There has been considerable hysteria surrounding the Trump presidency this year. Honestly, from my perspective, much of it is deserved.
There has been no secret about my disagreement with Trumpian politics or MAGA Christianity.
But Trumpism is what people wanted. I told my wife right after the election that I thought the nation would have to institute MAGA policies before Americans realized how bad they actually are. With that in mind, I’ve been relatively even-keeled as all the drama has come out of Washington. The sad truth is that I believe Americans dealing with increased income disparities, economic injustice, civil rights violations, and everything else that will come is necessary before many will see the harm and realize they would like a return to justice and greater equality.
The United States is in a risky place, though. If the anti-woke do not awaken, our nation will be in jeopardy. Over the last half-century, both sides have accepted a status quo that does not work for the average American. In frustration, many have given in to base political instincts.
I don’t like this, but I’ve come to accept it. It has kept me sane as news has broken week after week.
Today was different. I learned about a Laura Loomer tweet from a few days ago.
Alligator Alcatraz was already problematic. But this is a new level. With 6,300 likes, 3,300 reshares, and 7.8 million views, it is making the rounds.
Sixty-five million is a big number. What is she referencing? MAGA world pretends as if the issue is violent undocumented immigrants. It is well documented that undocumented immigrants are about half as likely to commit a violent crime as native-born American citizens. All told, there are roughly 15,000 violent undocumented immigrants. That is a long way from sixty-five million. There are an estimated 15.2 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. We are now at least in the millions, but still not near Loomer’s number.
There are roughly 48 million total immigrants in the United States. Still not at 65, but there are a couple of important things to note here. First, 68% of immigrants are legally documented. The vast majority are legal, and as story after story demonstrates, they are being targeted. Millions of people who did follow the rules are now at risk. Second, 48 million means that 14% of the U.S. population are immigrants. Their absence would absolutely break the United States economy. Not only is the anti-immigrant sentiment morally wrong, but it is also economically disastrous.
So, where does the 65 million number come from?
There are 65 million Hispanics and Latinos in the United States.
It seems that Loomer is advocating for all Hispanics to be fed to the alligators. The idea that any human, undocumented immigrant or not, should be fed to alligators is disgusting. That is an abhorrently cruel and inhumane punishment. Being in the United States without documentation is a misdemeanor. Advocating for the death penalty for a misdemeanor is absurd. Do we want the death penalty for everyone with a speeding ticket?
The language that appears to advocate that everyone from a particular ethnic heritage be brutally killed is disturbing, genocide level disturbing. Seriously, this is the type of rhetoric that leads to genocide.
I am more than alligator food. My father was more than alligator food. My grandfather was more than alligator food… even before he immigrated. My Hispanic brothers and sisters, whether they are citizens or not, are more than alligator food.
Certain segments of society are still bothered by being called deplorable in 2016, but they don’t really seem that bothered by others being called alligator food today. If that is true… that is deplorable.
In fairness to Loomer, she claims that she is not calling for all Hispanics to be fed to alligators… only “illegals.” That is still repulsive.
Loomer insists there are, in fact, sixty-five million undocumented immigrants in the United States, as can be seen in this tweet (are they still called that?) below.
To do the math, as Loomer suggests, we need to ensure that we have the correct numbers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 2 million undocumented aliens in 1980, not 20 million as Loomer claims. The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Administration at The University of Texas at Austin explains that the number rose to 3.2 million by 1986. That is a 60% increase during the Reagan administration. The number did drop by 1988 to 1.9 million, but only because, again, during the Reagan administration, the law was changed to make 40% of “illegal” immigrants legal. By 2004, the numbers were up to 10.4 million and continued to rise until they reached an estimated 15.2 million by January this year.
Those are large numbers, but they do not approach the level of Loomer’s numbers. This points to an important truth. For Loomer and her ilk, it is more important to double down on the narrative than to align their perspective with reality. The narrative is their truth, whether or not it aligns with reality.
I heard on a podcast someone called the “detention center” Alligator Auschwitz. That hits hard.
Advocating that 65 million people should be fed to alligators is profoundly disturbing, yet when you realize that Laura Loomer, an American Jew, is advocating for the use of concentration camps and the extermination of an ethnic group…
We are in troubling times. The Republican Party in Florida is selling Alligator Alcatraz swag.
Quite disturbingly, crews have put up a sign seeming to officially designate the facility as Alligator Alcatraz.
And a Jewish woman wants to feed almost 11 times more Hispanics to alligators than the number of Jews who were murdered in the holocaust.
The party of freedom and Christian values has adopted Alligator Auschwitz as a central pillar in the campaign to oppress the least of these.
America first… I prefer Christ first. Christ did not sacrifice Himself for alligator food. He sees what Loomer does not: the image of God in every one of us.
Red and yellow, black and white, we are precious in His sight. Jesus loves (all) the little children (and adults) of the world.”
Photo by Matthew Essman on Unsplash
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