American Runaway, Part II: the Caribbean

On Thursday morning I was doing laps in the pool, trying to get back into my exercise routine after a bruising several weeks. A few minutes in, I was stopped by an older white man in the next lane, who I had seen before. “What do you think about the election?” he asked me. The two of us chatted amicably, exchanging stories of being afraid of specific menacing MAGA nation devotees in our respective buildings, not sure that the cult members won’t physically harm us on the orders of their lord and master.

And then I shared my international background, and my intention to leave this country. At this point, the gentleman burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably. “I don’t have anywhere to go,” he choked out. He then wept for another 20 minutes, his salty tears mixing with the chlorinated water. He was now in another gentleman’s lap time, and I am not sure if this other person heard our conversation, but he allowed the crying man to paddle around until he could gather himself, and wave weakly to me when he eventually pulled himself together and exited the pool.

There are many consequences of the Trump administration that I can tolerate:

• The inevitable skyrocketing of the price of goods, due to his “tariffs”
• The raising of American debt, resulting in the devaluing of bonds, in which I invest

There are many consequences of the Trump administration that will break my heart, including the:

• US withdrawal from NATO, perhaps resulting in its collapse
• loss of Ukraine to the killer Putin, who will then march over Europe, unfettered by a world order that is no more
• takeover of Taiwan by China, emboldened by a weakened America
• rockets launched in Asia by a North Korea emboldened by global chaos
• loss of aid to Black and brown countries
• destruction of the UN, a GOP thorn-in-the side since Reagan days, if not before
• privatization of the US post office, another long-term target of the GOP
• inevitable rise in unwanted pregnancies because of the abortion bans, which will strain families and the foster care system
• increase in partner violence, as the “bros” enjoy their new “your body my choice” swagger

There are many consequences of the Trump administration that I will not tolerate, including being:

• disrespected by people who are not good enough to lick my boots
• afraid in my own home.

Yes friends. I am leading up to becoming the American Runaway, Part II: the Caribbean. America, which has marketed itself as the land of sunshine, happiness, and charity, has always been to me a country with a gloomy, dangerous underbelly that money cannot buy off. Under the shiny surface, the lack of reckoning about its complicated history, a festering wound, has bubbled over. I am out.

President Obama has said, “Don’t boo. Vote.” To my acquaintance doing laps in the pool I say, “Don’t cry. Plan.”

So, friends, you may get a postcard from me from some beautiful island. American Runaway, Part II:  the Caribbean. Stay tuned.