I hear you Walter. As a brown female myself, I understand your concern for the hostility targeted towards your wife. This impacts all minorities, but especially brown and black immigrants. I was born in the country, but can still see myself being targeted if they do go through with the plan for mass deportations of brown and black immigrants. When they do the proposed raids on businesses, how do they know who is a native born person and who is not? If you are a brown or black person, are you automatically rounded up and taken into custody? All of this is horrendous. Nobody deserves this type of treatment whether or not they are immigrants.
I am still baffled by the lack of universal healthcare in this country. Of the 33 first world countries, we are the only ones who can't manage to have universal healthcare for everyone. I know the reasons is greed and corruption, but it still never ceases to amaze me. The greed in the healthcare industry is shameful. What's also shameful is that our elected officials in Congress all get free healthcare for them and their families, but are adamantly opposed that the general public receive it because that industry is lining their pockets. They have been bought. So the rest of us are left to suffer poor and/or no healthcare coverage and the possibility of bankruptcy.
A big part is that the general public has been conditioned not to discuss it and they've been deprived of a platform. We have to work to change that. Thanks Sarah!
Happy New Year, Walter. The compassion that you show in your writing, is sadly missing in so many critical places in the country, and the world. I resolve to work on myself and others to extend that compassion. It's a year we're sure going to need it.
Your reflections in this writing are powerful! I wish it could be shared even more widely than here at Substack. It is truly gut wrenching. I am so glad you love your family so deeply. May you all remain safe.
Please forgive me if I have been making a mistake. I have been sharing your work on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. I like what you have to say and I hope others will join as well because of it. I know at least three people have joined someone I have a paid subscription too because substack lets me know that someone has subscribed from one of my shares. Please let me know if I should not be doing this. I do not want to steal your work in any way. My hope is that more people will pay you And even more importantly hear what you are saying.
Reading the story about your wife on the road makes **me** angry, and I don't even know her. I guess that's one reason I prefer living in urban areas. She'd blend right in here in Atlanta. But it is completely inappropriate to be in a nation where the vast red part of the map is hostile to her. Disgusting.
The weird thing about our current political condition is that the children of the bigot in the huge pickup truck (often equipped with unnecessarily large grill guards designed to crush smaller vehicles) also don't matter. Yet they keep voting for the people who care the least about them. It's all very strange. and their numbers seem to be growing, not shrinking.
Yeah, you'd think their anti-vax stance would start reducing their population. But this is why I emphasize the negative influence of the church. I think Christian teachings are largely responsible for the sorry state of things. There's so much hate that comes out of that institution, it makes me very sad. Thanks for your support Charles!
I too worry about my sons. As red as this state is, we haven't had to experience too much racism, but now that they are in their late teens and look like adults to leo, I do worry a lot about them getting pulled over.
Our oldest is on his own but we have 'the talk' every time our 17 yo leaves the house.
We know how kind and respectful he is, but to someone who thinks black people are thugs inherently, it does not matter. I know this feeling and fear will be with us til we die. It's unfortunate but a fact of life.
Yes, it's unacceptable that we have a country like this, and it's worse that we don't even have the opportunity to discuss it honestly. Thanks William, best to you and your sons!
In our community we are part of the Underground Railroad which was operating till 1966 if you ask most Americans they think it was only back in the Civil War. Many of the farms that operated from the south to the north are now either strip malls or Micmanisons a term we labeled ridiculous homes that were built starting in 1970 communities that were built in less then 6 months for big bucks. Got to watch them literally fall apart in less than 15 years.
I truly believe that the Underground Railroad can be rebuilt it’s not just a pipe dream as one neighbor said “ if they succeeded over hundred years ago we should be able to do it again” The major problem is finding a landing spot that would be safe Canada is no longer open. Can you blame them ? In a conversation the other day folks were saying that they will defend Canada my husband and I agree. Many others that we brought the subject up think we are nuts yet they live with daily drop offs by Amazon No matter where you live in this country it is time to get a map and start planning it’s the same as a fire drill for your home. You can no longer have the luxury of just thinking about it. We are not off the grid survivors buying the kitty litter pails of survival food . We are not fools I am seventy years old and have lived in America all my life I have seen much NOW we need to speak out we cannot ignore what’s going on around us as the next four years move on everyone of you will be affected Learn and teach your children to PAY ATTENTION!
