I live in Washington albeit in an isolated adjunct part, but I have heard all you’ve heard from the same sorts of people, Ron. The speeches are so similar one can easily believe them to be the parroting of talking points learned from non-stop viewing of a particular propaganda. Older republicans fleeing Seattle and California and Portland which have become literal hells on earth. Crime out of control, drugs out of control, homeless sleeping in your yard, etc. Such is the burden of states that make an attempt to have programs for the unfortunate. Since other places make no such attempt, people go to where they might get help. An influx leads to an imbalance, sure, and a strain on resources and enforcement, sure. But it’s a lot of scaremongering and overblown by a hearty magnitude. You lived around Oakland. It’s always been a place far worse in people’s minds than in day-to-day reality. Wilmington, DE where I lived. “Murdertown” they call it. Not downplaying that there are rough areas, but it’s true anywhere. It’s easier to buy into fear, blame, flee than deal with the root causes of problems.
