Violence is not up on Arizona border

I was out yesterday with my mother and stepfather, among others, and the conversation came to the situation along the border. I mentioned the article I am linking while trying to make the point that border violence, at least on the American side, is down over the last ten years.

The strange part was the reaction it generated in my mother, who cited several anecdotal examples of violence. She was absolutely adament that I was wrong and was unwilling to even consider that the statistics and number based analysis presented in the article had any validity at all. It makes me a little sad that she is willing to completely discount everything I say on any subject related to politics and the only reason I can see is that I lean closer to the middle than she does.

I love you, Mom, but anecdotal evidence is less useful than measurable statistics. You are a scientist, you know that.

Violence is not up on Arizona border###