When You Think About It: Perspective

F loBuono

In order to do what he does best - spread Fear and Loathing - President Trump has created a scenario for his base where a filthy, tattooed, violent, swarthy Hispanic male is lurking around every corner just waiting to rape and murder white women. In fact, he has based his entire immigration policy on it. Using the violent street gang MS-13 that originated mostly in El Salvador and then flourished in Los Angeles as his foil, Mr. Trump has whipped his base into a frenzy of immigrant paranoia.

Now, make no mistake about it, MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha in Spanish, is a vicious, violent, brutal entity. From Los Angeles, they have spread their evil activities to virtually every major city in the US. They have been held responsible for merciless killings of women and children in Long Island and elsewhere. There is no doubt that it is a law enforcement imperative to eradicate this bloodthirsty criminal organization.

However, to characterize ALL immigrants from South of our border as murderers and rapists (yes, Mr. Trump DID say that on June 16, 2015) is just plain ludicrous!

Allow me to present some perspective:

It has been estimated that there are approximately 10,000 members of the MS-13 gang living in the US - how they arrived here is not entirely know. It is also estimated that there are about 43,000,000 immigrants in this Country. If you do the math, that works out to a percentage of .025. Yes, that' less than 1%. Let me spell that out for you: MS-13 members represent approximately one quarter of one percent of all immigrants. In other words, that's negligible.

As is so typical of this administration, the hyperbole FAR exceeds the reality. So, when you think about it, to base an entire immigrant policy based on .025% is simply foolish. But, it sure makes for some impassioned scapegoating - makes thinking by the base less imperative and, therefore, effective.

But, I'll say it again - you get what you pay for . . .