Fear of Immigrants?

Posted on by under Global Issues, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

I am asked, “Why does Donald Trump hate and fear immigrants so much?”  I have no readily available answer, but it sets the wheels turning in my mind … why does he?  We know what he says, but we also know that is only hateful rhetoric designed to instill fear in his 30% – 40% base who must be kept in fear so that they will continue to cling to him, to support him.  He says that those trying to immigrate to the U.S. are animals, not people.  He tells his base that the migrants are murderers, criminals, and rapists and that we are in danger from them.  But he knows better, for otherwise why would he feel safe at Mar-a-Lago or at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, both of which have undocumented immigrants on staff?

Why, then, does he fear them?  The answer is that he doesn’t fear the immigrants … he fears losing his base if they ever figure out the whopping lies he has told them.  His rhetoric about migrants is a tool, nothing more. Let us meet a few of the migrants that attempted to come to this country in the latest caravan … the caravan that Trump has wasted so much of our money sending troops to “defend us against”.

Meet Jennifer and her daughter Lucia.  They fled Honduras because life there was very hard and had become increasingly difficult because of the persistent violence.Jennifer-Lucia.jpg

And here’s Junior and his mother Maria.  Junior’s father was killed by gangs in Honduras.Junior-Maria.jpg

And here is 17-year-old Maeli. She joined the caravan with her young son because she feared for their safety in Honduras. They’ve been largely met with kindness on the long journey north, but things have been tense in Tijuana. She and other migrants had been staying in a makeshift camp on the beach when a crowd of local residents threw stones at them.Maeli-son

And this is Juan Carlos, 16 years of age.  The gang members that killed his two uncles in Honduras were pressuring him to either join their gang, else be killed himself.Juan-Carlos.jpg

Now here we have Nelson.  Nelson is legally allowed to cross the border, and has three children living in Pennsylvania.  So why is Nelson part of the migrant caravan?  He said he wanted to experience the solidarity of the caravan, so he was traveling with them. He will wait until the rest are able to cross, he said, before he does.Nelson

So far, I haven’t seen anybody that looks like they are here to murder and rape us, have you?  As I have said before, surely there are some unsavory characters who traveled with the caravan, but … people, look around the U.S.  You want to see unsavory characters?  Look at the “Proud Boys”, look at the followers of Richard Spencer … those who have swastikas tattooed on their bodies.  Look at the white-hood-wearing cowards of the KKK who make their mischief anonymously, then run.  Look, for that matter, at the likes of former Judge Roy Moore of Alabama.  I could go on all day naming people in this country, citizens who were born right here, that I wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley.

Keith-Luke-neo-Nazi

Keith Luke, convicted rapist/murderer who “just wanted to kill non-whites”

So back to the original question.  There is nothing to fear from these people and Donald Trump knows it because he has “illegal” immigrants working for him in his estates.  Donald Trump is a racist, a bigot, and a white supremacist.  Remember Charlottesville?  He claimed the white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups who held that rally were ‘very fine people’.  When he came under fire even from his own party for those remarks, he walked them back for one day, and then repeated them.  But is he really a racist, or does it just suit his purpose to be one?

Donald Trump has disparaged Hispanics, African-Americans, Middle-Easterners, Asians … but the only time I have heard him speak of a white person in the same terms was if  they were democrats or journalists or women or handicapped or Jewish.  He puts down women every chance he gets.  He denigrates and mocks the disabled.  Remember his mockery of reporter Serge Kovaleski?  It truly reminded me of something a high school freshman might do.  Trump doesn’t just hate immigrants … Trump hates everybody.  If you can do something for him … a vote, campaign donations … then he will pretend to like you.  But the truth is that Trump thinks anyone who is not just like him is second-rate, and thankfully there are few who are ‘just like him’.  In order to satisfy his own ego, he must de-humanize the rest of us in one way or another.  In order to satisfy his dwindling base, he must keep up the lies that immigrants are dangerous, women and African-Americans are stupid, and so on.

I suspect that Donald Trump doesn’t fear immigrants at all, for they provide him with a much-needed platform to keep his base cowering and looking to him for protection.

Photos courtesy of the New York Times.  For more, please see the original article. 

48 thoughts on “Fear of Immigrants?”

