Week 2 in Trump's America
A thought, story, photo, or observation for each day in the second week of Donald Trump's presidency
Day 8: Friday, January 27th
My day started out at Valois in Hyde Park, which is the breakfast place where Barack Obama would prefer to start his days. (Seriously, google "Barack Obama's favorite breakfast place".) But don't be fooled by the fancy French-sounding name. This place is a classic greasy spoon, and they proudly display and serve Barry's favorite breakfast dishes on plastic lunchroom trays.
It shouldn't be surprising that the Obama's neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, Hyde Park, seems to be a resistance strong-hold. This historically black neighborhood is home to both the University of Chicago and multiple forms of diversity, including race, socio-economics, and opinions on Keynesian vs. the Austrian School.
Day 9: Saturday, January 28th
President Trump signed an Executive Order, banning refugees and immigrants from 7 countries on Friday night, and Saturday brought a deluge of protestors and lawyers into America's international airports.
Seeing thousands of Americans flock to such hated places (airports) to defend refugees and immigrants reminded me of something I had seen the day before at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Pilsen, a neighborhood on Chicago's West Side. It's a reminder of how beautiful mestizo (or mixed) cultures are.
Day 10: Sunday, January 29th
We grew up cheering for the Resistance as the good guys in Star Wars. We had school off for Martin Luther King Day every January since we were in pre-school. Some of us die-hards watched the cult-classic Red Dawn. Hell, even Forrest Gump glorified protest.
Yea, I'd say Trump is the spark that lit my generation's protest fuse. (Pop) culture might have been the kindling, but it was gathered and organized by Black Lives Matter, reproductive rights activists, immigration rights orgs, and other creative sign-waving lefties.
An Ipsos poll conducted this week showed that more Americans agree with Trump's Executive Order than disagree (48% agree, 41% disagree). So the resistance is necessary.
Day 11: Monday, January 30th
Here are the sights and sounds of protests across the pond on Monday.
Big, big thanks to Fadi Dada (video) and Sierra Smucker (photo) for sharing from London!
By the way... the video features one of my favo(u)rite things: protest chants in British accents.
Day 12: Tuesday, January 31st
I've been grappling with how to describe my experience of and perspective on the Executive Order banning refugees and immigrants from certain countries. While all of this has been going on, I've been working on my own visa application to return to the UK. Even though I'm back in the US now, I'm an immigrant in my chosen country of residence, the United Kingdom. There's a stomach-churning and dizzying uncertainty that very often comes with living outside of your country-of-birth, and going through that on a relatively low level has given me more empathy than I could ever imagine for the people who have chosen to come or fled to the US. Growing up and living here never fully illustrated that uncertainty and its impact.
My visa application is still being processed, and so I'll leave it at that.
Day 13: Wednesday, February 1st
God, I hate cable news. It's the amplifier of the echo chambers.
Here are a few news organizations that I would recommend reading and listening to instead of watching CNN, MSNBC, or Fox News:
The Economist, both their articles and collection of podcasts
Five Thirty Eight, both their articles and politics podcast
More Perfect podcast on the history and impact of the Supreme Court
New York Times, they just launched a daily podcast
Day 14: Thursday, February 2nd
Even though the thousands of protestors have left Terminal 5 of Chicago O'Hare International Airport, the lawyers are still there. Each time another international flight arrives, they stand by the doors with signs, asking "Have you been questioned?", "Are you okay?", or "Do you need a lawyer?" in multiple languages.
