On September 23rd, Democratic Party members of the Congressional Black Caucus held a press conference discussing their outrage at the events that transpired at the U.S. Border regarding Haitian immigrants seeking to obtain political and residential asylum here in America. They also made their disgust toward the Biden administration’s inept, “leading from behind.” and “Johnny Come Lately” handling of the catastrophe known as well. Most of you have probably seen the aforementioned photograph and other similar images of White men on horseback - armed, horse-mounted U.S. Border Patrol agents at the Rio Grande in Texas, outfitted up and behaving sadistically.

Television images of White guards, sneering and salivating as they maliciously ran down Haitian immigrants with nooses and whips were nothing short of appalling and abominable. The image of one agent seizing one shoeless migrant, capturing him by the neck of his shirt is particularly horrendous. The man’s face betrays an unmistakable look of terror. The man struggles while trying to hang onto his bags. The image is profoundly chilling and disturbing.

Inevitably, social media was on fire earlier this week. Commentary ranged from mildly outraged to remarks that I cannot print here. The White House denounced the graphic violence emanating from the pictures. Vice President Kamala Harris weighed in referring to the episode as “horrific.” The conflict culminated in the resignation of Diplomat Daniel Foote, citing what he saw as the “depraved immorality” of the incident. The Department of Homeland Security launched an investigation into the fiasco. Yes indeed, a political storm was brewing.

Controversy aside, what is just as distressing and outrageous is the vile, retrograde history that it represents. For historians like me, flashbacks of mid-19th century antebellum slave catchers, rounding and roughing up slaves and treating them like chattel came to my mind. Visions of a horrific chapter of American history seeped deep into my psyche. To be sure, violence and other forms of untoward behavior directed towards people of color in America, particularly Black people, occurred long after the mid-19th century. Indeed, it has manifested itself well up to the present day 21st century.

One can only wonder, would a group of European immigrants have been treated so callously? Indeed, think about it. Hypothetically speaking, would a group of Canadian migrants from Quebec, Saskatchewan, or British Columbia or other immigrants attempting to cross the U.S. border have been attacked and disregarded with such inhumane disdain? Let me save you some time and provide the answer that most, if not all of you already know whether truthfully or subliminally - HELL NO! They would not! End of story!

Predictably, there have been certain segments of the right-wing media and right-wing trolls who have wasted no time going on a perverse form of offense, brazenly attacking critics of the “fiasco at the border” engaging in “blaming the victim” tactics, accusing Haitian migrants for being targeted for attack, as well as shamelessly and dishonestly running interference for the border patrolmen, arguing that the agents were just doing their jobs by aggressively cracking down on illegal immigration. This was hardly the case! On the contrary, the only items the public saw them “cracking” were whips on the backs of innocent and terrified migrants!

Truth be told, the Haitian migrant/Texas Border Patrol saga represents a larger dynamic. The fact is that, since stepping foot on the shores of America as immigrants, Black lives and bodies have been routinely scrutinized, objectified, serialized and racialized. For many people, Black bodies and Black people, children as well as adults, have never been seen as fully human. All too often, we have been seen as men and women who are largely primitive and invisible, largely denied any degree of humane acknowledgment from mainstream society.

If White people were routinely and randomly subjected to such wanton violence, subjected to chronic levels of systemic and systematic racism, frequently gunned down in the street by law enforcement duplicative to the rate of Black and Hispanic people, there would be calls for congressional hearings, mass public demonstrations and cries of protests so loud that it would result in political suicide for any politician who dared to ignore such a rallying cry and decisive message. The George Floyd protests of 2020 would seem like a picnic.

Of course, there are police officers and other members of law enforcement (arguably most) who are decent, law-abiding human beings who manage to perform admirably doing a job that is undeniably tedious and stressful. There also is a faction - one is too many - of those with badges who shamelessly utilize the power of their positions to misuse and abuse their authority. Right White denial, political resistance and other factors notwithstanding, Black people are human beings and deserve to be treated with as much respect and dignity as any other group of people. Such sadistic behavior and wicked disregard for people of color cannot continue.

BlackCommentator.com Guest Commentator, Dr. Elwood Watson, Historian, public speaker, and cultural critic is a professor at East Tennessee State University and author of the recent book, Keepin' It Real: Essays on Race in Contemporary America (University of Chicago Press), which is available in paperback and on Kindle via Amazon and other major book retailers. Contact Dr.Watson and BC.