Trump Impeachment - 2

 The previous president of USA has been impeached a second time for inciting violence on 6 Jan. I watched almost all of the event that occurred on 6 Jan - it was a horrendous attack on the capitol building. It was hard to watch and I cannot even imagine how it must have been for the people inside. Some important personalities like VP and speaker of the house are protected, but the staff? They will also suffer the PTSD of this event. 

Here is the video that the impeachment managers put together and presented to the senate. It is powerful and has video that has been obtained from security and personal videos.

What is sickening is that the senate will exonerate him. No one needs to see the video above to convict him. Just the event on 6th Jan was enough. But this GQP senators (grand Qanon Party) are traitors and should not be sitting in that building. Anyone who can let anyone maraud their house like this and not hold the perpetrator accountable does not deserve to be there. 

I think these GQP senators don't want to hold anyone accountable because they want this kind of thing to happen again and they like the violence. That is the only answer possible. It has been so whacky to see the impeachment managers defending VP Pence, when he himself has not spoken up about this. And none of his party members are supporting him. Pence's own boss sent the mob to kill him, and the party is okay with that? This is all so messed up! What is wrong with the GQP??? How does one not have nightmares after such an incident? The video of Pence being shoved away by the secret service was really impactful for me. This kind of shoving has never been done anywhere else to any other VIP because it has never been this unsafe. But it was unsafe in the US Capitol building? Caused by USA's own president? 

I know that elections can take care of some this people but what if they don't? What if their constituents like this kind of violence and power grab? How did McConnel and Graham get reelected at all in the first place? I am sure there is some rigged election there. 

The GQP is as responsible as Trump for the mob attack on the 6th Jan because they also did not acknowledge the Biden victory. Trump could not have done it by himself. The entire GQP has been supporting him since the beginning. What I have not been able to understand is why? I understand about the power thing and all...but the man has no character or morals. He is a narcissistic sociopath. Anyone willing to kill his own very loyal VP is dead in my books. But this GQP is still by his side. How can they be willing to compromise so much for his voter base? If they tell the truth, the base will understand and move on. Trump will not live forever - but the party will....or maybe now it is time for the party to die. 

I am so mad and so disappointed in this whole process that I don't even know how to deal with my emotions. It has been frustrating to watch all this and feel normal about this country anymore. We seem to be spiraling down into some hellhole of our own making. These White people will forever be grieved and because of them we will all have to keep on suffering. I am not saying all White people are like this, I am talking about the ones who support Trump.

Black Lives Matter

 Why would we have to say Black Lives Matter if they did matter? No one ever said White Lives Matter or Chinese Lives Matter. We have to say BLM because their life is in danger....all the time. I think the media has also helped bring it to light lately. For all of us who were living our lives blisfully ignorant about all the police killings going on, it was wake up call. I knew about all this but not to the extent that it has been going on.

I have become more aware of for the past 8 years when it young Trayvon Martin was shot for no reason but wearing a hoodie. How can that happen in such an advanced country? Since then I have been observing more of these incidents and each time they seem more and more wrong.

How can any human live with such wrong doing? Why don't more Americans stand against this kind of police killings? I thought about this a lot and only answer is that the police don't think of these Blacks as human beings. Now that there have been more videos of the shootings, it is clear that the police is racist.They are not protecting all Americans, only the white ones.

Last night was the ultimate. I was sleeping at night when a car drove by on Jog road and something from it sounded like three - four loud thumps. I woke up with a startle and thought someone was banging my door. It was the car and not my door. But I was awake for a long time, thinking about what happened to Breonna Taylor. The police did not even give her the courtesy of knocking on her door! They just came in and shot her eight times. And all the time I thought, if some cops had come in and shot me, what would they say to my family? How would they get around it and blame me for my shooting. What kind of lies would they tell to protect themselves? 

The police here seem to be above any law and with no consequences. When the security of a country is based false values there will never be any justice. I had such a high opinion of America but it turned out to be another corrupt country.

Mustard Seed - Book Review

I never expected an author with the last name Ibrahim to write about something so American so white and so historical about America.

I am really glad I picked up this book to read. It was very nicely written with authenticity to historical facts. The story is about these two families, one white one black connected through a slavery past and connected again 20 years later through freedom.

The story is written from the perspective of two young women, one black and one white, both with very different vision of their future from their older generation. I don’t want to write the whole story but I do want to make some observations:

·        The next generation can choose to be different, if they want to. But it takes a lot of courage to break tradition. I am not saying the cowards choose to stay in the older culture, I think they find security in it. They like carrying out traditions and their family history, no matter how awful it was. But again, to them it is not awful because it is their “family” history.

·        One should learn history. Without history there is no future. Our present is based on our past and if we don’t know what that is, then how do we grow?  We will keep repeating the mistakes of our past.

