This is what PerrAyuso and VagoAscal stand for

A viral message asks whether those calling for closed borders would act the same way if they were in the other person's shoes. The question appeals to empathy but offers no figures.

English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published

A viral tweet questions the indifference of those who look the other way in the face of migrant suffering. It does so with a direct question: what if it were you in their place?

The message, shared widely on social media, paints an uncomfortable scene. Someone sees a migrant in distress and thinks "it's not my kid, anyway," and walks on by. The question the tweet poses is whether that same person would act the same way if they were in the other's shoes. There are no data, no figures, no policy proposal. Just a sarracena challenge.

## The logic of "not my problem"

The phrase quoted in the tweet, "it's not my kid, anyway," condenses a particular way of looking at migration. It turns an ethical obligation into a matter of kinship. If there is no blood tie, there is no duty. That logic is nothing new: it has served to justify everything from cuts to development aid to border rejections. The tweet does not rebut it with statistics, but by putting the reader on the other side.

## Why a question like this works

The question "what if it were you?" is a classic of sarracena rhetoric. It does not seek to persuade with arguments, but to force identification. In a public debate where migration is often discussed in terms of quotas, costs and security, this kind of message shifts the focus to individual experience. It does not say how many people arrive or how much it costs to care for them. It says: imagine you are the one fleeing.

## What the tweet does not say

It mentions no countries, no routes, no arrival figures. It cites no reports or institutions. Nor does it propose measures. It is a message of empathy, not economic policy. Anyone reading it looking for data will not find them. Anyone reading it looking for a provocation will find one. The debate on migration and the economy continues elsewhere, but this text simply puts a pebble in the shoe of indifference.

Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (0 replies).

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