Yes! I've felt a seismic shift in what I feel compelled to write about. I barely have enough time and energy to get it all out. The enemy has revealed himself.
This whole narrative of “rugged individualism” has been baked into our culture for so long that people don’t realize it’s not a healthy way to live. Yes, people can get very rich here in America. But it’s usually not done ethically or morally. To get that rich, you have to put profit over people. You have to take advantage of every tax loophole the government refuses to close. You have to continue to do work in ways that is bad for the planet. And yet, this “winning capitalism” game is admired by most Americans, even when it’s killing them. Personally, I think the killing of Brian Thompson, along with the latest MAGA skirmish, has woken up a sleeping giant in this country. We’re getting screwed by the billionaire class and our politicians who server them.
The MAGA in our area remind me of “ posers” they get out there in their Trump gear scream and shout brag about their guns I guarantee you that over half of them couldn’t shoot a gun successfully. They are “ actors” just like their leader.
I dunno. I’ve been to Montana and Wyoming and those folks seem to know how to use guns. You don’t raffle off rifles at rodeos to people who don’t know how to shoot.
They can drive to a shooting range in their 100k pickup trucks, sure, they can even hit the occasional paper target. But I grew up with these posers and their defining characteristic is their incompetence. That's why they voted the way they did.
The murder of a CEO and the response his death generated made me realize that danger isn’t just about our collective refusal to control the spread and the free use of firearms but the insidious ubiquitous message in that refusal that says actually that guns are the solution, the answer to problems.
Yes! That's a part of the narrative that the media has deliberately ignored. The radicalized right always says that the 2nd amendment protects us from tyrants, that's always been a disgusting call for assassinations. They need to be denounced for it.
It feels wrong to hit the heart button after reading this! I don’t like it but I do empathize with your fears and worries. I’ve often wondered if I would have the courage to step in and stop someone who was harassing or attempting to harm someone else. I hope that I would, I’d like to think that I would.
Hit the share button instead :) We need to have open discussions about this problem because sooner or later it's going to claim us all. Thanks for your comment!
Walter I see, feel your pain. I am a retired union member who has fought for universal healthcare for many years and to this day I still struggle to understand why a country would choose to deny universal healthcare to its citizens . A healthy society is an asset to the country so the only reason why it’s denied is because an unhealthy , uneducated and poor society is what they want and need to rule over the masses. And by keeping us divided by our differences that is how they get the buy in from the very people they are suppressing. Hate has no boundaries. As an American Indigenous person I have seen, felt and suffered from it. I fear we will be returning to an era of very hideous violence coming our way.
Thank you for this. This is something I feel every day when my partner goes to work. He does industrial work that is…. Not great on safety. Every day I worry that he’ll get hurt or killed. I also worry about if he got hurt or gets sick we’ll be ruined financially.
Back when I was young, one of my parents was very ill for years. Everything, and I mean everything from the food to our nurses, was covered. Never saw a bill.
Right now, I’m fighting to get medication approved and find a stupid in-network provider for an elective but desperately needed surgery.
I don’t have kids for personal reasons, and I took care of that, but my heart breaks for the women in the south who are dying.
Thank you again for putting to words a part of my lived experience.
I spent quite a number of years as a volunteer for hospice in an Appalachian area where there are still many devastatingly poor people. People absolutely do die because they simply don’t have the money to live. I saw it - plenty of times! One of the most appalling things was the attitude of so many better-off people, even in that community, that somehow the poor deserve whatever happens. If they weren’t such “sorry” specimens to begin with, things would’ve gone better for them! We won’t stop killing each other until we stop dismissing each other and denying that we share our common humanity. Thanks so this, Walter! Very thought- provoking!
You’re right about all the anger. I’m not an immigrant, but I have nearly been run off the road and have also had blinding headlights flashed at me by aggressive, angry males while nearly rear-ending my car, mostly by giant Ram trucks.
I hear you Walter. As a brown female myself, I understand your concern for the hostility targeted towards your wife. This impacts all minorities, but especially brown and black immigrants. I was born in the country, but can still see myself being targeted if they do go through with the plan for mass deportations of brown and black immigrants. When they do the proposed raids on businesses, how do they know who is a native born person and who is not? If you are a brown or black person, are you automatically rounded up and taken into custody? All of this is horrendous. Nobody deserves this type of treatment whether or not they are immigrants.
