Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last two weeks, you’re aware of the first actions of the Trump administration. Actually, if you’re under a rock, go back. Wait a few more years and I’ll let you know if we aren’t in a nuclear apocalypse by then.
On Friday, Trump signed an executive order indefinitely banning Syrian refugees from entering the US, and temporarily banning immigration for 7 Muslim majority countries for 90 days. Now, there are problems with this ban in itself. It is based on xenophobic propaganda and fear-mongering that has made Americans believe that their lives are at risk from a problem that will likely never affect their personal lives. Funny how we are so scared of the exact thing that refugees are fleeing from, and can’t see the irony in that.
But anyway, here are some things that are more likely to kill you than a radical Islamic terrorist. According to a study from the Cato Institution, you have a 1 in 3.6 billion chance of being killed by a refugee.
1. Falling Coconuts
Falling coconuts kill an estimated 150 people each year from trauma to the head.
2. The Wind
In 2012, 104 people died from “wind related” incidents, mainly from towed trailers and boating accidents.
3. Bees
Bees kill an average of 100 people per year.
4. Playing Football
As of 2014, 16 people have died either directly or indirectly from football related injuries.
5. Ladders
Every year, about 113 people die from falling off ladders.
6. Your Bed
Around 600 people die each year in the US from falling out of their beds.
7. Fireworks
It is reported that 7 people die from mishaps with fireworks each year.
8. Hot Tap Water
Each year, 100 people die from serious burns caused by hot water.
9. Christmas Trees
Six people were killed from Christmas tree fires in 2014.
10. Prescription Painkillers
Although this is more reflective of a flawed pharmaceutical industry, it should still be noted that over 52,000 people died from overdosing on prescription painkillers in 2015.
Now, it is important to point out that it isn’t quite fair to make comparisons between things that inherently create death and harm and things that have the possibility of causing death. An article from True Activist says that “If Americans’ fear of death were rooted in data and objectivity, they might drop their calls to ban Muslims”.
The fear of a terrorist attack from a refugee, specifically, is not supported by any data, only by opinions and stereotypes. Often times, we will take actions to prevent events with already incredibly low risks of happening because we see the effects as more harmful. However, this leaves us ignoring other problems in the US, such as heart disease, gun violence, and opioid addiction, that actually do have higher chances of happening, and equally unwanted outcomes: death. If the goal here is to prevent death, we’re not doing a great job.
Islamic terrorist refugee attacks are about as prevalent as cases of voter fraud. Actually, they’re less likely, because terrorist attacks from Muslim refugees since 9/11 total about 3.2 deaths per year. The total number of voter fraud cases in 2016 was 4. Not four million, not four thousand. Four. Two of those cases stemmed from Trump supporters, another from a woman who sent in her deceased husband’s ballot he filled out before his death, and another from a woman who marked absentee ballots.
But let’s get real here. This ban on immigration is inherently wrong, it is un-American, and coming from my mother’s perspective, it is un-Christian. Refugees are simply not coming here to attack American citizens. The extreme and long process of vetting that families and individuals are forced to go through, often leaving them in limbo while papers and forms are processed for months, is rooted in xenophobic attitudes and ideals. This is not about preventing terrorist attacks and deaths. This is about hatred, plain and simple. This is a reflection of our government expressing a hatred for “others”. A hatred for “them”.
The human history has consistently been filled with conflict and crisis. It is not much different now than it was a few hundred years ago, except now we have more words to describe our beliefs and we have more access to information and more ways to spread our beliefs out into the world. This being said, the message we should be sending is not that of isolation. Now more than ever it is important that we do not divide ourselves as a species. We have too many problems to divide ourselves.
Now, unity may be a long shot. People will never agree on every topic because we are all individuals with varying backgrounds and we shouldn’t expect to agree on everything. That being said, I feel that we should at least have a certain value for human life that is suffering, struggling, and different than us. We can't just value those who are struggling because they are "like" us, we have to understand that those we call different have value as well.
I don’t always like to look at things through an anthropocentric viewpoint, just because I am aware that humans have destroyed massive amounts of natural resources, caused an increase in the rate of non-human extinctions, and reshaped the landscape of the Earth in a way no other species has ever had the ability to do. However, this is the dominant viewpoint in Western societies, so until we can at least value human life equally, I don’t know if we’ll ever get to the point where we can understand that other beings inhabit the Earth and rely on its resources too; and that their existence has value just like humans. These topics should make you think. Why are we excluding people from living better lives?
Immigration policies aside, I think what we need to do is look at how we treat people. Are we treating people coming from horrible, excruciating situations with compassion and respect? Or are we treating them with suspicion and enforcing negative stereotypes? And are we going to continue doing this?
