[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

No one wants open borders. I already said that. You've chosen to not notice.

Defunding the police means expanding the function of the municipality - using money that would normally ONLY go to arresting people and giving out tickets, and adding social workers and crisis control personnel to help decompress potentially violent situations, so they don't become violent - thus reducing the workload of police, and making them be more efficient at doing their own job - without ALSO having to serve as social workers and crisis control personnel.

This was very well explained, for a couple of years, in most media that was not "alternative facts" media. Most people who don't cling to their alternative facts, already know this.

Free tuition is not free, this is also a known thing. There are several candidates (or were, in 2016 and 2020) who want to see a model of education that is favored in MOST other countries, where people tend to be much better educated overall than Americans are. Where secondary school is semi-private, and STATE university-level school becomes free to all citizens. Private schools remain private, and profitable if they choose so - and can charge whatever the market will bear. But state universities and colleges would not cost money to residents of the state. That would be tuition only. If there's living or food expenses, the families would still have to pay for it. Considering the fact that tuition-free state university works in other countries, it isn't a bad idea. The implementation would be a tough thing in this country though, and that's where there's a divide on the concept.

This COUNTRY is a sanctuary COUNTRY. There shouldn't be a need for sanctuary cities at all. Our country was founded and continued to be developed on the concept of welcoming people in who were escaping tyranny, genocide, fascism, and mandated religion. That is the entire point of the United States of America. Anyone who doesn't understand that - is not paying attention or has chosen to pretend otherwise. The concept of a "sanctuary city" is to accommodate those seeking sanctuary (asylum seekers) who, by law, enter this country illegally. That is the lawful process, if you want to flee for your life from your home country, and seek relative safety in the United States. You come in, you get processed, and you get placed. There aren't enough processors, the process is anything but efficient, and some asylum seekers and refugees can wait 10 years or more before they are finally processed and given permission to be here. Meanwhile, they are given temporary work visas where they can work, pay taxes, have social security tax taken out of their paychecks - but they will NEVER be eligible to collect social security paychecks from those deductions. If they are granted citizenship, any paycheck deductions they have from that moment forward, will finally count. But they have no rights to any of the SS deductions while they are here and not citizens.

It's a trade-off. They pay for the privilege of being here, and they don't have to endure their families being beaten daily, kidnapped, sold into slavery, stabbed, raped, their businesses "taxed" 80% by corrupt guerrilla governments, and leaving them with no money for food, clothing.

The term "woke" - has nothing to do with ANY of the above. The term "woke" means "recognizing that the general population of black Americans descend from slavery, and slavery was a really bad thing, no matter who the slave-owner was, no matter how those slaves got to this country, and we're thankful we as a country don't do that anymore."

That's how I'd explain it to a 10-year-old. Hopefully you're mature enough to translate it to adult-speak.

Woke has also been extended to include any injustice, from systemic racism (which is still a thing, just look at gerrymandered districts in many larger cities around this country), to antisemitism (oh freedom of speech means literal actual pin-wearing Nazis can congregate outside a synagogue in Florida shouting "Jews will not replace us!"), to homophobia (yes they're different. No, they're not trying to get into your pants. If it's okay for a guy and a girl to grope each other in public, then it's okay for a girl and a girl to grope each other in public. Sorry this hurts your feelings but you don't get to decide who other people will love. Full stop.).

Woke isn't permissiveness. Woke is acknowledgement and recognition that "other" exists, and "other" are human beings who deserve to be treated like humans.

I agree with 85% of this post. However, I don't believe that all illegal immigrants are fleeing oppression. I think that many just want to be US citizens or be here to make more MONEY. And also why don't they stay in their country of origin and fight oppression there instead of taking the comparatively easy way out and traveling north to the US?
I would NOT shoot illegal aliens, but I would require them to stay PUT in their OWN country and make an application for US citizenship from that location. Those crossing our borders, I personally, would consider INVADERS and I would capture them and put them in a US jail for 5 years and then send them back. That seriousness would lead to real deterrence without killing anyone.