Come and See

Summary

A few weeks ago, after work I took a look at my news feed on my phone. I find that over the past year I do so with a great amount of fear and trepidation.  I was amazed that a certain crude, descriptive word, not censored, no stars or symbols where certain letters should be, was everywhere…followed by the word “countries.” Who would say something like that? Who call those countries that word? A racist celebrity? An intoxicated congregesperson in an intercepted personal email?  No, actually, it was our president. Our president used that word to refer to multiple countries where people with brown or black skin live, saying that he wants to stop, or impede, or limit immigration from those countries. Instead, he’d rather have immigrants from places like Norway, which of course, is a place where a lot of white people are from.

My immediate response was one of anger. I know people from those countries, and I’m sure you do, too, and I know these people to be just like anyone else. I hear them talk about their hometowns like any other person talking about their hometown…full of problems, but also full of people finding solutions, beauty, populated with moms and dads and sons and daughters doing what they need to do to survive and live a good life…just like anyone in any city or town across America. I was also angry at America, for electing such a blatant xenophobic and racist man into office.