Horrified

I always knew that many Americans are prejudice. I remember back in the late 60s a friend of mine drove south through the States with a friend. He returned with stories of how many times the two were stopped by police, explaining that he figured it was because he looked like a hippy and his travel partner was black. I was shocked and disgusted. It was then that I formed the opinion that the United States was much more prejudice than Canada. This opinion was reinforced when in 80s and 90s I travelled both Canada and the U.S. for business and saw many examples. I never saw examples on television or media, but I certainly I certainly did in meetings, in hotels, and out shopping. That was then.

Over the last several weeks, I’ve seen the appalling videos of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents’ forcing people, horrified young women in many cases, to the ground. I’m in shock. What happened to stopping someone, asking them for their identification and proceeding in a civilized manner? Waiting outside job sites, going into schools and wearing masks is beyond scary. I’m sure there are good I.C.E. agents who treat people well, and I understand there are instances where they know the perpetrator is indeed a criminal; but what we’re seeing is not appropriate. What we’re seeing is akin to terrorism. Maybe some I.C.E. personnel should get some training from Canadian law enforcement.

I could go on and on about the unbelievable antics of Felon Trump and his administration (his meddlesome involvement in the Russia/Ukraine war which could start a world war, the fake peace prize FIFA created, his criticism of European leaders, his reference to low IQs of intelligent Democrats, his takeover of the Kennedy Centre for Performing Arts, his self-proclaimed A++++ rating, and so much more) but I won’t. It’s all disgusting and no one in the world is impressed with his mercurial actions. I get it that some are trying to ‘suck up’ to deflect his next potential target. Come on, people. Someone has to stop the madness!

Back to my point. Anyone living in the U.S. who looks like they might have Hispanic or Latino heritage must be living in fear. They represent about 20% of the American population and so many of them are hardworking, upright citizens. This resembles Hitler’s pre-WWII Brownshirts where people were snapped off the street and never heard of again.

Prejudice is running rampant in the U.S. – not just against Hispanic/Latino, but also against LGBTQ, Jews and Muslims, still Blacks and now anyone who speaks out against Trump. Canadians are horrified. We love many Americans.

Cesar Chavez, Sonia Sotomayor, Cesar Millan, Jose Andres, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have had wonderful positive impacts on society and the U.S.A. As a Canadians, there’s really nothing we can do. This Canadian hasn’t been to the U.S. in 3 years, and I won’t until they can demonstrate respect for others. I may never step foot on U.S. soil again.