The fear is palpable [View all]
I was thinking about the fear Americans, and a lot of the rest of the world, feels towards Trump and Trump's America.
The fear is so obvious. The same people who shut down campuses and demonstrated against Israel and the US just a year ago, have now grown silent. Many colleges and universities have watched in horror and are giving in to the MAGA world. Media outlets. Legal practices and law firms. Lawyers and immigrants. It's crazy.
Even in my own extended family, I can see it. I have even advised it. As anyone who follows any of my posts knows, I am married to a Filipina. I am 72 Years old, she is 69. I am now a permanent resident of the Philippines, but my wife and I planned that as part of our retirement long before Trump, as far back as 2010. Trump has just made my desire to spend time in America be as little as possible for the time being. However, I digress.
My wife's family is pretty well off, by Philippine standards. One sister that lives in America has been a civil engineer for 30 years. That's how I met my wife. Everyone in the family is Liberal, however not too political. A couple of nieces live in America and are on student visas or work visas. A schoolteacher niece here in the Philippines asked my advice, as she has been reading the horror stories of the immigrants, both documented and undocumented. Even Filipinos. My advice was to say nothing political on face book or other social media sites. Don't go to rallies or demonstrations. Watch what you say and who you associate with and keep your head down and do your work.
Now, you can tell by my age that I lived in turbulent times. I protested the war in Viet Nam and demonstrated for civil rights. I was a union organizer and business agent during my work-life. I walked plenty of picket lines. It pains me to give such advice. It would not be the same advice I would give a citizen. At least not for now. But I cannot feel responsible for another person's deportation, especially a family member.
I can't believe we live in such fear.