·        Some things are inherently bad, no matter which century or culture one lives in. For e.g. stealing – always wrong to take something that does not belong to you. Slavery, in context of this book, will always be bad. If you need people to work for you, then you pay them for the work. they will be your employees. And if you treat them properly they will always work for you. But greediness is one of the causes of slavery.  The other is denigrating another person.

·        There is nothing that love will not conquer. Some people are definitely born evil, but there are a number of people who’s lives would change if they got love and compassion from family and friends. This is one reason I despise bullies. They create an environment to create evil just like what they themselves are.

I did not know much about slavery before coming to USA. But then I saw Mississippi Burning, the movie, and it showed me a side of America I had not imagined. And now with Trump in the White House, I see America burning everywhere. I have never felt so brown in my life!

I don’t like watching or reading anything about slavery, but reading about it me gives me more perspective on who these Americans are that I now call my fellow citizens. (It took me more than two years to get myself to watch 12 Years s Slave and it really bothered me that people can be so evil.) All the Americans I had met were hospitable and friendly in Toledo, Buffalo, Missouri.  I could not even imagine they had a racist bone in them. My PhD boss, a British guy, was racist, but it did not affect me so much personally and our research group was quite diverse so a number of things got absorbed or ignored.

In Virginia I could feel the racism from my students, and I had a hard time accepting that any white American could be this way. I left Virginia very soon. But since then I have read some books and watched movies on the slavery issue, mostly fiction. All of the stories are drawn from nonfiction, of course. The atmosphere in America has also changed a lot since Obama became the first black president.  All the racists started coming out and now with Trump in office they are all out. I now find it incredibly hypocritical of Americans talking about not letting immigrants come into their country, when essentially that is what they all are.

I don’t think I even want to venture into reading about the Native’s history or it will make me even more mad. I have seen a couple movies and I some books and that also make me super mad! Some of the whites think that the world belongs to them and they can treat people however they want. The sad thing is they have been getting away with it too!

Back to the book, it was really well written with all the pain and helplessness one feels in certain situations. The best part of the book was the positives in the book despite all the miserable happenings. The two young women were strong in character and ultimately came through for each other.

Book Review: Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

I just finished reading this book by Picoult.  She is an amazing story teller.  Her books always keep me engaged and I finish them sooner than any other author’s books.  

This book is about racism in America.  The problem is too big to tackle but she takes small steps in trying to understand the other person’s perspective, in a very nice way.  The book revolves around a black nurse who is asked not to touch the baby of a white supremacist parent.  At one point the nurse is alone with the baby and the baby dies.  What happened? The white supremacist parents sue the hospital which promptly throws the black nurse under the bus. The black nurse hires a white lawyer and together they go through this journey of litigation. 

It is a really interesting book.  It shows how we go through life without noticing things.  We take so much for granted – like turning on the light at night.  We take electricity for granted but ask that person who does not have electric power.  Similar is our daily life with the color of our skin. We generally go through life being oblivious about our skin color.  When we travel to a very different country than ours then we might think about it.  But otherwise…not really. 

On the other hand, some of us are conscious about our skin color every second of the day.  Depends who you are and where you are! People may call it a “chip on the shoulder”, but that chip got there for a reason.  People are treated differently because of the color of their skin. And we get so tired of it that we come 110% conscious of it. 

I grew up in Nigeria for eight years – from 6-12^th grade.  All that time I was made fully aware that I was the foreigner in that country. Since I was about 8 years old, I was interacting with local kids, in school or playing in the evening.  There were just a few times that I felt comfortable in my skin.  Otherwise I was always aware that I was a foreigner. Nigerian kids would say things to tease me, pull my hair or make other jokes that I had to bear growing up. (Kids are cruel to each other everywhere – why?).

Same thing happened in Ethiopia.  We had privileges that the locals did not. Sometimes I felt bad and sometimes I felt good that I was a foreigner because I was treated differently.  USA also is a place where I have experienced racism.  It was not expected. I had always thought America was free and open and welcoming, so it was quite the shock.  But as I have been living here longer, I am realizing how deep racism is in America.

Well…the learning still goes on.  Globalization is increasing, people are moving all around the world and there are lot of adjustments to be made. With each generation come new challenges …and new hope.

Building Walls and the Willfully Ignorant

Build friendships not walls. Be informed not remain ignorant.

It really bothered me when Trump started his campaign with building a wall between Mexico and USA.  What?? It just showed what kind of leader he was going to be – divide and conquer.  Well the conquer he has done – the division is working slowly. Things really have not gotten any better in his behavior (for me) – I still feel he is a vile hateful and vindictive human being. I don’t think my paycheck will get any better with him as a president – I think I will be paying more in health insurance (no ACA anymore) and my taxes will go up (to pay for that darn wall).  Neither of these things will benefit the people who voted for him but meanwhile all of us will suffer.  It is amazing how quickly he has alienated so many people in this one year. He has created fear and uncertainty.  I used to feel safe and free in this country – but not anymore.