  1. It’s not fear, it’s about the rule of law and being selective about who enters this country. I’m sure you wouldn’t just let anyone into your home. You have presented a handful of immigrants and think we are all suppose to just let our guards down and welcome them? We have a legal way to come into this country and they need to use it. Why is it always America to take in everybody? Where I live $7Million dollars was stolen from the States Unemployment by eight illegal immigrants from a garage. Countless crimes have been committed by illegals. Have you heard of the Angel Moms? These are parents who have had their children killed by illegal immigrants. Do you feel the same for them? They will never ever see their loved ones again. These people do not have to come to America to be helped, they can be helped in their own country. These are not all poor innocent people. They know what others have told them about how you can get over in this country. I have read many comments and conversations about how they got over in this country. Why would you bring children in the world and can barely feed yourself? Do you know how many millions of people want to come here? It is idiotic to think that this country is suppose to just open the border and let any and everything in.We need a wall and any other security measures to stop this invasion.

    Like

  2. Dear Jill,

    President Trump disparages immigrants because that is what sells to his anti-immigration, racist, antisemitic, anti-LGBTQ followers. These folks comprise a minority but they hold a lot of sway in the current Republican party to where they will back the president no matter what. The wealthy/ corporate donors hold their noses as long as he gives them what they want. This is who comprise the president’s base. And the GOP lawmakers fall in line.

    Hugs, Gronda

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Jill, I appreciate your highlighting the faces behind by those wanting to enter our country. There are many points to make. We have had several bipartisan immigration bills not get taken up by the House, the latest pushed by the Gang of Eight. Yet, my former party said it would be politically more viable not to do so, so Boehner passed on it. That is when Obama did DACA.

    Then, Trump reneged on a bipartisan deal earlier this year which would have given him his iconic wall and address the DACA issue. He stabbed Senators Graham and Durbin in the back after the extreme members of the GOP said fighting DACA was a winnable position.

    This issue deserves a data based, compassionate analysis and not arguments based on fear-mongering. Trump says he is a great deal maker, but what I see is a lack of good faith dealing with other people irrespective of party or country. The other item that does not get mentioned is legal immigration has declined under this President and immigration is accretive to our economy.

    Our immigration issues need to be dealt with, but we need more thoughtful people involved than the one in charge. Keith

    Liked by 2 people

    • The Gang of Eight was a remarkable bi-partisan effort, but Boehner and the House Freedom Caucus were far more concerned with another agenda … I suspect stopping anything meaningful from being passed under the Obama administration.

      You are quite right when you say the issue deserves a fact-based and compassionate analysis, but I think that as long as Trump is occupying the White House, that is about as likely as me sprouting wings. He seems to ruin everything he touches … mostly intentional. Sigh.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Jill, I agree. His sycophants keep talking about all the winning that is occurring, but as an independent, it feels like we are in a slow death spiral that hopefully we can stop. Keith

        Liked by 1 person

  5. DT doesn’t feel enough to actually ‘hate’ anyone. But he knows how to create hate and fear and he might as well do it at the expense of people who can do nothing for him. IT’s that simple. All of his life, he has only interacted with those who served a purpose; that purpose being to benefit Trump (mostly financially). If and when you cannot do this, he has no use for you. This is why marginalized groups like disabled or homeless; poor people (many non-white which fits his racism perfectly) and immigrants are his constant punching bags. DT is where he is because he knows how to take advantage of the system and of the very people who get him where he wants to go.
    Thank you for this post and the pictures of all of these beautiful, innocent, HUMAN faces. Never mind trying to convince DT to change; it’s convincing his supporters and the rest of the GOP that these humans have a right to life and liberty, just like us. The more people who oppose DT the better. Make that piece of shit back down.
    Love and light to everyone. My heart breaks for the people fighting for what we take for granted every day.

    Liked by 2 people

  8. I don’t think he fears losing his base, nor does he fear losing face. He is an ugly, hating, coward. His base has been with him now too long, they will lose face if they turn away from him now. And he knows that.
    No, he actually needs “illegal immigrants” at his borders to have someone, powerless to fight back, that he can villify without consequence. Without them, he would be proved crazy.

    Liked by 2 people

    • You may well be right. I think, between him blowing the immigrant situation all out of proportion, his decision to pull troops from Syria and Afghanistan, and now the ignominious ‘government shutdown’ over his border wall, the GOP are beginning to realize that this is not a leader, but a petulant child, incapable of making sound decisions. I hope they take those nuclear codes away from him before he does everlasting damage to the entire planet. Sigh.

