In a tragic car accident, Professional football player Edwin Jackson of the Indianapolis Colts was killed along with his Uber driver by an undocumented immigrant who’s blood alcohol level was far above the legal limit. The President of The United States of America immediately condemned all undocumented immigrants for these deaths. President Trump tweeted,
“So disgraceful that a person illegally in our country killed @Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson. This is just one of many such preventable tragedies. We must get the Dems to get tough on the Border, and with illegal immigration, FAST!”
This tweet dances around it’s true meaning with words like “Border” and “Illegal Immigration” instead of saying what it really means, “get TOUGH on illegal IMMIGRANTS — all of them. Right now.” And this is the text book definition of bigotry; condemning an entire group of people for the actions of a few.
Skeptical? Well, just imagine any different type of drunk driver hitting and killing these two innocent men. What if the driver was a white man from Georgia, or a black woman from New York. Would it be proper to condemn all white men, black women, Georgians, or New Yorkers for this death? No. It would be proper to condemn drunk driving which was the true cause of these deaths.
But Trump is a bigot and unfortunately so are many of his supporters. And during stinging tragedies like these, it is easy to lose sight of the Presidents true intentions: To divide America along the lines of race and class so that Trump and his supporters can hold onto political power. The unfair and tragic deaths of Edwin Jackson, and his driver, Jeffrey Monroe, are simply a tool for Trump and his supporters to reach that objective.
The fault and punishment for these two deaths lies with the driver who killed them. The 10 million or so other illegal immigrants living here in America are not responsible. To argue otherwise is to engage in bigotry. For the families and friends of Jackson and Monroe, condolences and sympathies are in order. And the decency to not drag their deaths through a political screed about immigration.