I talked to a friend about the deportations and he said he “doesn’t care” because they “broke the law.” I showed how it will hurt us economically, how these people aren’t committing crimes, how it will hurt real human beings. He said he didn’t care. I don’t know how to deal with that. This action will only create pain for everyone, hell even the elites may be minutely inconvenienced by it… why are we doing it?
Some people are legitimately so simple that “no paperwork == deportation” even if it means death and suffering. Even when they know that the “right way” to come here takes a decade and is too costly. It’s like humans have forgotten how to feel empathy. If I sat these people at the border and had them talk to the desperate mothers and fathers and children, would they be moved? How do you reason with someone that legitimately thinks “I don’t care if people die over paperwork”
It feels like we’re gleefully goose stepping toward “just following orders” and it’s horrific.
I leveled with him today and said that I was really disappointed about our conversation and I wanted to talk about it more. I approached them from a place of wanting to understand their position but also make sure they had all the information. I presented everything calmly w wide ranging sources from PBS to the Cato Institute. It’s just a straight up bad idea to deport these people. I showed him that the Heritage Foundation had no actual fact or statistics on their website to support their claims – just that illegals are illegal – he found that compelling.
He ended up saying he was not super informed and that there’s so much propaganda and information overload that it feels like we can’t even know what’s real. Everyone’s lying or has an agenda. I totally get it.
We both got a lot out of it. I think it’s worth it to try engaging with people who are actually willing.