By James Knudsen
What would your reply be to the following statement? “Donald Trump was right.”
That’s rather broad. Allow me to rephrase. “Donald Trump was right about immigration.”
No, not the golden escalator moment; I mean when he was actually President. And to be fair, he really didn’t know he made a statement that included a milligram of truth. It was early January of 2018, and the former, one-term President (we cannot say that enough) was doing what he does best, complaining. Specifically, he was complaining about immigrants who come from— At this point, the former, one-term President used an expletive to describe the sort of country that, in his mind, most immigrants hail from. Statistical figures from the Pew Research Center show that in that same year, 2018, the top five countries of origin were: Mexico, China (including Hong Kong and Macau), India, The Philippines, and El Salvador. I know, the former, one-term President still hasn’t said anything accurate, but bear with me. The former, one-term President also suggested that the United States should be allowing immigrants from Norway. Hmm.
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| Kim & Tom |
From There to Here
By Penelope Griffiths
Fast-forward five more years, when, with two kids in tow, I made my escape.
Divorce is never pretty, but I just wanted out. My lawyer told me that if I left the marital home, I’d lose everything, but all I could think of was, if I didn’t leave, I’d be miserable and probably do something I’d regret – possibly with a heavy, blunt instrument. So, I left, but only after I’d made arrangements for my mother, who was living with us, to get an assisted-living house, and an agreement from my soon-to-be-ex-husband for me to have some of the furniture, along with our dog, Cindy.
To an Alternative Reality?
By Penelope Griffiths
I’ve only lived in the USA for three years, but I visited this country multiple times after the 1980s. The shortest visit was just for five days but most of my visits were for from three weeks to the full permitted twelve weeks.
I’ve travelled east to west, north to south, taking in the sights and sounds from city to mountain to rural and back again. From the beginning, as much as I love the US, I have always felt the undercurrent of racism and homophobia in varying degrees, wherever I went.
Edited by Moristotle
[Items of correspondence are not attributed; they remain anonymous. They have been chosen for their inherent interest as journalism, story, or provocative opinion, which may or may not be shared by the editor or other members of the staff of Moristotle & Co.]
Moristotle, don’t skip the comments on Charles M. Blow’s June 24 essay in the NY Times; they’re as informative as the article: “White Extinction Anxiety.” Opening paragraphs:
...economic & human misery follow
By Shirley Skufca Hickman
Lured by the offer of a good job and a better life, Ruben entered California from Mexico illegally to work as a farm laborer. He lived here for many years, married an American citizen, and they had a son. Eager to get a green card, he collected documentation showing he was a reliable and steady employee, had paid taxes, and had no police record. His son’s pediatrician even provided a letter describing what a good father he was.
By James T. Carney
Boy, if I had recognized that Trump’s election would have caused all the weeping and gnashing of teeth that I see [some, for example, in yesterday’s post], I would have voted for him. However, it would make more sense for “liberals” to start dealing with reality and learn some lessons from this campaign.
And we’re all immigrants
By Penelope Griffiths
I come from five generations of publicans [persons who own or manage a pub], midwives, and Tarot card readers. I can trace my ancestry on my father’s side as far back as the 13th Century and on my mother’s side to the 14th Century. Why am I writing this? Because having watched the ballyhoo and racist rants from Donald Trump, I feel it’s time for people to know, we are all immigrants!
By Ed Rogers
A wall is built to keep something or someone out. It is supposed to make the builder of the wall feel safe. In most cases, it does just that – until the wall is breached for the first time. The fear of being unprotected is overwhelming at that point. It is more intense even than before the wall was built, because there is no backup plan. Once your wall is breached, your faith in it will never be the same. Your only choice or hope is to find a bigger and better wall – right?
