This. All of this.  

If what you say is what you truly believe, Andy, then you're a piece of shit.  That's not opinion.  That's fact.  Arguing semantics about "cages" and claiming anyone who steps foot on our "sacred ground", even if their argument is persecution and/or harm from those in their country of origin, is an illegal is antithetical to the foundation of this country.  Continue to feel good about children ripped away from their parents under the misguided notion that they're just "faking it".  Feel great about numbers skewed because we're tacitly holding people seeking asylum across the boarder so "they don't count" as evidence that the Trump Administration's policy is working.  Cuddle up to the idea of "fake news" because the reality is too harsh to comprehend.  

Whatever.  Your views disgust me and are absolutely abhorrent.  Good on ya, mate.

I have put an effort into reading about both sides of this story and come to my (current) opinion about it and stated why.  But it seems that if I don't grab a pitchfork and agree with various labels and semantics, not to mention assigning me opinions I did not suggest, I'm a piece of shit.

I'm not lobbying for anyone to be hurt or defending a particular party for party's sake.  I'm someone who was trying to look past the rhetoric and emotion and not rely on what one side screamed at the other.

The US government is keeping kids in cages?  There's no defending that so I looked to see how bad it was.  First thing I see is that one picture credited to this administration was actually from the previous administration.  Then I see that the current, temporary holding areas labeled as cages are actually large areas with benches surrounded by chain link fence.  Akin to a DMV with chain link as opposed to walls.

I fully expected to see scenes resembling the guy Rambo found in part two.  Dirty, emaciated and crammed in a cage like a dog.  Malnourished and tortured.  Perhaps that is my fault but it sure seems like what is being implied by that side of the conversation.

Did the practice of separating children and their families not work?  Obviously.  This administration and the previous one both fell egregiously short in handling that, primarily in a lack of documentation which has led to difficulty in getting kids back to who they belong with.

Here's another article that talks about a popular photo of a kid in a cage.  It was not as it appeared but many people ran with it.  Which is what I'm trying to avoid.  I agree that not every case has been handled ideally or even kindly but it isn't due to Trump being a monster.  IMO, it's due to such a large number of people to deal with and a serious lack of resources and personnel.

Some kids are still being separated from their families but those are cases where the adults are suspected of criminal activity.  Which relates to what I suggested before, that some of these people are trying to use their kids as get out of jail free cards.

Which is why I put the onus on those who are bringing those kids.  This is not a simple situation and I don't deny that there has been some people mistreated.  But both sides have been misleading or lied.

So, what is the answer for thousands of children who need to be processed?  Where should they be kept while trying to find their relatives or guardians or sponsors?  Do you separate boys from girls?  Teens from toddlers?  If so, how?

It doesn't make things easier for everyone when two of the most popular pictures about the situation both turned out to be false. 

Forget that people are dying from the novel coronavirus. Forget the advice of the CDC. It's all about it not being Trump's fault and he doesn't want those numbers to look bad.

Also, using a viral outbreak to score points against the Washington State Governor: good or bad?

The world is in a state of near panic over the C-virus and in the US, that panic is growing too.  But when the C-virus has killed 9 in the US and by comparison the regular flu has killed thousands, it makes it seem like fear mongering to me.

I think it's more about the mortality rate between the 2 virus'.

A severe flu season would be just under 1%. Some estimates of the c-virus has it at 3%. Though reporting is so sporadic right now I don't think we'll know the real number for some time.

-----------------------------------------------------

1. Covid19 has killed 17 in the US, so you're only out by 89%.

2. You're looking at the extremist tip of the iceberg. The numbers swell pretty much exponentially. Italy gives you a glimpse of what it looks like when it takes hold. China gives you a glimpse of what it looks like when it takes hold.

3. If flu was a new virus and we could stop it gaining a grip on the population by quarantining, we'd be doing that as well.

4. How many health officials die from treating flu patients?

5. When 8 of the first 9 deaths were all in one nursing home in Washington State, you can see what this virus means for the elderly: a potential death sentence. You may not care too much, but I'm sure they do.

6. When various states are declaring emergencies, when health officials are warning of the consequences, when airlines are going bust, when global supply chains are becoming stressed, it's not something dreamt up by the media. 

And you're apparently trying to miss the point.

No one suggested doing nothing.  No one suggested taking no precautions.

It's this type of response that makes it unappealing to even engage.  Snarky bullshit gains you nothing and in fact, turns an otherwise open mind against you.

I think keeping things in perspective is what they should do.  They are presenting it like it's the black plague when it pales in comparison to influenza.  I don't think they are simply reporting facts and it seems disingenuous to suggest that they are.

100 deaths in Italy are tragic but if they are anything similar to what's happening in the US, they are at risk people with deficient immune systems.  The mortality rate is going to be higher in those cases.  "Most" people aren't apparently in any real danger but the media has everyone scared shitless.  That doesn't seem responsible to me.

And you seem to ignore the several examples that the chain link enclosure, whether in a wrestling match or an IT basement, is called a cage. The media refers to the chain link enclosure as a cage because that’s what chain link enclosures are. Which is completely beside the point, because regardless of what you call it, it’s wrong to herd a bunch of kids who have no idea what is going on in them.