UnNews:Things wrong with Trump Jr.'s analogy
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Donald Trump's son has been widely criticized for his comparison of Syrian refugees to a bowl of skittles, so we asked our resident anal-ologist, Joanna Corey, to explain just where he went wrong.
"Well, leaving to one side the idea that you might have to eat a Syrian refugee is extremely remote, the first problem is numbers. In a bowl of Skittles, let's assume there are around a hundred Skittles, and he suggests three would kill you.
"Suggesting three out of every one hundred Syrians are murdering terrorists is perhaps slightly exaggerated. It would mean that roughly 300,000 Syrians around the world would qualify."
A second problem, Corey suggests, is about size.
"A bowl is small. America is big. Let me say that again: a bowl is small. America is big.
"Instead of saying, 'There are three killer Syrians hiding on your coffee table', it might be more accurate to think of 10,000 Syrians - dressed as Skittles - scattered all over the United States."
Finally, Corey questioned Trump Jr's suggestion of the existence "poisonous" Skittles.
"Of all the recent terrorist attacks, none have been committed by Syrians. If you think about it for more than three seconds, people fleeing their country because it has been devastated by ISIS are perhaps not the most likely people to join up with ISIS.
"Curiously, despite the number of Saudi Arabians involved in the 9-11 attacks, there are no calls to stop oil-rich sheikhs coming into the country."
All in all, Corey's corrected version of Trump Jr.'s analogy reads: "If there were 10,000 Skittles scattered throughout the United States, and perhaps several - although there is no evidence to suggest that there are any - could kill you, how likely are you to die?"
Sources[edit | edit source]
- Leverage, "Donald Trump Jr compares Syrian refugees to a bowl of Skittles" Daily Telegraph, September 21, 2016
