Saturday, October 27, 2018

the 0.00215384615385% immigrant caravan

Lost in the racist subtext of a Central American caravan of migrants to the U.S. border these days is the simple math NYTimes columnist David Brooks referenced tangentially on the Public Broadcast System last night ... we'll survive such an influx he said. I looked up the numbers:

The caravan numbers are put at something like 7,000.

The population of the United States is 325+ million.

Donald Trump and his allies have referenced -- and will continue to do so, I imagine -- the illegal immigrants (but suggesting that the only crime of the caravan is being poor and brown) who may pepper the caravan stew. Like the illegal voting that barely exists in the U.S. and yet is constantly used as a touchstone by Democrat-wary Republicans who fear the voting proclivities of minorities ... BLOCK THAT VOTE!... gerrymander them out of existence; require an ID that is complex to get; one-man-one-vote means white men and right-thinking one-women.

Donald Trump has labeled the caravan a national emergency worthy of calling up the National Guard ... purely in a support role, of course, since only the Congress can authorize a military action of this sort: Rile up the Trump supporters who live in the United States, a country of 325 million. Get your gun! "Defend" your country!

Reuters has noted a surge in Republican spending on mid-term election advertising that references immigration.

Seven thousand into a pool of 325 million.

And perhaps there are a few devious apples in the bunch. So what? We've let crooks in in the past ... look at the Kennedy clan, the Irish, the Italians, the Jews. Seven thousand people, most of whom want to work and be secure and bring up their families ... but 325 million cannot accommodate them? True, they speak other languages. True, they are largely other colors. And there are probably a share of drug-dealers and other criminals, but even if a perfect wall existed, the United States would already have its quotient of those.

Seven thousand into a pool of 325 million. That's 0.00215384615385%

And Trump supporters, if I had to guess, would be people who counted themselves as "Christians." Christianity, the last time I looked, is based in "caritas," a word sometimes too loosely translated as "charity" or "kindness." Please tell me how all the anxiety about immigrants, whether manufactured or home-grown, is not largely based in a racism that is unwilling to take responsibility for its leanings.

I wouldn't be happy having to whine with some liberals, "Can't we all just get along?" But there is no whining about the math and no whining necessary about history.

But whining about stupidity and the kind of bonfirey agitation that Trump and his followers dance around and promote?

I woke up this morning wanting to tip my hat to Donald Trump for inspiring some poor schlub to create a series of explosive devices sent to left-leaning high-profilers. My only complaint is that the apparent perpetrator was captured so easily because he was careless in his creations. If his efforts had been a little more wily, the what-did-you-expect outcome that can be laid at Trump's doorstep might stay in the news longer.

Immigrants are brown and they're illegal. Nuff said, I guess when it comes to supporting Donald Trump. They are fleeing what Trump has referred to as "shithole" nations and will turn the U.S. into something similar....

If Trump doesn't beat them to the punch.

2 comments:

  1. When the Lord made man, all the parts of the body argued over who would be boss.

    The brain explained that since he controlled all the parts of the body, he should be boss. The legs argued that since they took man wherever he wanted to go, they should be boss. The stomach countered with the explanation that since he digested all the food, he should be boss. The eyes said that without them man would be helpless, so they should be boss. Then the asshole applied for the job. The other parts of the body laughed so hard at this that the asshole became mad and closed up.

    After a few days…

    The brain went foggy, the legs got wobbly, the stomach got ill, and the eyes got crossed and unable to see. They all conceded and made the asshole boss.

    Sayoc was caught so quickly because he's stupid. All of trump's supporters are stupid, along with his staff. And little by little he's working stupid people into congress, though maybe they had a head start. Oh well, stupid assholes win because the rest of us won't grow up and deal with them. They're two year olds stomping their feet and screaming NO! But they don't get spanked. We just walk away feeling alone and scared. I suppose there's a leadership shortage. Nobody wants to take responsibility for this mess.

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  2. Not all Trump supporters are stupid. Sure some are but others?
    So, Follow the laws he’s signing, the Executive Orders, crafted by the people he put in various places (courtesy of conversative pundits, think tanks and financing.)

    It’s best not to underestimate.

    One thing resonated watching CNN I think: Conversatives Want Power, Liberals Want Policy. Now in power, the Conservatives are setting policy.

    VOTE.


    ReplyDelete