I looked around quickly to make sure I hadn't somehow wandered into the customs line at Newark Airport. Nope...still on line at the DMV.
"You have immigration status?" she repeated.
This time I felt fully justified looking at her as if she'd grown a second head, "What are you talking about?"
She must have seen the disgust on my face and decided against pressing the issue further. She sighed, "Never mind," and ushered me over to her window to fill out the necessary paperwork.
Wow. Now I need to clarify my immigration status to renew my license? Like I don't have enough shit to worry about? This is the type of nonsense that forces you to either lose years off your life (literally) or...do this.
Life has changed for me since Dolt 45, Tangerine Ceaser, first of his name, swore his oath to use our government as his personal piggy bank. Maybe not so much the day-to-day stuff but the edges of life, the unwritten social rules, have changed. The stuff that makes you feel like you've got a handle on how things work are not only being rewritten but the new rules seem determined to kick you back down the ladder. Mos Def, Yasiin Bey or whatever he's calling himself now was right.
"You start keeping pace they start changing up the tempo.--" Mr. Nigga, Mos Def ft. Q-Tip, Black on Both Sides (1999)
The biggest change I've noticed is for a large group of people, facts really don't mean shit anymore. If you've even been halfway paying attention I don't need to elaborate. Even among normally reasonable people, opinions and safe feelings are now more important than reality. Group think is at an all time high. We're even willing to spend money on exaggerated problems (illegal immigrant crime, bathroom laws, Abortion) and conversely we're willing to ignore real problems because they either don't affect us or we simply don't care (Domestic Terrorism, Pollution. Education) If this seems too high level or too far removed from the day to day for you to care about, read some of the things Dolt 45 is willing to cut off eliminate to build a $20 billion wall that won't do jack shit to stop immigrants who fly in, then overstay their visas.
PBS (Yeah, Sesame Street isn't more important than the wall)
Meals on Wheels (neither are the elderly)
Africa Development Foundation (African slaves built Washington, D.C. but we apparently owe them nothing.)
National Endowment for the Arts (Presumably petty because conservatives are rarely viewed favorably by artists)
Minority Business Development Agency (Self explanatory, but...the WALL!)
Whether your safe space is the belief that Barack Obama is a secret Muslim spy or that Donald Trump is the Kremlin's ultimate weapon, facts seem to matter much less than feeling secure. That, in turn, has lead to unnecessary deaths.
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| This...is a SIKH. Not a Muslim...and it STILL shouldn't matter. |
The people who know me offline might not believe this, but I wish I could ignore what's happening. I'm more plugged in than most because of my job but even for people who normally don't pay attention to politics, its become inescapable. Love sports? Dolt 45 is a topic in multiple facets. Like ratchet, I mean "reality" TV? He's a topic there too. Sitcoms? He's there. Even when I go to the DMV to renew my license, the Tangerine Ceasar, first of his name, he of low information, quick conclusions, high hypocrisy, and narrow vision has slithered his way in! I didn't think there was a word anyone could call me that could leave me as taken aback as the N word. I was wrong. Being a black man in America and the son of immigrants, being treated like a visitor in my own country is nothing new. What pissed me off and scares the shit out of me at the same time is that I never imagined that I would be a possible target for ICE. I was born here. Raised here. Served my country for 8 years. If a DMV worker who barely spoke English herself could think its appropriate to ask me for my immigration status, why wouldn't an ICE officer who's looking to fill a quota and having a bad day do the same? Like most people, I don't walk around with my birth certificate as proof of citizenship at all times. Why? Because that's absurd. But this government's newfound focus on their version of "identity politics" now has me questioning how safe it is NOT to? Furthermore, how safe is my country for me and my family if in addition to having to worry about police harassment I have to worry about being mistaken for an illegal because I "don't look like I belong here?"
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| This is what America looks like. Doesn't matter how may Trumps you elect. |
The culture is literally changing before my eyes. Violent racists feel vindicated and are now openly looking for ways to push their agenda. While there is also an encouragingly high level of push back, I've never seen a community change so rapidly from somewhat tolerant to so blatantly bigoted. I know the you-should-have-known/can't-trust-them-white-folks crowd will scold me for my naivete but I seem to always hold out hope that eventually we can get it right. Intellectually, I suppose I always knew being straight laced wouldn't be enough to shield me from the bullshit black faces in white spaces go through (and it hasn't completely) but I've started to reach the point where not only am I seeing diminishing returns for my uptight ways (aka my public face) but my private life is also suffering. As I mentioned before, politics is wrapping its insufferable claws into every facet of American life. My life. My tolerance for being spoken to like Spicer speaks to April Ryan or watching our best and brightest, like Maxine Waters, being openly demeaned by people who aren't fit to shine their shoes intellectually is now zero. It's telling, by the way, that the only rebuttal to the arguments raised by both women is to insult their looks or try to police their behavior. Seems to be the standard response for people who don't have a real answer to why they do what they do or believe what they believe. It may feel good, no matter what side of the aisle you stand on, to deflect, discount, marginalize, and disrespect those who disagree with you but sticking your head in the sand only cuts off your air. And from what I can see, the whole country is becoming Eric Garner. No one can breathe outside of their chosen safe space.
