The Martha’s Vineyard Stunt Proved the Exact Opposite of What Ron DeSantis Wanted It To

The goodness of people shined through.

On Wednesday afternoon, two chartered planes landed 48 migrants from Venezuela and Colombia at Martha Vineyard’s Airport. These migrants did not know where they were going, who had corralled them, or that they were being used as pawns — as cattle, really — by a shameless politician trying to score cheap culture war points. They were just human beings, with families, trying to find some shelter, solace and peace.

They didn’t know where they were going, and the residents of Martha’s Vineyard — very much by design — did not know they were coming. (There are reports they were lured there by someone who claimed they were going to Boston for “expedited work papers.”) Martha’s Vineyard is considered, by the sort of people who are always trying to score cheap culture war points, as some sort of enclave of liberal decadence, but that’s not what it is. It’s just a place where people live, like every place is a place where people live. The stunt — which was orchestrated by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and given as an exclusive to Fox News — ignored that fact, like it ignored the fact that those they put on the plane were just people too. “No one should be capitalizing on the difficult circumstances that these families are in and contorting that for the purposes of a “gotcha” moment,” a Massachusetts state senator who arrived to help said. And for what it’s worth: I cannot think of anything less Christian than doing something like this. This is the last thing that Jesus would do. The stunt ignored everyone’s basic humanity, perhaps because those who pulled off the stunt have lost their own.

But the last laugh is on them. Because people helped. Of course they did. Good people always do. From The Vineyard Gazette:

“There’s a real herculean effort [underway] to make sure that these families have shelter and a roof over their head and a safe place to sleep tonight, and my understanding is that that’s happening. And that’s pretty remarkable, that that’s happening. It’s a real credit to Islanders,” Senator Cyr said. Chief Searle said local officials were not concerned about the immigration status of the migrants. “That can be decided by the federal authorities,” he said. “Some of them haven’t checked in with immigration, some of them explained that they hadn’t checked in with immigration in Texas and that they wanted to so they wouldn’t get in trouble.

“Hopefully they can provide them some long term shelter and we can figure it out,” he added.

“They came with folders with a pamphlet with our information,” said Beth Folcarelli, chief executive officer of Martha’s Vineyard Community Services. “We don’t have refugee services, I had no idea about any of this. I only found out because one of them gave me their folder. Imagine being dropped in here knowing no one. Absolutely no one. It’s heartbreaking.”

The migrants — who, again, didn’t know where they were going, why they were there, or really what was going on at all — were given shelter, food and compassion. They were treated as human beings. They were taken care of, by people who saw them, unlike Ron DeSantis and his ilk, as people. They helped. They continue to. Because that’s what good people do. It might be popular for cable channels and snide internet discourse to snicker about “rich liberals getting pwned.” But real human beings do something to help people. Real human beings make a difference.

There is much discussion as to how to deal with the increasing segment of our political discourse that has become nihilist, that has become so isolated from empathy and actual human connection that their primary goal is to set things on fire and watch them burn. I do not have a solution as to how to deal with them. But I do know how you counteract them. You put way the iPhone, turn off the cable news, tune out the culture wars and start helping people. That’s what people in Martha’s Vineyard did. That’s what good people throughout the country do all the time, all day, every day. The problem with people like Ron DeSantis is that they believe everyone else is as craven and self-serving as they are. The best thing we can do is continue to prove them wrong.

Will Leitch writes multiple pieces a week for Medium. Make sure to follow him right here. He lives in Athens, Georgia, with his family and is the author of five books, including the Edgar-nominated novel How Lucky, now out from Harper Books. He also writes a free weekly newsletter that you might enjoy.