Killing The Messenger
The self righteous uproar over President Trump’s graphic terminology describing some Third World Nations in Africa and the mideast does nothing, unfortunately, to change the shocking state that many of these countries are in.
Whether President Trump used the term “s**tholes” or not (which, by the way, is far from certain, considering the dishonest history of Senator Durbin, the main “s**thole” plaintiff) doesn’t change the reality of the sorry state that prevails in many of these countries and prompted the harsh descriptors to begin with. Personally, I would have prefered a somewhat more judicious term to describe them. Perhaps something like “hell holes” or “godforsaken” or something like that. However, which ever term is used, the underlying sad reality of these countries and their societies does NOT change. We could call them “developing societies”, or “economically challenged states”, or “paragons of diversity” or “beacons of hope for the future” or even “Heaven on Earth” and they would still remain the squalid failures that they are. NO MATTER WHAT we call them, the reality of these marginal societies does not change. And, complaining about the terminology used to describe them is sort of like “killing the messenger” when the messenger brings bad news of an unpleasant reality.
This dishonest strategy has, however, been used by those with leftist agendas before. A very similar example comes quickly to mind. In the fall of 2016, candidate Trump correctly referenced the crime wave that has been sweeping through Sweden following the immigration of hundreds of thousands of “refugee” Muslims. Swedish society has traditionally been nearly crime free, so the extraordinary rise in crime in that country is all the more shocking. Mr. Trump remarked how amazing the state of affairs in Sweden really is. As he put it, referring to the crime wave occurring: “In Sweden? Can you believe it, Sweden?!!!!” In response, the Swedish Government feigned indignation and FALSELY denied that a crime wave even EXISTED! The American media jumped up an down, asking how Mr. Trump could “slander” an ally like Sweden, and what a diplomatic blunder this was, and on and on…..Trouble is…Trump was right!….there IS an unprecedented crime wave in Sweden. The per capita rate of RAPE in Sweden is now the second highest in Europe (source: Emma Beswick, euronews, November 24, 2017). There have also been a number of investigative documentaries that make the existance of a crime wave VERY clear. (See the work of Ami Horowitz, among others, available on YouTube). In addition, there has been considerable civil unrest as a consequence. There ARE immigrant “no go” zones, which police and even firefighters avoid. And howling about Mr. Trump’s acknowledgement of all this does not, unfortunately, make these problems go away.
The Swedish crime wave example is quite similar to what we are hearing now in what I’ll term the “hellhole” controversy. The graphic descriptors that some find so objectionable, DO convey, however, a “taste” of what it might be like to live in these countries. Countries without true democratic institutions. Countries that are ruled by military or authoritarian governments. Countries where draconian Sharia law prevails. Where dissent is NOT tolerated. Where an adulteress is stoned to death and homosexuals are thrown head first from parking garages. Where sectarian violence (Muslim Salafis against Sufis, for example, or Shia against Sunni) and terrorism are rampant. Where war is a CONSTANT reality. Where, for the vast majority, people live with substandard plumbing, substandard health care, and, in some cases, even inadequate food. Try to imagine what living in such a place might be like. The word “hellhole” comes to mind, doesn’t it?
So, lets not quibble over semantics. The countries we are thinking of here are indeed blighted, no matter WHAT we choose to call them. Calling a spade a spade did not create those unfortunate societies. And using polite language to describe them will not improve their lot.