Thank you…for nothing!






If you told me that people who look like me opened doors for those who didn’t, and then those same dissimilar-looking people stuck a figurative knife in your back, I’d say you deserved it.  

Well, this is what appears to have happened. Many immigrants have found their way to the United States in search of a better life. The opportunities are endless, and I am all for it, regardless of their country of origin. However, just as poor Americans vote against their best interests, this anomaly appears to have affected the newly arrived as well. The one common thread that fuels this incoherence is the disrespect for “Foundational Black Americans,” aka the descendants of enslaved African Americans. 

For a while, I paid little attention to this situation because I was used to it coming from people who looked like those who historically colonized and enslaved others, but the faces have changed. The faces of those doing the bidding of the masses vary, and so do the languages they speak. If they only knew what is in store for them once they open their eyes. While they are required to take a 20-question civics test on history and government, I propose they also take a test on who paved the way for their admission. 

I am not going to turn this essay into a thesis, but I will share a few facts. I was born just before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was enacted, which means that, technically, I lived under Jim Crow. Also, if I had been of voting age, I wouldn’t have been able to vote legally until the following year, after the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was enacted.  

I bring this up because of recent conversations I’ve heard. Many foreigners coming to America are enamored with the opportunities available to them in their new country. Some come with a bias against Black Americans, perhaps not of their own making. While I am willing to give people the benefit of the doubt, I won’t forgive ignorance that goes unchallenged. A trip to a local library or a deep online dive into the civil rights era will get most people up to speed on the trailblazers who paved the way for smoother immigration to this country. I don’t think this is too much to ask of visitors who want to take up full-time residency. 

This past year has awakened those who were oblivious to the orange wolf and failed to heed warnings from those who have been crying out about it for decades. Unfortunately, a large contingent of wolf followers has been ridding the streets of the new unwanted. Some of the unwanted have voluntarily chosen to self-deport, while others have been rounded up like wild prey and shoved into cages awaiting a decision on their status. This could’ve probably been avoided, but no one wanted to listen to the voice of reason, and now the fight will no longer have our willing solidarity, all because you ignored us and didn’t heed the advice about the history we’ve known about this country regarding newcomers. 

Oh, by the way, I’ve noticed that many of the wolf followers who have been employed and deployed within the specific communities of the tanned are themselves tanned. The system no longer needs the original colonizer to do its bidding. As we sit back with our popcorn, we will watch how you handle YOUR business.  

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