We are a reactive and suspicious nation. This has become our norm.
We have become a reactive and suspicious nation. We experience this everyday: walking down the street or watching the nightly news. Fueling this anger is the status quo in our neighborhoods and in our politics. Sometimes we can observe from a distance. But, other times we are drawn into this unrest, whether we like it or not, or deserve it.
My family and I are returning to the scene of such an incident. A year ago, as we crossed the Delaware Bay on the Cape May Ferry, a stranger approached us as I took my annual photo of my daughters on the ferry’s deck. He told me he worked at the Department of Homeland Security and I was taking too long to take my children’s picture. Who was this man and why did we stand out as suspicious? My girls are Asian and I am White. Were we being racially profiled? Was he a Good Samaritan, concerned about the well being of my daughters? Or was he a sociopath? And who did he think I was? He wasn’t sure, but he had his suspicions.
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