People aren’t pawns

Carroll County isn’t a liberal enclave, except of course for Eureka Springs.

We’re not the kind of place where Ron DeSantis might send a couple of planes full of Venezuelan immigrants in a clumsy, cold-hearted effort to prove a point. Or more accurately, to score some political points.

DeSantis — the Republican governor of Florida — pulled his stunt last week, sending seven families of migrants from his state to Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. His “point” apparently, was that largely liberal — and in the case of Martha’s Vineyard, quite wealthy — parts of the United States ought to share in the “pain” of what DeSantis and other Republicans paint as an immigration crisis. DeSantis isn’t alone in his cruelty; Texas Gov. Rick Abbott recently had a group of immigrants dropped off near the home of Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington, D.C.

Those kinds of actions clearly are intended to create some discomfort for people like the vice president’s neighbors or the residents of Martha’s Vineyard. The message seems to be: Here, see how you like it. And DeSantis and Abbott and their supporters have a good laugh at such clever maneuvers.

But maybe there’s a bigger lesson to be learned in how the people of Martha’s Vineyard responded to DeSantis’ stunt — not by complaining about the immigrants’ arrival, not by clutching their pearls and fretting about what these new arrivals might steal. No, the people of Martha’s Vineyard rushed to the aid of these strangers. They did their best to make the immigrants feel welcome and comfortable. They treated them not as criminals but as people, people whose circumstances were different from their own, people who needed help.

Carroll County is deeply conservative. It’s also incredibly diverse. The county’s population encompasses a variety of cultures and I see very little discord stemming from that diversity. Our public schools embrace the multitude of native languages and strive to ensure that all their students — whether they speak English, Spanish, Marshallese, Sgaw Karen or Swahili — have access to a quality education.

In many ways, our diversity makes us stronger.

Yes, our county is deeply conservative. And there is a faction of conservative Americans today who believe that unchecked immigration will ultimately lead to the downfall of our society. Certainly, there are folks right here in Carroll County who share that belief, who don’t like the way our demographics have changed over the past few decades. But our county is also filled with people who at their core are decent human beings with compassion and empathy for our neighbors.

I believe without a doubt that if a planeload of Venezuelan refugees — and make no mistake, that’s what these people are — landed at the Carroll County airport, they’d be welcomed here. They’d be fed. They’d be clothed. They’d have a place to lay their heads. They’d be treated like human beings, not chess pieces to be moved on an imaginary board or punchlines to some sick joke. If DeSantis has a point — and maybe he does, on some level — there are far better and more humane ways to prove it.

Yes, our country needs a responsible immigration policy. But that policy shouldn’t be punitive. And people shouldn’t be used as political pawns.

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Scott Loftis is managing editor for Carroll County Newspapers. His email address is SLoftis@cherryroad.

com.