Don’t shed any tears about tear gas at border

“There’s what people want to hear; there’s what people want to believe; there’s everything else – and then there’s the truth.”

Every column could begin with that refrain, as the “truth” seems to be either subjugated by spin doctors, or simply ignored. Yet while the truth is never subjective, that hasn’t stopped some from manipulating facts to fit their desired narratives.

Let’s objectively examine some major stories so that we don’t tear up — literally — under false pretenses:

• Tear gassing “children” at the border: Headlines are blaring that the U.S. Border Patrol has been tear gassing women and children trying to enter America illegally – part of the so-called caravan from Central America. Numerous news reports and social media posts claim that the use of tear gas was excessive and unnecessary, insinuating that the migrants were simply standing near the border minding their own business.

Sorry. That’s not just disingenuous, but flat-out wrong.

First, border patrol agents were being attacked with rocks and bottles by an unruly mob. Given that the Central American nations from where the majority of caravan migrants hail are the most dangerous on Earth, it’s not a stretch to think that some of their citizens might also be carrying weapons. Protection of oneself and the border, are, and should be, paramount.

Second, let’s not forget that many in the caravan (which numbers almost 10,000) had already ignored Mexico’s orders to turn back, and, in fact, had just broken through the lines of Mexican security forces. Violence begets violence, and U.S. agents did what was necessary – using a mild type of tear gas to simply disperse agitators. Not only was that action the right protocol, but failure to do so would have amounted to dereliction of duty, placing America at risk.

Further, are we really supposed to believe it was mothers with kids in tow that smashed through armed Mexican police?

No country on Earth has an unrestricted open-border policy, (Mexico’s border, for example, is far tighter than America’s), so demands that America accept everyone at face value, with no vetting, and without going through the legal immigration process, is enough to make you cry.

• Mississippi Senate race: The last U.S. Senate race in the country is a runoff in Mississippi, pitting incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith (who is white) against Democrat Mike Espy (who is black).

Instead of a healthy debate on the issues that actually matter – health-care costs, job security, educational improvement – the race has devolved into, you guessed it, “race.” Or, more specifically, that Ms. Hyde-Smith is a racist.

Why? Because during an event, she stated that she’d be “in the front row” if one of her supporters “invited (her) to a public hanging.” It was a colloquial phrase that was simply intended to show praise for a supporter. As anyone with half a brain knew, there was absolutely zero racial intent with her statement. Poor choice of words, yes, but no racism whatsoever.

So extremists proceeded to hang nooses around the capitol, and trumpeted signs with messages such as: “We are hanging nooses to remind people that times have not changed.”

That’s great. People are actually equating today’s America – the most tolerant period in our nation’s history – with hanging people more than a century ago. And you wonder why race relations continue to deteriorate?

• Charlie Brown is “Racist”: This one takes the turkey. America’s so-called social-justice warriors (aka do-nothing Millennials living in their parents’ basements who take to social media – between binge-watching Netflix and sipping lattes they can’t afford – to protest whatever “offended” them in the prior 60 seconds) have slammed the iconic Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special as “racist.”

Why? Because Franklin, the black character, is sitting by himself on one side of the Thanksgiving table. If you’re waiting for the rest of the bigotry, sorry to disappoint. That’s it. That’s the entire reason that social media whiners are in an uproar.

Now that their “Peanuts-isracist” claim has been debunked, what’ll be next with the alwaysoffended class? Will they develop an allergy to Peanuts because the cartoon teacher has a “speech impediment?” Or because there is no helicopter parenting? Good grief! Enough is enough.

No matter what the snowflakes say, you’re a good man, Charlie Brown!