Last Updated on May 13, 2025 by stlplace
Or drug pandemic. Now I am a strong believer of “ultimately it’s an America’s own problem”. Not Mexico’s problem, not China’s problem, not Colombia’s problem, neither Afghanistan’s problem either.
George Yeo on China’s Century of Humiliation : I first saw this one from RedNote.
I understand no US president will ever admit this fact. But fact is fact. The demand of drugs in the USA created all the supply in Mexico, drug cartel and so on. If you lived in the US for a while, you will understand the drug problem is wide spread, because the drugs are widely available. In addition to the fentanyl which is in the news a lot in recent years. The opioid crisis in the USA is a epidemic in last 26 years. And personally I think this is more than a medical problem or medicine problem, it’s rather a society problem. Think about this: if someone tries to smuggle those kinds of drugs in Singapore or in China, he or she will likely be prosecuted and possibly punished quite harshly. In the USA, not only people get away from those kinds of crazy stuff, the new laws are passed to make the lighter drugs (I don’t know a better word other than lighter), such as marijuana. I just could not grasp why law makers would go that direction. I do understand some views or rationale of the libertarians.
If you never been to the USA, I think the Netflix series Ozark is a good intro of US drug problems.
PS: 华人会被投入集中营吗？ (2025-04-22 07:34:09) I found some of the comments to be interesting too, one example is shown below.
======
见道2025-04-23 03:31:16回复悄悄话做为少数族裔的华人尤其是第一代移民，不要幻想什么融入，你永远是非我族类的人除非混血3代以上再谈融入，这是生物本性决定的，不要怪别人。所以，所有为少数族裔争取利益（即使是表面文章）的政党，团体或人物，华裔移民应当支持或鼓励，至少不能支持如MAGA之类的政党，团体或人物，因为其本质是反移民及白人至上的。当危机或战争来临时，以国家需要（政治的或经济的）牺牲少数族裔太可能发生了！
======
I recall back in Nov 2016, when DT was elected (over HRC), I did have this fear. Of course, now the fear is even more intense considering the recent development.
Blame others is always easier
But it doesn’t fix the problem. I wrote below on 01-31-2025
This is also a problem of “blame others instead of self-examine or self-reflect”. In a way it’s similar to the victim mentality. Both are not helpful. Here is another example of victim mentality: which was mostly made to get voters or get voter turnout in political campaign. It (anti-Christian bias in the USA) doesn’t have many teeth. Quote here: Critics see the task force initiative as unnecessary and pandering to Trump’s base. But some Christian supporters said it is overdue, claiming the Biden administration had discriminated against them through actions and inactions.
I don’t know how long this web page will exist – both are US government web pages: but it seems the new admin is purging a lot of web pages in the government websites.
(CDC) Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 2003–2023
Products – Data Briefs – Number 522 – December 2024
(NIH) Drug Overdose Deaths: Facts and Figures
Drug Overdose Deaths: Facts and Figures | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Btw, the American drug problem is a symptom of the society’s problems: it’s definitely not only on Mexico’s Cartel or the supply of raw material from China. If the Americans don’t take Fentanyl, the drug trade from Mexico will be cut in half. But it’s much easier to blame on others, and the new president started to apply additional tariffs because of this.