This was one of the most lengthy and involved letters I have ever received from a reader.
I am surprised and delighted that my article has continued trending for the last week. Last check, my Townhall.com article "MAGA vs. DACA" had been shared on Facebook 11 THOUSAND times at least.
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| Make California Great Again |
That metric does not account for other social media platforms, by the way!
Anyway, I received this extended letter from a liberal reader. He was actually quite civil in this letter, and truly disgusted with Jimmy Kimmel's behavior and his crass attempt to shame and demean us Trump supporters on his show.
I intend to write a lengthy response, since he so kindly reflected on what I had written.
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Arthur,
I also posted this as a comment to your article about your appearance on Jimmy Kimmel's show before I noticed your email address… I hope that wasn't in bad form… I'm very new to this (discussing politics with strangers)… I guess that I'm doing it now because my frustration with everything is overwhelming…
Anyway, here is what I wanted to send you (I'm not sure if you have any time at all to read this):
Arthur, I am sorry about the way Jimmy Kimmel treated you and your friends. Even in the edited version of the video, there were times that it was obvious Kimmel wasn't letting you finish your points (or he just edited them out).
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| Kimmel and Arthur |
Not all liberals behave this way. Most of us (at least the people I know) want honest discussions about policy to improve our country. I have modified my stance on a few issues after lengthy discussions.
I am sorry for any insults from liberals, but as you know insults don't work from either side.
I want to respond to some of the things that you wrote, though.
You said, "I triggered this left-wing comic, and it was good! There is nothing more satisfying than catching white liberals in the depths of hypocrisy." I can't speak for you or Kimmel, but i want solutions… i don't care about who is triggered and by what they are triggered. There is nothing more satisfying than real solutions that maximize the number of people they help.
In watching the video, I was wondering why Esmeralda and her fiance don't just get married. As a side note, your offer to them was very generous. Even when they do get married, though, Esmeralda would have to return to Mexico and hope that she could obtain a visa to return legally before becoming a legal citizen under the current laws. This puts her in a very tough spot. Does she go to Mexico by herself? Does her daughter go with her? What about Michael? He definitely can't go with them. Personally, I think there should be a way for her to become a citizen without leaving her family.
I won't spend any more time on this anecdotal case, though. I want to get to the actual issues.
It is false that immigrants commit more crime than native born citizens. Illegal immigrants are HALF as likely to commit crimes once they are here and legal immigrants are even less likely (almost 70% less likely than native born citizens):
http://www.politifact.com/california/statements/2017/aug/03/antonio-villaraigosa/mostly-true-undocumented-immigrants-less-likely-co/
http://www.politifact.com/california/statements/2017/aug/03/antonio-villaraigosa/mostly-true-undocumented-immigrants-less-likely-co/
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As for Ruben Morfin… crap, I'm getting back into anecdotal arguments… his death was a tragedy. The death of any child is a tragedy–in and from any country, religion, ethnicity, etc. But do you really have to go back to 1990 to find an example to help make your point? If your point is that illegal immigration is causing violence to American Citizens, it's a pretty weak argument. I do not want to diminish the tragedy, but it does not seem like the evidence is on your side. If you really want to help Americans, what about the 15,000 people killed by gun violence each year, excluding the 20,000 suicides using guns? About 200 people are killed each accidentally with guns. In the US, toddlers kill more people (unfortunately, mostly themselves) each year than terrorists do on American soil. In most years, the number of incidents in which guns were used defensively (there is no analysis regarding the necessity and effectiveness that I know of) is fewer than the accidental death number. See:
Are guns the cause of violence in the US? Of course not. But neither is immigration, legal or illegal. Guns are a much larger symptom of the problem than immigration. The purpose of guns are to make killing more efficient and they succeed too often and too well. I am more than happy to discuss what I think is the root cause of violence (mostly gross education and income inequality, but that's the simple answer), but now does not seem like the right time to go into all of that. If you're looking for a band-aid to fix the symptom of violence against Americans, gun control would be much more inexpensive and effective than a border wall and deportation of illegal immigrants.
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If you're looking for other ways to help Americans, 45,000 people die each year because of inadequate health insurance. Chanell also alluded to this problem. I agree completely. Most Americans support single-payer health care. Do you? This could eliminate this problem completely. And in the long run, it would save citizens a lot of money. I am open to discuss this as well, but I don't want to overload this response with too many details.
Just a couple of seemingly unrelated quick final comments:
You mentioned taking care of veterans and american citizens. I agree that this is super important, but do you really think that Trump and the Republican congress are the most likely to accomplish this? If so, how? The republican record is horrendous; the democrat record isn't much better, but it seems better to me.
You mentioned taking care of veterans and american citizens. I agree that this is super important, but do you really think that Trump and the Republican congress are the most likely to accomplish this? If so, how? The republican record is horrendous; the democrat record isn't much better, but it seems better to me.
I am curious how the "discredited" Southern Poverty Law Center fits into this… and since when have they been discredited?
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| Jimmy Got Punked! Jimmy Got Punked! |
Lastly, is immigration the primary concern for you (it seems like it is for Trump)? If so, why? You mentioned so many more important issues (at least I think they're more important): homeless veterans, inequity for minorities, senseless violence, lack of healthcare, etc. I could add some more issues to that list, but I'll do that another time. It seems like at least immigration from Mexico is not a major concern in our country, especially since our net immigration with Mexico is negative (there are more people leaving the US for Mexico than coming to Mexico from the US). Even the net illegal immigration is negative:
Thanks,
Aren
I usually proofread stuff that I write, but I didn't proofread this… hopefully there aren't too many errors…