COMMENTARY: I was stunned last week when someone commenting on an NMPolitics.net Facebook post argued that the caravan of migrants making its way through Mexico is fabricated to help President Donald Trump.
“This entire thing is an invention in order for Donald Trump to get the resources and support for his stupid ass wall,” the commenter wrote.
I pointed out that, for such a belief to be true, journalists from Fox News to The New York Times would have to be in on the conspiracy to help Trump. Because they’re all in Mexico documenting the very real group of thousands of people.
Heath Haussamen
The commenter wouldn’t be moved. “#FakeNews,” he responded.
OK.
When someone else asked where he got his information, the commenter replied, “critical thinking.” Democrats would be hurt by supporting the influx of immigrants, and Trump would be helped — so, obviously, it must be a conspiracy to help Trump.
As if everything that happens in the world is about political battles in the United States between Democrats and Republicans.
When I was done slamming my forehead into my desk, I started writing this column. Because… my goodness. There’s so much wrong with our nation right now. This exchange illustrated some of it for me.
In spite of what ads funded by dark money are trying to program our brains to believe, not everything that happens in the world is about politics in the United States.
The caravan started in Honduras. People fleeing violence and abject poverty headed north to seek asylum in Mexico or the United States. Many have already sought asylum in Mexico. Thousands more continue to head north. Those determined to reach the United States are weeks away.
Crossing Mexico to reach the United States is something migrants do every day. To call the trek dangerous is a gross understatement. Perhaps that’s part of why the Facebook commenter couldn’t believe it’s happening.
“My questions about this walking Caravan are how are they getting food? Water? Medical Care? Shelter? We are supposed to believe that thousands of people are going to be safely walking through Mexico? I don’t believe it for a second,” he wrote.
It’s great that so many Americans live in such comfort that we can’t fathom what would motivate a person to make such a trip. But the fact that we, in all our privilege, can’t make sense of what’s happening doesn’t make it untrue.
It happens. Every single day. You can read about it from the Los Angeles Times or Dallas Morning News if you’re interested.
Here’s a bit of what it’s like, from the Dallas Morning News:
They carry almost nothing — a bottle of water, maybe a T-shirt, usually a scrap of paper with the name of a relative in case something happens to them. They are dependent even more than usual on the good will of others for food and shelter, adding to the challenge of an already desperate trek north.
The ride aboard the trains, known collectively as la bestia, The Beast, or tren de la muerte, Train of Death, is harrowing. Over the years, many migrants have fallen from the trains or been caught beneath their wheels, losing limbs and often their lives. Criminals have preyed on the helpless passengers, who face the threat of robbery, rape or death.
Why would people do that? Perhaps for a chance to live in a place where conditions are so good that people have a hard time fathoming why people would do it.
The current caravan of migrants certainly could be inconvenient for Democrats in next weeks’ midterm elections in the United States if the blatantly false “invasion” rhetoric fires up Trump’s base to turn out to vote.
But that’s nothing more than politically bad timing for a Democratic Party that has contributed, like Republicans, to the geopolitical events that helped spark the constant flow of refugees heading for our southern border. The United States has operated in Latin America as an empire, using its military might and wealth to enforce its will there. And its leaders have refused to reform its immigration system through control of government by Democrats and Republicans.
We have blood on our hands. Admitting that truth is hard for some.
So, instead, some dismiss it as fake news, and further dehumanize already marginalized people. We’ve seen where dehumanization leads in the recent attacks in the United States on Jews, Democrats and the media.
I see such dehumanization shared on social media more often by Trump supporters, but Trump opponents aren’t immune.
This caravan isn’t a fabrication or a conspiracy. It isn’t about Donald Trump or the 2018 midterms.
It’s about people who have been living in conditions most of us in the United States can’t fathom who are seeking a better life. It’s about men, women and children. Human beings.
Why are they traveling in such a large group? Safety in numbers. Lots of media attention. Less potential for abuse by Mexican authorities or criminals.
Not everything that happens in the world is about politics in the United States — even if dark-money groups and others try to make us believe otherwise.
If all of us would pause and think about that more often, instead of absorbing what’s spewed on cable news channels, maybe we’d discover greater empathy for others. And then, maybe, we’d find solutions to some of the pressing problems that are tearing our society apart.
Heath Haussamen is NMPolitics.net’s editor and publisher. Agree with his opinion? Disagree? NMPolitics.net welcomes your views. Learn about submitting your own commentary here.