by David Safier
Words matter. When they're purposely misused or confused for political matters, words matter deeply.
Immigrants, legal or illegal, are people who come to a country to settle here, to work and live there.
Drug smugglers are criminals by definition, but they're not immigrants. They come into the country to make a drug drop, then leave.
Human traffickers are criminals by definition, but they're not immigrants. They come into the country to transport people, usually people who intend to be immigrants, then leave.
The murder of Robert Krentz never looked like it had anything to do with immigration, and now that the focus is on someone from the U.S., not Mexico, it's even more likely it had nothing to do with immigration. It most likely was related to criminals smuggling drugs.
The pro SB 1070 crowd slips and slides back and forth between immigrants, drug smuggers and human traffickers to make them sound as if they're one and the same. They say illegal immigrants are criminals because they're illegal, then segue to talk of genuine criminals who smuggle drugs and people into the country.
The media, which should understand the power of words and have dictionaries on hand, are complicit in this confusion. How many times was Robert Krentz's killer described simultaneously as an illegal immigrant and a drug smuggler?
Once again, the right wing controls the language of the discussion, which means they control the discussion.