Skip to main content

The bogus crime wave

Have you heard about the crime wave in Arizona, especially along the border with Mexico? Have you heard that Arizona is under attack from illegal immigrants and thus had to pass their own immigration law to deal with it? Well, if you have been listening to the Republican elected officials from that state like the senators, John Kyl and John McCain, and Gov. Jan Brewer, then you have certainly heard that. Endlessly.

But - and it's a great big but - that is a lie!

In fact, according to reports released by the Arizona Department of Public Safety, crime is down right across the state, following the nationwide trend. It is even down along the Arizona/Mexico border. For example, the rate of property crimes in the state has plummeted by 43% since 1995, but violent crimes also are down. The claims that Arizona is facing a crisis in crime increases and that people are afraid to walk the streets is simply not true.

The claims that illegal immigrants are creating a crime wave are completely bogus. Most illegal immigrants from Mexico are coming to seek work and a better life for themselves and their families and often are fleeing the drug wars in their own country. The last thing they want to do is call attention to themselves by committing crimes and causing the police to look for them.

Oh, but the "illegal immigrant crime wave" makes such a good story! And Republicans do love to tell stories. And who really cares whether they are true or not? Apparently our mainstream media don't because they let them spread these kinds of lies, unchallenged, time and time again. And lies, endlessly repeated, gain acceptance as truth from a lazy audience. Thus do urban legends begin and thus is our political discourse cheapened.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no...
19 comments
Read more

Poetry Sunday: Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney

My mother was a farm wife and a prodigious canner. She canned fruit and vegetables from the garden, even occasionally meat. But the best thing that she canned, in my opinion, was blackberry jam. Even as I type those words my mouth waters!  Of course, before she could make that jam, somebody had to pick the blackberries. And that somebody was quite often named Dorothy. I think Seamus Heaney might have spent some time among the briars plucking those delicious black fruits as well, so he would have known that "Once off the bush the fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour." They don't keep; you have to get that jam made in a hurry! Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney Late August, given heavy rain and sun For a full week, the blackberries would ripen. At first, just one, a glossy purple clot Among others, red, green, hard as a knot. You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust ...
6 comments
Read more

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try. ...
24 comments
Read more