      Like

      • You can bet he wants to be the one to push his “big red button.” He wants it so bad he can taste it. I hope it is disconnected, for all life’s sake. But do I think the GOP are seeing the petulant child? Some, but not all, yet! Not enough for them to shut him down. The ones not seeing it are the ones profitting from all his ridiculous decisions, the ones getting the government grants they don’t need, the ones profitting from the destruction of the atmosphere, and the obliteration of our climate. They don’t see that nuclear war will hurt them as much as everyone else, that they are not safe in their little havens, that they are not invulnerable to pain and suffering. Sorry for getting so riled, but they make me want to vomit with their “holier than thou” attitudes.
        I wish we could send each one of them a ton of puke and two tons of shit and dump it in their bedrooms. Of course, they would just move to another of their many houses around the world, or to Trump Tower. The rest of us don’t have that option, even though that is what they are already doing to us, just that we can’t see it.
        You know I believe in reincarnation, but what good is that if there is no life to incarnate into? That is a scary thought, but a distinct possibility. I better shut up before I scare someone other than us!

        Liked by 1 person

        • I can’t disagree with anything you say, but I don’t know how to change minds. I’ve been trying … I’ve exhausted myself trying to get through to the masses. My voice isn’t loud enough, doesn’t reach far enough, but I keep trying anyway. All it takes is a single spark to start a forest fire, after all.

          I am not fully convinced, but think that reincarnation is a very real possibility. I certainly don’t believe the heaven/hell myth, but yet I think there must be a spirit that goes on even after the body gives up the ghost. I have long ago decided I would like to come back as a wolf. Actually, I think I might have already been one in a previous incarnation, but I have more respect for almost any species than I have for the human race in general, so a wolf, a bear, even a bottle-nose shark would be okay, I suppose. Then other times I think I want to come back as a human one more time to try to fix the things I wasn’t able to fix this time ’round. Sigh. LuL

          Like

          • Don’t worry about being convinced, if you come back it will not be a Jill, it’ll be as a Betty, or a Juniper, or something. Maybe even a wolf, but that remains to be seen.
            But as for trying to fix the world, Jill, every little bit helps. As you say, one spark can become a great fire, and though that is not the greatest metaphor in the world, still it talks to the possibility of even one idea in one post starting a new grassroots movement, and they are the best kind. Top down changes destroy–bottom-up changes last a long time…

            Liked by 1 person

            • I don’t mind not coming back as a Jill … in fact I would prefer not to be a Jill again … but PLEASE … NOT a Betty!!! Juniper … okay, maybe. A wolf is definitely fine.

              You’re right that it wasn’t the greatest metaphor, and I considered not using it, but I couldn’t think of another that made the point as well. Your top-down vs bottom-up theory has merit and I shall ponder …

              Like

  9. It’s an easy target, manage the news, create a crisis, play to people’s fears, justify your view of the world. And I’m not taking about Trump but May. Homeless people are dying in the UK streets, one outside parliament. Country facing biggest political and economic post war crisis. Global warming. Hospitals struggling to cope with demand. And yet the government is dealing with the refugee crisis. Emergency meetings. Talk of increasing navy presence in the North Sea to stem the flood. That flood is 94 poor soles. 94!! If it works for Trump must work for May….

    Liked by 1 person

    • I saw the article about the homeless man collapsing in front of Parliament in The Guardian. You are quite right to be incensed … both our countries are suffering abominations and it seems that we are powerless, voiceless. My hope is to be able to find a way to change that, but in your case, I am very concerned that the Brexit issue is going to leave the UK very vulnerable when all is said and done. I have thought May’s heart was in the right place and that she was doing the best she could with the hand she had been dealt. Was I wrong? Only 94 people constitutes a crisis??? Seriously? Sheesh. I understand your angst.

      Liked by 1 person

      • She was a very hard line Home Secretary. She sent out vans with Anti immigrant adverts. She introduced in her words a hostile environment for immigrants. Forcibly split up families often on the basis that they were not earning enough. Wanted to bring in the vetting of TV programmes on the grounds of stopping extremism which most called state vetting. Incorrectly and brutally deported scoresof people who had settled here from the Caribbean. Wanted to widen surveillance operations. She was opposed to Human Rights Regulations and was the biggest pusher of withdrawing from European Human Rights Laws. Called current policing policies to weak and wanted to lock up more people. It’s perverse and the sign of the crazy times that a darling of the right wing of the Conservative party is now seen as ‘the only grown up in the Government” and too weak for the right wing of her party.

        Liked by 1 person

        • You have certainly enlightened me! I was unaware of any of that, though I have several close UK friends and I try to listen and understand through their eyes. Most, with the exception of two, were on the Bremain side of the Brexit issue, but David, particularly, has helped me to understand the rationale behind the ‘leave’ side also. I can see that I need to take my head out of the Trump circus more often and look further afield at events. Thank you so much for giving me some new knowledge! Question … and since I’m not sure of your age, you may have been too young to have much opinion, but what did you think of Thatcher?

