Sinister. Odd  It has become the thing. They said it about Jews in Charlottesville. About Mexicans in El Peso. The extreme right is afraid of people who love America.

Not invaders.  Allies.  They want to join us. They like the United States. They like our culture. McDonalds. Amazon. Pizza Hut. The Mall of America.

They would join our conversation about our society. They want to work here. They want to work here even when the work is doesn’t pay much. The people arrested in Mississippi. They weren’t making much.

They want to worship God.   They want law and order. They hate and fear the criminal gangs of Honduras, the wars of Syria, the militias of Africa, tyrants wherever. They see a place with criminals. A place where criminals are caught, tried, and jailed.

Ironic then. Odd then. They are escaping murderers and rapists . We used to know the difference between criminals and allies; the difference between people who prey on us and people who want to pray, the difference between people who want to replace us and people who want to join us.