Take a look at this picture.
This is from a study conducted by the conservative-leaning Cato Institute, which calculates the probability of being murdered by a foreign terrorist. According to the study, there have been only 3 deaths in the United States over the past 4 decades connected to terrorists who entered the country as refugees. The 3 deaths in question are attributed to Cuban refugees in an attack during the 1970s. Thanks to the Refugee Act of 1980, refugees are thoroughly vetted when entering into the United States, and no other terrorism-related death since then has ever been associated with refugees.
So, instead of leading a calculated attack against an entire religion, let’s take a look at a list of things that are more likely to kill you than an innocent refugee.
1. Stairs.
According to the National Safety Council, injuries from falling down the stairs were responsible for 1,307 deaths in 2002: a 1 in 2,739 chance that you will die from falling down the stairs. Beware.
2. Cows.
The CDC reports that cows caused more than 108 deaths in the years 2003-2007. So, 21 deaths a year.
3. Dogs.
Awww, man’s best friend. According to the CDC, 279 people died from dog bites between 1979 and 1994, averaging out to 18 deaths a year. Looks like doggo and pupper are more dangerous than you originally thought.
4. Hot water.
The Journal of Burn Care and Research uncovered that an average of 100 people die every year from burns by hot tap water.
5. Vending machines.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, 37 deaths were attributed to vending machines over the span of 17 years. While that only averages out to 2 deaths a year, that’s still 30 times more likely than dying from a terrorist attack conducted by a refugee.
6. Wind.
Wind, too? Oh, nothing is sacred anymore. The National Weather Service reports that there were 76 wind-related deaths in 2011 and 104 in 2012.
7. Football.
Just in time for the Super Bowl. Over the span of 20 years (1990 to 2010), there was a total of 243 football-related deaths reported. In 2014, there were 16 deaths (6 directed, 10 indirected) linked to high school and college football, according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research. Can you imagine how angry Americans would get if football were banned? Oh, the horror.
8. A right-wing extremist.
That’s right! Refugees are innocent and peaceful -- they’re not even in the realm of Islamic terrorism. Your “lowercase KKK” buddies are far more dangerous than any Islamic jihadist. According to the New America Foundation, white right-wing terrorists have murdered nearly twice as many Americans in domestic attacks than radical Islamists have. The foundation compared demographic groups “engaged in violent extremist activity” and concluded that white extremists were the most dangerous and had the most terrorist-related incidents than any other group examined.