The people who supported Trump are willfully ignorant.  All they want is a white man back in the “white” house.  How could a black man live in their “white” house! The women have so much more to grow. They would support a sexist, racist etc etc man in the house than a white woman who is generally balanced and will do only good for the country.  There is so much going on here that I cannot put into words.  We as women have a lot to grow and support each other in general.  There are multiple problems here – one I think is women have been dominated and controlled by men for so long that it will take them a long time to get out of that control. Especially the white man.  He is the most privileged man on this earth.  

One day all is going to fall apart and suddenly we will realize that we are all together in this world. All of us have something to offer, we are all in this together.  The earth does not belong to the richest – they just claim their stake on it. One day – it will all change!

New President - 2016

I woke up today like a number of Americans to find out that a reality star is our new president. My feelings have been intense all day trying to process this. I have been listening to NPR, reading articles online to see what the heck happened.

First and foremost I think this country could not handle a black president for 8 years. It was very hard for it and having Hillary run against a white man was just the straw that broke the camel's back. America is still quite racist and sexist.  I have felt these feelings myself even as a highly educated woman.  I can imagine what the white and black women go through all the time.

Here is a great opinion that I think is the truth..."This is Racism". I always felt this has been going on for 8 years since Obama became president.  Of course a lot of people are now coming out and saying it was the economics and there was this "forgotten" America.  Sure - but why did this America let itself be like that? Why did they not keep up with times? I have more to say on this....another blog.

The other thing that has been illuminating for me is how many uneducated Trump voters are. So now there is so called "war" between the intellectuals and non.  Again this was because the Obamas were such high class intellectuals.  All the white uneducated could never connect with the intellectual blacks. And there is more to this....again - later blog.

When Obama won - he got the Nobel Peace prize; and a Trump win - he got protests and fear. That shows what kind of candidate he is.  Trump lied and lied and lied, people heard what they wanted to hear and voted. Soon they will realize he will not do anything for them. Trump is only for Trump. His children and his loyalists will prosper. Meanwhile the whole country will be at unrest and live in fear of their lives and lifestyle.  All he wanted to do was win, like in a competition.  He never thought he would win.  

He ran against the establishment – now he has become the establishment.  And he is surrounding himself with establishment and lobbyists - the swamp that he wanted to drain!! Sure!!  And his establishment is really the scary establishment.  He will try to make the most money he can.  He does not care about the people or the environment – so they both will suffer.  For all his rhetoric and rallies ... Sorry America…..I don't believe there will be improvement in anyone's life except his inner circle.

I really feel for Mother Earth though.  She is really going to suffer under Trump. As mush as Obama loves the nature, this man is completely anti environment.  Luckily for me, I have no children to leave this beautiful earth to. When I die – I die peacefully alone. I don’t feel the responsibility that people with kids and grand kids feel. I can help them – but they really should answer to their kids as to why they let their hatred and ignorance elect a lying narcissistic president.

I feel scared for science.  Most Republicans have shown their disdain for science and facts.  Will we be able to make any progress in this area?  I feel life has come to a stop - and the things that will take hold are racism, discrimination, women's rights and basic humanity. Fear and uncertainty will rule. 

And just like all Americans think I am answering for all Indians, I will now ask all white people to own up to their fellow American's decisions. God help us!

Hating the Government and the Whiteness in USA

I was thinking about why some people in USA hate the US government so much.  Then I thought about how this country came into being. There were no rules, regulations or impositions. One could go wherever anyone wanted, shoot and kill whoever they thought was trespassing on their land or for whatever reason and no one would question them.  And Maybe people would fear them for it and they could easily rule that place.  That is what all the western movies are about which are so popular?

Of course what all those initial immigrants were not counting on was that there would be more immigrants.  This all then leads to having a social structure, law and order that they would have to abide by.  Slavery in the early days was a result of unchecked morals and greed.  Even slavery took a long time to be abolished because the initial government was from the same initial white immigrants. In my opinion there is no moral high ground for slavery in any era.

With the election of Obama, the first black president (and this is when he is only half black!!), nomination of Trump as a presidential candidate now the acquittal of the Oregon wildlife occupiers that “western” mentality is coming back.  One just wants to do whatever they want and government should just butt out of it.  Well…they don’t believe in government when they need to obey rules and pay taxes but they will believe in government when they want their medicare and medicaid!! How does this work??

Why is it that these “militia” was let off without any verdict whereas the Native Indians who are fighting for their natural resources, water, are being treated like criminals.  Double standards are everywhere all the time in USA. If Obama had been even 1% of what Trump is as a candidate he would have been vilified. Even Hillary, despite being white, would have been vilified! But Trump is excused all behaviour and people actually defend it. How?? It really is great to be white in America and that’s what all these white supremacy groups want….their white America back!  It’s a scary thought.

Any country that excludes because of religion will not survive.  Any country that is formed on the basis of religion or class or color will not survive. Diversity is a natural phenomenon.  Anyone who does not embrace it will become extinct.  I think humanity is getting there…..

Right now I am just blown away by the racism that is so alive in this day and age in America.