to have been few directions about how it was to be implemented. So it is instructive to look at how government officials did implement it.

Octogenarians were handcuffed. Social media logins were demanded. People were asked their opinions of Trump. They were kept without food or medicine for long periods. Their lawyers were turned away and court orders defied. They were snidely told to “Call Mr. Trump.” CBP officers tried to trick them into signing away their residency rights. Etcetera. Still, no one was kicked to death, so that’s good.

How much of that came from above, and how much of it was low-level officials taking it upon themselves to fill in the gaps in their orders with bullying tactics and casual cruelty, because that’s what The Donald would want them to do? In 1930s Germany, this sort of behaviour was referred to as “working towards the führer.”

In the coming months, we’ll see how many government officials act like Sally Yates  – who behaved admirably but wasn’t likely to survive Trump’s ideological purge of the Justice Department anyway – how many will keep their heads down and follow every unconstitutional order blindly, and how many will take the opportunity Trump’s offering them to let their worst instincts come into play.

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