How desperate do you have to be to just start walking to another country? Walking over a thousand miles with almost nothing but what you are wearing. People from the northern triangle of Central America are that desperate. They are fleeing extreme poverty, horrible violence and a corrupt government. All this for a small chance that they can upgrade to modest poverty, occasional violence and a somewhat less corrupt government.
How heartless do you have to be to deny these people the opportunity to make this slight improvement in their lives? That is exactly how heartless people who support the immigration policies of Trump are. Whether it's your elderly neighbor, cranky uncle or sweet grandma, they are supporting policies that squash the tiny glimmer of hope that some of the most downtrodden people in the world have.
They do not see themselves as heartless, and get very defensive when it's pointed out. They may pull out the "we should care for our own first" argument, not that they are any more supportive of domestic social safety net programs either. The basic fact is they have bought into the fear propaganda peddled by Trump and his lackeys. This should not excuse their actions, every person has a responsibility act using reason to temper emotion.
These folks are for the most part irrelevant to discussions of policy since they do not base anything in the reality of a situation. Any debate with a person solely motivated by fear should focus on how that fear leads to a total lack of compassion. These people need to see how their stance effects those who truly do have reason to fear for their lives. Those who fear having to share some plentiful resources need to compare themselves to those who fear rape, torture and murder on a daily basis.
The United States has much blame to accept in the plight of the refugees headed our way. Acting on behalf of large corporations the US government supported brutal dictators in the region. The propaganda of the day pushed a fear of Socialism, when the thing they truly feared was loss of corporate profits. Now gangs and drug cartels terrorize the countries and there is no relief available from corrupt officials. Many older Americans have the fear of Socialism and love of Capitalism so ingrained that they feel that devastating the region did the world a favor.
The United States is a big, wealthy country, and there would be no problem absorbing a few well deserving asylum seekers. Anyone who comes out against helping people who have been traumatized by unimaginably horrific conditions needs a jolt to their empathy centers. Their own unfounded fears stoked by Trump and others like him are no excuse for supporting the hate at the border.
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