As many of us are aware, Edwin Jackson, Linebacker for the Indanapolis Colts, was tragically killed in a drunk driving accident on February 4th. The intoxicated driver was found to be, Manuel Orrego-Savala, a man from Guatemala, who was in America illegally, and had been deported on two previous occasions.
President Trump wasted no time in taking to Twitter to use this tragedy to promote support for his proposed wall between the United States and Mexico, saying:
"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!"
Naturally, his supporters, and many folks on Fox News are parroting him, virtually word-for-word.
The problem I have with this is: these are the same people who felt that former President Obama was politicizing a tragedy when he spoke out in favor of gun control measures the day after a gunman opened fire IN AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL! Where is the outrage now? Why is it always "too early" to talk about gun control after a tragedy, but never is it too early to talk about immigration reform?
Now, if you don't think that Trump is being insincere, allow me to point out that Mr. Jackson was an NFL player. See, a few months ago, when it suited his narrative and rallied the support of his base, he antagonized the NFL for allowing their players to kneel during the national anthem, and voiced support for the people who were boycotting the organization. Furthermore, he called any player who did not stand for the anthem a "son-of-a-bitch," and said that they needed to be fired. He even went as far as sending Vice President Mike Pence to a COLTS game in Indanapolis, with the sole intention of walking out in protest after players kneeled during the national anthem. This political stunt cost tax payers approximately $200,000.
A third point I would like to make, is: how often have we heard conservatives criticizing people for mourning the loss of a celebrity, but not average citizens, or especially, veterans? Well, apparently, that's ok when it suits their narrative! How many people are killed everyday by drunk drivers; natural citizens or otherwise? I have not heard Trump talk about this issue one single time, until now. Suddenly, however, now that an illegal alien is involved, all the rules have changed. Suddenly, conservatives mourn the loss of a celebrity over the countless people who have died from the same thing; and an NFL player no less! Suddenly, Trump cares about a black NFL player, even though he threatened their livelihood months earlier for practicing their First Amendment rights! Suddenly, it is ok to immediately discuss a tragedy in the political arena, even though we can't discuss real solutions to protect OUR CHILDREN from being shot at school! The hypocrisy is astounding...