Lost and found
When I go to sign out of my camping space, the youngish (as in under 50!) white womon ranger asks me where I'm heading next. I tell her about the action on the border & the wall we're building. She's a resident of Arizona and has never heard of the wall. She's shocked. She tells me I have to hear this song and proceeds to find it on the internet and print it out for me - as we make sure 'big brother' isn't monitoring us.
I go to park headquarters to get online. After giving up on the slowest computer connection ever - I'm thinking it's my computer and not the system here - I decide to hit the road making a stop at the Lost and Found.
Finally, I get to engage in an in-depth conversation with a ranger Lisa - a white womon probably close to my age - who has been here at the park 40 years. She is reluctant at first to engage with me, not knowing how sincere I am. She tells me about all the red tape necessary for her to donate anything from the Lost and Found to me.
I tell her I'm on a mission to spread the truth about rump - I decided to call him that, although this is way too nice for him. She tells me she comes from a family of 6 children, three democrats (she's one) and three republicans. She says she cannot speak politics with the republicans but she's getting the feeling they are not going to vote for rump.
She comes outside the warehouse and admires my truck, reading all the USA TODAY's truth. She says she wishes she could vote for Obama again & then makes the mistake of asking me if I would. When I say no, she says well he did improve our economy to which I talk about the 7 countries, the wars, the soldiers, the military budget - all bigger and more violent than ever - and of course our country's economy is better - we thrive on war and violence.
She goes into the mantra that our politicians can't really do what they want to do, they have to compromise a little, and they're not perfect. I tell her again, I disagree. What is life worth if you can't act your conscience. This fear we have of supposed "cost" of doing the right, the moral, the human-affirming thing is propaganda of those in power.
She seems to go deeply inside herself and then nods slowly.
When she gets to the "Black Womyn's Lives Matter" and "White Silence is Violence" at the bottom of my truck, she balks. She says she gets the white silence part but she wishes, she'd feel so much more comfortable if it was "All Lives Matter".
I get to look her in the eye and tell her, well then you really don't get it. She stops talking and steps back, eyes wide, and listens carefully as I ask her, tell her this is about police killing Black people. This is about how she knows that Black lives have NEVER mattered in this country, that when whites say "all" we mean all white people.
Most white people never said "hey Black Lives Matter" when we've seen all the evidence that Black and brown lives really do not matter in this country.
She nods slowly and then brings up the Native population here and testifies she's seen police brutality and discrimination against them also. I say yes, and repeat Black and brown lives matter - it's all part of the same root of the racism tree.
She nods & I think she understands.
She wants a card as I leave - I'll have to get some made with this blog on it.
I go to park headquarters to get online. After giving up on the slowest computer connection ever - I'm thinking it's my computer and not the system here - I decide to hit the road making a stop at the Lost and Found.
Finally, I get to engage in an in-depth conversation with a ranger Lisa - a white womon probably close to my age - who has been here at the park 40 years. She is reluctant at first to engage with me, not knowing how sincere I am. She tells me about all the red tape necessary for her to donate anything from the Lost and Found to me.
I tell her I'm on a mission to spread the truth about rump - I decided to call him that, although this is way too nice for him. She tells me she comes from a family of 6 children, three democrats (she's one) and three republicans. She says she cannot speak politics with the republicans but she's getting the feeling they are not going to vote for rump.
She comes outside the warehouse and admires my truck, reading all the USA TODAY's truth. She says she wishes she could vote for Obama again & then makes the mistake of asking me if I would. When I say no, she says well he did improve our economy to which I talk about the 7 countries, the wars, the soldiers, the military budget - all bigger and more violent than ever - and of course our country's economy is better - we thrive on war and violence.
She goes into the mantra that our politicians can't really do what they want to do, they have to compromise a little, and they're not perfect. I tell her again, I disagree. What is life worth if you can't act your conscience. This fear we have of supposed "cost" of doing the right, the moral, the human-affirming thing is propaganda of those in power.
She seems to go deeply inside herself and then nods slowly.
When she gets to the "Black Womyn's Lives Matter" and "White Silence is Violence" at the bottom of my truck, she balks. She says she gets the white silence part but she wishes, she'd feel so much more comfortable if it was "All Lives Matter".
I get to look her in the eye and tell her, well then you really don't get it. She stops talking and steps back, eyes wide, and listens carefully as I ask her, tell her this is about police killing Black people. This is about how she knows that Black lives have NEVER mattered in this country, that when whites say "all" we mean all white people.
Most white people never said "hey Black Lives Matter" when we've seen all the evidence that Black and brown lives really do not matter in this country.
She nods slowly and then brings up the Native population here and testifies she's seen police brutality and discrimination against them also. I say yes, and repeat Black and brown lives matter - it's all part of the same root of the racism tree.
She nods & I think she understands.
She wants a card as I leave - I'll have to get some made with this blog on it.
posted by Xan @ 12:32 PM
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