Dear President Trump, I told you yesterday that Laura and I took the dogs on a walking tour of the University campus to see the heron rookery. We tagged on visiting a couple of the newer buildings on campus that Laura wanted to show me with the idea that I could go in and check … Continue reading Marginalized voices
Racism
An evil, stubborn legacy
Dear President Trump, After having read her autobiography about getting both a BFA and an MFA in painting while in her 60’s, I decided to read Nell Irvin Painter’s tome “The History of White People.” I’ll admit that the other book was way more my speed. Her observations on age, gender, and race (since I … Continue reading An evil, stubborn legacy
Forging a path between all and nothing
Dear President Trump, I’ve started this letter over four times now. It hardly ever happens to me that I can’t get a toehold with a letter, but today I’m really struggling. I’m quite certain it’s because I keep thinking about how white Northeast Seattle is and the fact that I live here and am not … Continue reading Forging a path between all and nothing
White by design
Dear President Trump, It’s only 1pm and already it’s been another banner bird day. We took the dogs to the Union Bay Natural Area this morning and saw or heard the following birds: redwing blackbirds, seagulls, mallards, song sparrows, wrens, two osprey (plus noisy chicks), and a heron. We also saw turtles sunning themselves on … Continue reading White by design
Racist legacies
Dear President Trump, The other day Laura told her brother and me how awhile back she tried to find out if anyone in their family had owned slaves (their family is from Tennessee). She described how even though she didn’t find any evidence that their family owned slaves there are too many holes in the … Continue reading Racist legacies
“…. you don’t have to be so vile and insufferable”
Dear President Trump, I won’t stay on it long, but I have to get this mini-rant out of my system: the argument that the Democrats are being inappropriately “political” in ordering the IRS to give them your tax returns is even dumber than the “voters have already spoken” line of defense. First, everything is political … Continue reading “…. you don’t have to be so vile and insufferable”
Radical empathy (Part 6)
Dear President Trump, You know Mr. President, there are a lot of people out there who toil away at thankless tasks day in and day out, year in and year out. The variety of such tasks is vast; some get undone almost as fast as they are done and some would be squelched if the … Continue reading Radical empathy (Part 6)
“Great men”*
Dear President Trump, Yesterday there was a WP op-ed about the National Portrait Gallery’s new exhibit celebrating the upcoming centennial of women winning the right to vote and how it brings African American women’s suffrage to the fore. The essay particularly highlights Alice Dunbar Nelson, who I figured was probably related to Paul Dunbar in … Continue reading “Great men”*
“The scales of justice ain’t equally weighed out”
Dear President Trump, After reading Barr’s four-page distillation of the Mueller report another line from another Roots song has been playing in my head on continual loop: “the scales of justice ain’t equally weighed out.” The song, “Tip the Scale,” is from an African American man’s perspective and he’s basically talking himself through his various … Continue reading “The scales of justice ain’t equally weighed out”
Piling on in the worst ways
Dear President Trump, Over the last couple of days I’ve started seeing media folks (David Leonhardt, NYT; Joe Scarborough, WP) calling out your tepid response to the white nationalist terrorist attacks in Christchurch. They are pointedly saying that your failure to condemn such attacks encourages violence towards non-Christians and people of color. It’s a huge … Continue reading Piling on in the worst ways
Daily Trump Letters 