I am still baffled by the lack of universal healthcare in this country. Of the 33 first world countries, we are the only ones who can't manage to have universal healthcare for everyone. I know the reasons is greed and corruption, but it still never ceases to amaze me. The greed in the healthcare industry is shameful. What's also shameful is that our elected officials in Congress all get free healthcare for them and their families, but are adamantly opposed that the general public receive it because that industry is lining their pockets. They have been bought. So the rest of us are left to suffer poor and/or no healthcare coverage and the possibility of bankruptcy.
A big part is that the general public has been conditioned not to discuss it and they've been deprived of a platform. We have to work to change that. Thanks Sarah!
Happy New Year, Walter. The compassion that you show in your writing, is sadly missing in so many critical places in the country, and the world. I resolve to work on myself and others to extend that compassion. It's a year we're sure going to need it.
Thank you Dan! Yes, we all have to work together in support of that objective. Thank you for that nice comment!
Your reflections in this writing are powerful! I wish it could be shared even more widely than here at Substack. It is truly gut wrenching. I am so glad you love your family so deeply. May you all remain safe.
I posted it on Medium as well. Little by little the word will get out. Every share helps :)
Please forgive me if I have been making a mistake. I have been sharing your work on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. I like what you have to say and I hope others will join as well because of it. I know at least three people have joined someone I have a paid subscription too because substack lets me know that someone has subscribed from one of my shares. Please let me know if I should not be doing this. I do not want to steal your work in any way. My hope is that more people will pay you And even more importantly hear what you are saying.
Sharing is a huge help. Thank you! Please keep doing it ;)
Reading the story about your wife on the road makes **me** angry, and I don't even know her. I guess that's one reason I prefer living in urban areas. She'd blend right in here in Atlanta. But it is completely inappropriate to be in a nation where the vast red part of the map is hostile to her. Disgusting.
The weird thing about our current political condition is that the children of the bigot in the huge pickup truck (often equipped with unnecessarily large grill guards designed to crush smaller vehicles) also don't matter. Yet they keep voting for the people who care the least about them. It's all very strange. and their numbers seem to be growing, not shrinking.
T
Yeah, you'd think their anti-vax stance would start reducing their population. But this is why I emphasize the negative influence of the church. I think Christian teachings are largely responsible for the sorry state of things. There's so much hate that comes out of that institution, it makes me very sad. Thanks for your support Charles!
I too worry about my sons. As red as this state is, we haven't had to experience too much racism, but now that they are in their late teens and look like adults to leo, I do worry a lot about them getting pulled over.
Our oldest is on his own but we have 'the talk' every time our 17 yo leaves the house.
We know how kind and respectful he is, but to someone who thinks black people are thugs inherently, it does not matter. I know this feeling and fear will be with us til we die. It's unfortunate but a fact of life.
Yes, it's unacceptable that we have a country like this, and it's worse that we don't even have the opportunity to discuss it honestly. Thanks William, best to you and your sons!
Thank you, sir! Best to you and yours also!! :)
In our community we are part of the Underground Railroad which was operating till 1966 if you ask most Americans they think it was only back in the Civil War. Many of the farms that operated from the south to the north are now either strip malls or Micmanisons a term we labeled ridiculous homes that were built starting in 1970 communities that were built in less then 6 months for big bucks. Got to watch them literally fall apart in less than 15 years.
I truly believe that the Underground Railroad can be rebuilt it’s not just a pipe dream as one neighbor said “ if they succeeded over hundred years ago we should be able to do it again” The major problem is finding a landing spot that would be safe Canada is no longer open. Can you blame them ? In a conversation the other day folks were saying that they will defend Canada my husband and I agree. Many others that we brought the subject up think we are nuts yet they live with daily drop offs by Amazon No matter where you live in this country it is time to get a map and start planning it’s the same as a fire drill for your home. You can no longer have the luxury of just thinking about it. We are not off the grid survivors buying the kitty litter pails of survival food . We are not fools I am seventy years old and have lived in America all my life I have seen much NOW we need to speak out we cannot ignore what’s going on around us as the next four years move on everyone of you will be affected Learn and teach your children to PAY ATTENTION!
Yes! I've felt a seismic shift in what I feel compelled to write about. I barely have enough time and energy to get it all out. The enemy has revealed himself.
