I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. I went to school
with all kinds of kids, Filipino, Pacific Islander, Vietnamese, Sikh, Black and Jewish and on and on. I think I’m a better person for it. When someone wants to reminisce about the “old days” (the 70’s, in my case) I think about milkmen who brought milk and eggs to your door in the mornings. I think about teenagers delivering your paper and collecting your monthly dues for that paper. i think about there being only 4 main networks and TV was free, just buy a set and turn it on. I think about the quality of life my parents (an Electrician and Civil Servant) enjoyed as opposed to their kids.
Economically, we are not better off but rather than blaming People of Color or Immigrants, we should look to the greedy rich and their proxies in government. 30-40 years of chipping away at the gains made during the New Deal have shrunk the middle class to a level no one ever thought they would see again in their lifetime.
Last week, I watched Frontline’s Documenting Hate: Charlottesville. In it, the reporter watched the rally and it struck me how ridiculous these nazi’s looked running around yelling, “Jews will not replace us”. In a country with 325.7 million people, there are only 4 million Jews (1.4%) The nazi’s are more likely to be replaced by robots.
In a country that has no official language, more than 20% of us speak a language other than English at home. In Portland OR, I’ve heard many languages spoken by people who live here (Russian being one of them) Over 13% of Americans are immigrants. By relying on lies and race baiting to keep their voters alienated from their countrymen, Republicans are also alienating them from their government. No wonder they’re romanticizing Russia.
Unfortunately, the reality in Russia is similar to our problems in America.
And WYFP?