In the world of right and wrong, black and white, most Republicans and conservatives are usually pretty clear-eyed and straightforward, even if there are extenuating circumstances that tug at the heart.

'Hey,' we say, 'Yeah, that's tough. I feel for them. But they knew it was wrong to begin with, so...'

It seems in Progressive Land, there's a sliding scale of what are acceptable wrongs based on what the needs of the community are at any given time.

The amount of umbrage and outrage expressed - which, let's face it, no group does as flawlessly or reflexively as progressives - depends entirely upon a number of factors that remain fluidly and maddeningly elusive.

One thing is for certain, though. The higher up in the elite progressive caste system one claws their way, the more obvious and fluid the hypocritical dissonance becomes. That's because, frankly, in that rarified bubble air, the snoots and snots at the top haven't the faintest clue or care how they're perceived. They only know what's upsetting them at the moment and that they expect it to be handled...at that moment.

I do have a specific example in mind, which I currently find bemusing for all their virtue-signaling earnestness.

There are millionaires and billionaires who populate the Vineyard of Martha, a small, exclusive enclave in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Perhaps you've heard of it?

Only the most important, well-heeled Brahmins of society types live there. Where young, pretty campaign workers and presidential chefs can all drown in questionable circumstances, with only the slightest kerfuffle attendant upon the reputation of the island royalty name to which they were attached.

It's that sort of exotic and exalted air existence.

So, naturally, anything unscripted or unplanned must be handled immediately.

And sometimes, they really don't handle things as gracefully as they should.

Sometimes, they'll prematurely panic into overreacting because a situation arises that they can't instantly control. 

There was that one time, not so long ago, when Vineyard residents experienced a mass freakout, which resulted in the governor calling in the National Guard. There had been an unauthorized invasion of the island.

Unauthorized, unvetted, and most assuredly unwelcome Venezuelan illegals had landed.

And, man, - did this most 'welcoming' of islands ever want those people gone, and gone like yesterday.

Swerve ending to tonight's @TelemundoNews report from Martha's Vineyard. Props to @CristiLondono for unblinkingly reporting that not all residents are thrilled at this migrant dropoff. pic.twitter.com/s3FbUtwzPz

— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) September 15, 2022

125 Massachusetts National Guard troops were activated specifically to humanely remove these apparently repellent fellow human beings from the declared 'Sanctuary' that was supposed to be Martha's Vineyard, with 'sanctuary' one of those fluid terms open to what your definition was.

They could have welcomed them with open arms —- filled 40 jobs on MV — how amazing would that have been?

— Bruce Fenton (@brucefenton) September 16, 2022

Illegal, uninvited Venezuelans - with plane tickets courtesy of Ron DeSantis by way of Governor Greg Abbott - didn't make the 'welcome, pilgrims' cut. So off the island they were bused in a trice, to spend time in a Guard armory on the mainland, with many good wishes for their future lives anywhere else, as relieved Vineyard residents waved adieu.

ISLAND CLEANSE COMPLETED

Or almost. The island natives apparently had done some picking and choosing among the newcomers before booting the vast number of them, and found four of them to be acceptable enough to allow them to remain.

I don't even want to tell you what that sounds like, particularly when one wound up being a housekeeper.

...There was much rejoicing.

…She said it was important to her to pay her own way and not become a burden on the community that welcomed her. Her employer, a woman in her 60s who declined to be named because she was employing someone without a work permit, said Ms. Cauro felt like part of the family.

Why send them off to an armory when you can get reasonable help around the house, right?

Fast forward three years, to a new president who has slammed the border shut.

What's happening on the island that had to call in the National Guard to carry off unwelcome illegals?

Why, it sounds as if they're swarming with them and have sort of the exact opposite problem now.

As the grandfather in Moonstruck says, weeping, 'I'm so confused.'

“My gosh, Bunny, what ever will we do without our gardener?” https://t.co/LTLxuOR5nm

— Adrian Vermeule (@Vermeullarmine) June 8, 2025

It seems their pastoral, well-ordered, genteel lives have suffered a bit of an upset with the new administration.

And here we thought they recoiled in revulsion at the thought of illegal feet on their precious rock in the ocean?

'Tis to laugh.

An ICE raid disrupts life on Martha’s Vineyard

After migrant workers were shackled and boarded onto Coast Guard boats, a community that prides itself on openness has been left to deal with the painful fallout.

The recoil is at the thought of the inconvenience this will cause them. And the added expense, no doubt.

A million-dollar home excavation project has been delayed because workers were too afraid to show up at the construction site. A pool at a vacation inn was closed to guests after the maintenance crew didn’t arrive. And entire businesses on this New England island have shut down.

Life on Martha’s Vineyard and the adjacent island of Nantucket has been disrupted since officers arrested dozens of immigrants late last month, igniting fear among undocumented workers who form the backbone of the workforce here just as the busy summer season gets underway.

“The money is just going to stop flowing,” said a 33-year-old Brazilian man who owns three businesses on the Vineyard and spoke on the condition of anonymity because he has no legal status in the United States. “The U.S. is only losing in pushing us out.”

Masked immigration officers wearing bulletproof vests arrived on Coast Guard boats right after the Memorial Day weekend and detained several dozen people on both islands. Federal authorities described the arrests as part of a massive sting across Massachusetts that resulted in nearly 1,500 arrests. On the islands, about 40 people were detained, including an alleged MS-13 gang member and someone described as a “child sex offender,” according to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Boston. Most had no criminal record and were stopped on their way to work, community members said.

The arrests hit a nerve in a liberal enclave known for welcoming everyone: presidents — former president Barack Obama has an oceanfront property here — LGBTQ+ activists, racial minorities, celebrities and a large cluster of immigrants from Brazil. People checked in on friends and warned them to stay off the roads. Residents staged a protest at the ferry docks where agents were loading shackled migrants onto boats. One man followed the officers with a camera and heckled them.

The liberal enclave, 'known for welcoming everyone' - unless you're a DeSantis Venezuelan - has an illegal Brazilian who owns three businesses on the island, for example.

They've all overstayed their visas and never bothered to renew them or get green cards.

So these raids that impacted their established businesses are all Trump's fault.

How does that work again?

Who will make our Brazilian cheesy bread?! Who will be the cheap labor on our building projects?!

These same islanders ran down to the ferry boats to heckle the ICE agents who arrested some 40 people, including a reported MS-13 gang member and another child abuser, but welcomed the National Guardsmen in the buses with open arms, smiles, and goodbye waves to take away those immigrants.

How does that work again?

I can only believe their fluid sense of priorities - cheap lawn and pool maintenance, clean bathrooms, cheesy bread, child care - determines what is worth waving placards and fists over, vice waving in relief as the bus you called to remove the inconvenient humans pulls out of town.

I mean...wow.