I told the tall African kid that works in the Rent-a-Tire store that he reminds me of my grandson. He raised his eyebrows and nodded his head. His skin is three shades darker than Hunter’s and he has a Mongolian spot on his right hand. Hunter’s Mongolian spot is on his back. Many mixed race children have Mongolian spots. The sign of the mixed race child is often a birthmark that looks like a bruise or a black and white inkblot on the skin... Mongolian spots come in all different shades and all different shapes like the mixed race people that wear them. They are birthright tattoos, a true indicator that America still remains a melting pot.

 

 

The next time I saw the African kid he smiled and his dimples showed. I wonder idly if he is a Gemini or a Libra.  He is always polite and just a little uncomfortable that a middle-aged white woman would talk to him out of the blue.-Like my little Hunter he is always moving. He’s in his early 20’s but his eyes look ancient. I believe he is first generation Africa because I recognize the lilt in his voice. It’s almost Nigerian. Sometimes I’ll ask him where his parents came from. Like most of the immigrants I know, the African man-boy is always working.

 

 I often grab a cappuccino at Golden Donuts. The Korean couple appears to be in their early 30’s. They owned 3 other shops which they sold for a hefty profit. They are beginning again in this location. They told me one day that they are anxious for the time when they have their nights back. Their shop is open 7 days a week and every day they come in at 3 AM to make the pastries. Every night they are asleep by 7PM. The wife wonders if she will ever be a mother.

 

Today I got my hair cut by Mr. Solis. He speaks broken English and calls me Miss Jackie. I like him because he flatters me. . He often needs a translator. His back has given him trouble and he has spent a lot of time in the hospital this year. He drives a new Regency which has been vandalized several times. He is the owner of several Unisex beauty shops all over town. He will close the one in Carrollton

 

In the same strip center where Mr. Solis’s new shop opened is an abandoned Pizza Place. The owner who goes by “Alex” is an Iranian immigrant who has been pretending to be Italian since the early eighties. .I guess it’s not pretending when you just don’t correct people who assume you’re Italian. He has been married to an American for decades and his children have no concept of their Dad’s native tongue. They speak without accents.

 

In nearby suburbs of Dallas they are rounding up Mexicans on any excuse and sending them back to Mexico if they believe they are illegal. Farmer’s Branch is putting laws on the books to punish Landlords who rent to them. Even the far right and out of touch Supreme Court is shooting down these horrendous local ordinances.

 

I live in the city. My life touches melting pot people almost every day. Last year I met a half Vietnamese man and his Russian father, who was part of the Russian dirty tricks department in the Viet Nam war. My guess is his Russian daddy lives on the edge of the law with his European partner.

 

I think that the half Irish ex-President of Mexico, Mr. Fox was right when he said that “Americans deny their immigrant soul”

 

.It is easier to accept torture as mainstream if it happens to people with darker skin than ours. It is easier to accept the border murders, profiling and discrimination of a select few if they have Spanish or Arabic surnames. The Nazis understood this in their extermination of the Gypsies. The Holocaust where millions died was not just a purge of Jews. The Gypsies, homosexuals, liberals, intellectuals and any mixed race Germans were targets. It is easy to target people who were different.

 

Social movements to purge a country of its minorities and immigrants always start with fear and falsehoods. “They are taking our jobs” “They are taking our healthcare’  “We are poor because they are getting rich,” “I think he’s a drug dealer” “She’s living off of my tax dollars” “The are a threat to the family unit.”

 

Then they turn into generalizations “Mexicans are lazy…..Arabs are terrorists…Gays are immoral…Blacks are criminals….Orientals are sneaky” Fear of those that are different than the mainstream keeps us from contemplating the fact that 1/3 of Americans control over 90% of the wealth.

 

When Reagan left office every major economist and published theory had already proven that “trickle down economics” were a sham.  Still somehow we watched as Bush and his party again inflicted them on America. Tax cuts for the wealthy….wars for the oil industry….no money for children’s healthcare…no education for poor immigrants…no civil rights for gays...

 

It is easier to point the finger at someone who is different to distract a country from really looking at what is happening. Hitler very effectively used this technique. I see it everywhere today. As the American dream shrinks “scapegoating” will be more and more a political tool to distract the masses. .