          Liked by 1 person

          • I was just into teenage years with Thatcher. My allegiance have been to the middle and other side of the political spectrum. She was a strong leader.. But her success was often built on picking fights and creating disputes with the trade unions (miners), Europe and Argentina. It was coincided with a time when the opposition was badly divided and happy to fight amongst itself. She correctly recognised that the country needed change. But her policies did so much long term damage to many communities in the north. A price she appeared to be more than delighted to pay. The rich got much richer, essential services slashed and the poor got poorer. We became a bitter and inward looking country. A badly divided country. When she lost power to John Major, followed by Tony Blair we shifted back to consensus and middle ground politics. The country started to try and heal itself. Unfortunately Dummy Cameron Got us in this Brexit mess just to keep his party from splitting. And now under May we have nosedived and we career towards disaster – with the only aim to keep her in power for just a bit longer – forget the national interest.

            Like

  10. Reblogged this on It Is What It Is and commented:
    Drumpf is a vile, evil, empty tiny, tiny little ‘man’!! … ‘The answer is that he doesn’t fear the immigrants … he fears losing his base if they ever figure out the whopping lies he has told them. His rhetoric about migrants is a tool, nothing more.’

    Liked by 2 people

  15. Also why did the Democrats support a 18 billion dollar border wall in 2013, under Obama, but they are going to whine now about a 5 billion dollar border wall ? Just one of those things that make you go Hmmmm.

    Liked by 1 person

    • The Democrat-controlled Senate was nearing a make-or-break vote on a comprehensive immigration bill in June 2013 when a pair of Republican senators swooped in with an 11th-hour amendment aimed at clinching enough GOP support to avoid a filibuster.

      A key provision: doubling the length of a new border “fence” between the United States and Mexico from 350 miles to 700 miles.

      Democrats didn’t think such a barrier was necessary. Neither did the Obama White House. To them, the proposal seemed arbitrary — a random doubling of the size at the last minute for political purposes. In the end, though, all 54 Democrats in the Senate supported the provision in hopes of realizing a bigger goal — providing a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants.

      This month, President Trump is ratcheting up demands that Congress include his border wall in a package to provide legal status for hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. The administration is preparing to ask for $18 billion over a decade to renovate and build 700 miles of wall along the southwest border, according to a memo from the Department of Homeland Security.

      Source: Wash Post

      Liked by 2 people

    • Hah! The true cost of Trump’s wall is likely to run at least $60 billion, more likely around $70 billion. The $5 billion is only a drop in the bucket. Think of what else could be done with $5 billion. Flint Michigan still does not have safe drinking water. People are going without medical treatment, without adequate housing. What about investment in renewable energy power plants? So many things that would help people, whereas ‘the wall’ is naught but an ego trip. Surely you aren’t supportive of Trump these days?

      Liked by 1 person

  16. Nobody fears ILLEGAL immigrants. But you also cannot tell bad from the good. It’s not that simple. Go about it LEGALLY and there is a better vetting program in place for that. You point these few people out, bravo. Now what about the illegal immigrant that killed that police officer a few days ago. I noticed that you’ve kept quiet on that. Can’t be cherry picking on the subject of illegal immigrantion . That police officer was a LEGAL immigrant from Figi. Because of California’s sanctuary city bull crap, he is now dead. Those gang members, that this killer was, is what you are backing too. Can’t have your cake and eat it too. ❤️Love you G!!

    Liked by 1 person

    • People are people. It doesn’t matter whether someone is from Honduras, Istanbul, Syria, Russia, New Guinea, Mongolia, Germany … or across the street. It doesn’t matter whether the person is male or female. It doesn’t matter whether s/he is white, brown, black, or pink. We are all human beings.

      Yes…some are good and some are bad. In fact, some are very bad. But their proclivity to do damage and/or to hurt others is based on their personality, not their heritage, their sex, or their color. (Nor does it have anything to do with whether they are “legal.”)

      I often say to people who are super prejudiced that I hope they don’t reincarnate as the person they despise. How sad. Too bad.

      Liked by 1 person

    • The man accused of killing a California police officer during a traffic stop illegally entered into the United States from Mexico through Arizona several years ago, officials said.
      Despite the calls for tougher border security, the recent surge in undocumented migrants coincided with a decrease in violent crime.

      Liked by 2 people

    • Jerry … if we vetted our own citizens, at least 40% of them wouldn’t be allowed to stay in this country. I’m not cherry-picking, but there were some unclear circumstances around the incident, so I felt it was best left alone for the moment. Not gonna argue with you on New Year’s Eve. I love you, too … remembering all the New Year’s Eves we spent together … your boys and Miss Goose outside banging on pots and pans at midnight. I miss those days. Be happy, my friend. ❤

      Like

Comments are closed.