Donald Trump visited the Texas border yesterday (at Laredo). I don't have a problem with that. Any politician of either party is welcome to come to my home state. But I resent very much the reason for his visit, and his claim that he was putting his life in danger by coming to the border at Laredo.
The reason he came is to keep the lies he is telling about Hispanics, especially those without documentation, in the news. He wants Americans to think that these immigrants pose a danger to Americans -- calling them murderers, rapists, and disease-carriers.
That, of course, is a racist lie. The overwhelming majority of immigrants, documented or not, are decent, hard-working, and law-abiding people. They just want to make a better life for their families, and they're willing to work dirty and dangerous jobs for very little money to do that. And they don't want to draw attention to themselves by breaking the law. I submit that the percentage of lawbreakers among immigrants is significantly lower than among those born in this country.
And he made me even madder when he told the media that he was risking his life by coming to the border (Laredo), but it was something he had to do. That's one of the biggest lies to ever come from his foul mouth. Laredo is not a dangerous city at all -- and neither are any of the other border cities in Texas.
According to the last FBI report on dangerous crime in American cities, Laredo has a violent crime rate of about 430 (per 100,000 people). That may seem high, until you look at the rates of other cities. There are at least nine Texas cities of any size that have a higher violent crime rate than Laredo -- including my home city of Amarillo (524), which is hundreds of miles from the border.
And non-border Texas cities are not the only ones with a significantly higher violent crime rate than Laredo. Consider these cities, for instance: Albuquerque (742), Anchorage (793), Baltimore (633), Baton Rouge (509), Birmingham (529), Boston (503), Chattanooga (509), Fairbanks (682), Flint (721), Houston (559), Las Vegas (678), Little Rock (675), Miami (538), Milwaukee (587), Mobile (585), Nashville (596), New Orleans (473), Oklahoma City (503), Orlando (540), Philadelphia (937), Rockford (711), Saginaw (752), San Francisco (558), Stockton-Lodi (702), Toledo (530), Tulsa (516), and Wichita (568).
If Trump really thought he was in danger in Laredo, then he must be absolutely terrified of the rest of America. But he didn't think that. He was lying to impress the racist teabaggers scattered across this nation -- people stupid and angry enough to believe that lie (because they want to believe that immigrants pose a danger to America).
That's why I'm angry with Trump. He's lied about Texas and his border cities -- cities that are safer than many other American cities. And he did it just to get votes. That's about as sleazy as a campaign can get.
(The caricature of Donald Trump shown above is by DonkeyHotey.)