This whole narrative of “rugged individualism” has been baked into our culture for so long that people don’t realize it’s not a healthy way to live. Yes, people can get very rich here in America. But it’s usually not done ethically or morally. To get that rich, you have to put profit over people. You have to take advantage of every tax loophole the government refuses to close. You have to continue to do work in ways that is bad for the planet. And yet, this “winning capitalism” game is admired by most Americans, even when it’s killing them. Personally, I think the killing of Brian Thompson, along with the latest MAGA skirmish, has woken up a sleeping giant in this country. We’re getting screwed by the billionaire class and our politicians who server them.
I hope people have finally figured it out, the question is whether we've already given up too much social power to change anything. I guess we'll see.
Honestly? It’s not inconceivable the MAGA rubes with their stockpiles of guns wouldn’t turn against them.
I know those MAGA rubes, they're cowards who believe in warrior cosplay. They're not stopping a revolution, nor are they starting one.
Fair point.
The MAGA in our area remind me of “ posers” they get out there in their Trump gear scream and shout brag about their guns I guarantee you that over half of them couldn’t shoot a gun successfully. They are “ actors” just like their leader.
I dunno. I’ve been to Montana and Wyoming and those folks seem to know how to use guns. You don’t raffle off rifles at rodeos to people who don’t know how to shoot.
They can drive to a shooting range in their 100k pickup trucks, sure, they can even hit the occasional paper target. But I grew up with these posers and their defining characteristic is their incompetence. That's why they voted the way they did.
Well, if you’re right, we’re going to avoid a lot of Wacos. If you’re wrong, we’ll probably have an EO banning assault weapons in a New York minute.
The murder of a CEO and the response his death generated made me realize that danger isn’t just about our collective refusal to control the spread and the free use of firearms but the insidious ubiquitous message in that refusal that says actually that guns are the solution, the answer to problems.
Yes! That's a part of the narrative that the media has deliberately ignored. The radicalized right always says that the 2nd amendment protects us from tyrants, that's always been a disgusting call for assassinations. They need to be denounced for it.
It feels wrong to hit the heart button after reading this! I don’t like it but I do empathize with your fears and worries. I’ve often wondered if I would have the courage to step in and stop someone who was harassing or attempting to harm someone else. I hope that I would, I’d like to think that I would.
Hit the share button instead :) We need to have open discussions about this problem because sooner or later it's going to claim us all. Thanks for your comment!
Walter I see, feel your pain. I am a retired union member who has fought for universal healthcare for many years and to this day I still struggle to understand why a country would choose to deny universal healthcare to its citizens . A healthy society is an asset to the country so the only reason why it’s denied is because an unhealthy , uneducated and poor society is what they want and need to rule over the masses. And by keeping us divided by our differences that is how they get the buy in from the very people they are suppressing. Hate has no boundaries. As an American Indigenous person I have seen, felt and suffered from it. I fear we will be returning to an era of very hideous violence coming our way.
Thank you for this. This is something I feel every day when my partner goes to work. He does industrial work that is…. Not great on safety. Every day I worry that he’ll get hurt or killed. I also worry about if he got hurt or gets sick we’ll be ruined financially.
Back when I was young, one of my parents was very ill for years. Everything, and I mean everything from the food to our nurses, was covered. Never saw a bill.
Right now, I’m fighting to get medication approved and find a stupid in-network provider for an elective but desperately needed surgery.
I don’t have kids for personal reasons, and I took care of that, but my heart breaks for the women in the south who are dying.
Thank you again for putting to words a part of my lived experience.
That is so well said, and I'm happy to share it. Even if the message goes to family members who don't see it. Especially to them! Thank you!
I spent quite a number of years as a volunteer for hospice in an Appalachian area where there are still many devastatingly poor people. People absolutely do die because they simply don’t have the money to live. I saw it - plenty of times! One of the most appalling things was the attitude of so many better-off people, even in that community, that somehow the poor deserve whatever happens. If they weren’t such “sorry” specimens to begin with, things would’ve gone better for them! We won’t stop killing each other until we stop dismissing each other and denying that we share our common humanity. Thanks so this, Walter! Very thought- provoking!
You’re right about all the anger. I’m not an immigrant, but I have nearly been run off the road and have also had blinding headlights flashed at me by aggressive, angry males while nearly rear-ending my car, mostly by giant Ram trucks.