I'm afraid of Americans

[technicolornina]

Clever David Bowie titles aside, something happened to me tonight at the car wash that I really feel sheds a light on why American society, as a whole, needs to be flushed down the shitter and started over

Comments

[idahophoenix]

Oh. I do remember reading this on my feed...and being so pissed off that I couldn't even comment. I grew up in Arizona (my mom still lives there) and spent some time as a journalism intern at the state legislature. It was truly frightening to see those folks in action. In a country where so very few of us speak any language other than English, I think it is incredibly arrogant that people are so judgmental about people who don't speak English. Land most Americans in any non-English speaking country in the world, and they're completely clueless. It's always hard to figure out how to respond in those situations...I've tried various things..and the truth is that those attitudes are so frozen that it's hard to penetrate the walls of defense. Interpreting was a good thing to do as an ally. And on being afraid...I think it's realistic to be afraid--we can't let it shut us down all the time, but it doesn't make sense to put ourselves in danger in a random situation either. I think you did great.