Dr. Common Good
Yesterday in the U.S. Mexico border town of Eagle Pass, Texas, Trump once again spewed out his usual ignorant, mendacious swill, ominously warning his audience about “Biden migrant crime,” because, he said, they (migrants) are “coming from jails, and they’re coming from prisons, and they’re coming from mental institutions…and they’re coming from insane asylums, and they’re terrorists. They’re being let into our country.” And then he added, “We have languages coming into our country. We have nobody that even speaks those languages.”
It is beneath human dignity to even respond to this, but unfortunately this is what we are facing in today’s political cesspool.
First, do not give this garbage any credence. None. To characterize migrants that way is repulsive. This should not be coming out of the mouth of anyone purporting to represent American values or an American government. I want you to just think for one moment – What circumstances would drive people to flee their homes, cross over long stretches of hostile territory, hungry, with few possessions, and vulnerable to all manner of victimization? Could you do that? People leave their homes, for the most part, because of hunger, violence, immediate threats, and a lack of opportunity to make a living, or feed one’s family. I know, because I have worked with migrant communities for years. I have documented some of these circumstances. I have been on that U.S. – Mexico border, and I can tell you, I don’t know if I would have what it takes to get across that unforgiving landscape. And in the case of migrants from Central America, they are often fleeing violence that is the long-term consequence of our own policies in the region. They are not coming from insane asylums, jails, and terrorist camps. That is a flagrant lie that Trump uses to whip up support, and pull in more campaign contributions. National police data in fact show that crime is down in the cities that have received the most migrants. So, yet another lie. Another shameless part of his con.
And “languages coming in to this country”? What kind of stupidity is that? “Languages” have always come in to this country, and every other country. English is itself a composite of multiple languages. But of course Trump would not know that, because he has the mind of a self-absorbed child.
What we really need is sensible immigration reform, and the resources to help manage the border. Some of that was actually in a bipartisan immigration bill that was on its way to being passed. But then, enter Trump. He ordered his Republican flunkies – that is truly the only way to think of them – not to pass it. Why? Because he didn’t want Biden to be able to claim any sort of success, especially on an issue he thinks is “his.” That’s a lot like the benched quarterback who tries to prevent his own team from winning because someone else would be able to take credit. What would your reaction to that be? It would not be good, and you know it.
Once again, and again, and again, Trump shows that he is disturbed, malicious, and ignorant. He is manifestly unqualified to be the head of anything, not even a local Boy Scout troop. I ask you, the American people, not to defile this country by supporting this disgrace of a person. We are better than that, whatever political party you follow.