 

No one said much when the legislation was killed that robbed students whose parents came to American illegally of their dream of an education. It would have been amnesty for people whose parents committed the crime of coming to America illegally…forgiveness for the sins of the parents. In the 60’s during the busing debates voices often screamed out “Send them back to Africa” It did not matter then that all the Blacks were 3^rd and 4^th generation Americans.

 

I am convinced it is about differences. If your skin is dark or you speak with an accent you are a target. If you are gay or too intellectual you need to struggle to fit in. The American dream has always been slightly elusive. I am third generation German-English-Irish. My chances are better than the 4^th generation whose ancestors were slaves.

 

The American dream was not stolen by people with Spanish surnames We have politicians and legislation and policies to thank... From now on every time the Supreme Court convenes expect the hard fought rights of our people to be stripped one at a time.The Constitution is being gutted and the law of the land is beginning to reflect the infection of fear and prejudice that has invaded Texas.

 

I am reminded of the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group. I may be an alarmist. After all how can it happen here?

The Mongolian Spot is a place on the skin that marks where the blood of ones parents mixes in their children. We call these spots on my grandson his rainbows. It looks like a black and yellow triangle on his back.

 

 

This video is by the Irish folk singer Christy Moore Yellow Triangle (after Pastor Niemöller ) In Germany they first came for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me — and by that time no one was left to speak up.

 

 

 

 

Did you ever know something you weren’t supposed to know? You don’t know how and you don’t know why, but you know. Well I know!

 

Open your eyes! Something is bothering you, and today, you will not be able to deny! Heartless passion meets precognition in a dark place.

 

 

It may feel as though your trouble is caused by circumstances beyond your control, but this is not true. There are things that you can do. There are things that you have done....If you have the courage to face your pain you can be free of the theatre of the damned!

 

Today my card is the

 

THE 9 OF Swords

 

 

 

Born in Tehran during the turmoil of the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Nazanin's family was forced to leave all their worldly possessions behind and flee to freedom, when her father had been jailed and tortured by the Revolutionary Guard under the new regime. Awaiting execution, it was the family's escape to Europe that saved them from political persecution. Faced with adversity so early in life, the revolution impacted her core.

 Her mother inundated their family with music flowing constantly in the house from her incredibly eclectic music collection. Her constant world travels and cultural awareness have molded her musical acuity to span a spectrum broader then most are ever exposed to. Blessed with the voice of angels, Nazanin whisks audiences away on a musical journey around the world with her debut album, Someday, which was released worldwide on Bodog Music in April 2007. 

As a young teen, Nazanin immersed herself in knowledge, constantly educating herself in global issues. She is multi-linqual. She became a Royal Canadian Air Cadet and obtained the highest rank of Warrant Officer First Class while obtaining her pilot's license. Nazanin continued her passion in global awareness and acquired a double major degree in International Relations and Political Science at the University of British Columbia, and received scholarships to study at the prestigious L'Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris and at the International Study Center at Herstmonceux Castle in England.

During university, Nazanin supported herself working as both an actress and model, and volunteered her time as a Global Youth Educator with the Red Cross raising awareness on global issues such as the landmine crisis, children affected by war and the poverty-disease cycle. Nazanin searched for a way to impact the lives of those in need. While she was happy reaching out, she yearned to help on a larger scale. To reach the masses, Nazanin learned that she would need a stronger platform.

The stronger platform was the Miss World contest whose motto is "Beauty with a Purpose." Nazanin entered and won.. This honor was received with a large amount of controversy and caused quite a stir in the Iranian community. Nazanin received hate mail from Islamic fundamentalists, and at the same time, accolades from the youth in Iran who supported her goals and looked to her as a role model. Since then, she has continued her quest to help those less fortunate. Nazanin has helped victims of the tsunami in India and Sri Lanka, raised funds for the earthquake victims of Bam, supported fistula patients in Ethiopia, campaigned for women's rights in the Middle East, and raised awareness on the practice of Bear Bile Farming in China. Largely through her efforts  a girl in Iran named Nazanin Fatehi was saved from execution. Which was her sentence for defending herself against rape.

Nazanin Afshin-Jam received the Hero for Human Rights award from Artists for Human Rights / Youth for Human Rights International at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

She calls herself a concerned citizen of the world, with no political affiliation. And she will use her gifts to make a difference.