Become a Subscriber. Be the first to learn about new blogs and stories.

Adventures in the Midwest

Adventures in the Midwest

Two years ago, when I started a new job, my prospective boss, who had already targeted me as a liberal, asked how I would feel traveling to the Midwest, maybe 1-2 hours from the nearest big city. It was not a simple question. Politically, I was probably going to be at odds with everyone I encountered. I wasn’t sure whether I would encounter racism or sexism. Vaccines had just come out, and I had all the shots I could get, but I imagined running into anti-mask, anti-vaxxers. I considered the possibility of awkward lunchtime conversations. Could I do this? I said yes. And it has been an interesting journey.

You see, people in the Midwest are not particularly political. Oh, they have their opinions, but there are lots of other things to talk about. They talk about family, pets, movies, football – I actually consider myself relatively skilled at that given I don’t pay ANY attention to it beyond Superbowl Sunday. They are happy to talk about their journey to get where they were, their career path, projects they have worked on. I have also learned to be comfortable talking about hunting, and have found that it makes sense in the Midwest, where they may be overrun by wild animals like deer, and have no other way to keep them in check. Part of the reason why what they call “special interest” politics doesn’t come up is that the concerns that I have as a liberal are alien to them. In almost every plant I’ve gone to, the technical staff was made up of lily white men. it was a miracle if I saw one person of color – black, Latino, native American, Asian. The women, all white, were non-technical support staff for the most part. Seeing women on the shop floor was a treat. If anyone was LGBTQ, they were keeping it to themselves. And because I knew that minorities were alien in these places, I recognized that there was no sympathy because these men didn’t even understand the issues involved.

There were two instances in which I got a taste of the conservatism on a job site. One was a man I overheard saying that he didn’t recognize today’s history classes, and couldn’t understand why there was anything wrong with what was taught when he was a child. I smiled and kept walking. It would have taken so much effort to explain why Manifest Destiny was wrong, and how it touched so many aspects of white privilege. Heck, uttering the phrase “white privilege” would probably get me shot. If there are no non-white people, white privilege is an alien concept.

The other was a man who said over lunch that a youth went in to buy cigarettes, and his license said that he was 17. When he was denied the cigarettes, the youth said “I define myself as 21.” I said “That’s ridiculous!”, and the man said “That’s my point”. His stance on transgender people had been made clear, and I wasn’t about to try to explain that gender is fluid, but age is not.

Now, my former mentor was a horse of another color. He was out there conservatively, and made it clear. I had no doubt that he was a MAGA, and I knew that if I found out that he had stormed the Capitol, I would have no hesitation in turning him in. At a staff meeting, when our CEO stated that anyone traveling overseas had to get vaccinated, he stated that if he had to get vaccinated, he would quit. When I first started working, he was training me and we went to a job site together. At the opening meeting with the customers, instead of getting down to business, he announced how many guns he had, asked if anyone else had guns, and then praised his “AK”. Yes, he had a nickname for his AK-47. So, after work, when he invited me to dinner, I think we were both a bit scared. But I’m telling you. Family, animals, work and movies. It just doesn’t get any safer. It was a great dinner and we’ve been friends ever since.

I am about to have a new boss, and things started out perfectly, because we talked about work. We could talk about work for ages. But when the conversation diverted, things got awkward. My new boss has proclaimed himself a libertarian. Not associated with either major party and not trusting them at all. I stated that I had gotten the impression that a lot of people in America are fed up with both parties. And that excused me from detailing my views, although I stepped in it for a minute and said that I ignored the corruption if the policies I wanted were addressed. Stepped in it. If the conversation turned to specific policies, I would have been dead in the water. Luckily it did not. Family, animals, work, movies. He owns a donkey. Great conversation starter.

Thirty years ago, when I was a radical feminist and a newly converted Buddhist, I was very quick to share my views, and to “educate”. Today, I do things very differently when I’m at work. I show instead of telling. Oh, I definitely say that I’m a liberal. I can pass for white, but I weave my race into the conversation. And I’m obviously a woman. But I leave it there. What I then do is demonstrate that I am easy to work with, professional, competent, knowledgeable, and can do and be exactly what they need. In general chatter, I make them comfortable with conversation that is uniting instead of dividing. As a result, they have an experience with a black female liberal that is positive. I think they will remember that. They will remember that they met me, and I wasn’t so bad. I put a crack in the stereotypes. Frankly, I think that it’s something that all liberals should be doing if we want to create change.

Share this post

Comments (19)

  • Lila_I Reply

    I like this weblog it’s a master piece! Glad I observed this ohttps://69v.topn google.Leadership

    July 13, 2024 at 1:35 am
  • communication Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Info to that Topic: afrobougieblues.com/adventures-in-the-midwest/ […]

    July 30, 2024 at 3:15 pm
  • medicijnen online kopen in Nederland: de slimme keuze voor gezondheid. Tiefenbacher Villa Adelina Reply

    achat en ligne de médicaments Amneal Vlaardingen medicijnen zonder nadelige effecten

    August 3, 2024 at 8:20 am
  • acheter médicaments en Belgique sans problème zydus Palermo Reply

    médicaments en ligne : avertissements et précautions Easypharm Essen Kauf von Medikamenten online

    August 17, 2024 at 7:35 am
  • achat de médicaments en ligne Schering Manzanillo Reply

    où trouver du médicaments Davur Bovenkerk médicaments de
    qualité disponible en ligne en Suisse

    August 19, 2024 at 8:34 pm
  • médicaments achat en ligne sécurisé MSD Catania Reply

    Preis von Medikamente in München Sanofi Leiderdorp medicamentos
    en venta libre en Canadá

    August 19, 2024 at 9:50 pm
  • Ist es möglich Reply

    medicijnen met of zonder medisch voorschrift Genera L’Aquila médicaments
    sans ordonnance en Suisse

    August 19, 2024 at 11:34 pm
  • ufazeed Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Information on that Topic: afrobougieblues.com/adventures-in-the-midwest/ […]

    August 24, 2024 at 12:19 am
  • сонник миллера мужчина обнимает Reply

    магия вкуса десногорск к чему снятся одевать сережки расклад есть ли
    у него другая онлайн, гадание есть ли у него
    другая на кольце
    гороскопы для девушек приснилось что отвалились руки

    August 27, 2024 at 1:34 am
  • zoritoler imol Reply

    Great post, I conceive blog owners should larn a lot from this web blog its really user pleasant.

    August 27, 2024 at 2:21 am
  • avsubthai Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] There you can find 67187 additional Information to that Topic: afrobougieblues.com/adventures-in-the-midwest/ […]

    August 31, 2024 at 5:29 am
  • Acheter médicaments sans attente MSD Puerto Montt Reply

    medicijnen te koop in België ratiopharm Saint-Pierre acheter médicaments sans problème Belgique

    August 31, 2024 at 6:14 am
  • ส่งพัสดุ Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More on that Topic: afrobougieblues.com/adventures-in-the-midwest/ […]

    September 11, 2024 at 1:38 am
  • бітібаева туралы эссе Reply

    қарғын романы немен аяқталады, қарғын романы кейіпкерлері посев из цервикального канала инвитро, бак посев из цервикального канала при беременности фриз жеребенок купить, арабские лошади цена в казахстане аңдардың қысқы тіршілігі,
    аңдардың қысқы тіршілігі көркем әдебиет

    September 16, 2024 at 2:40 am
  • https://stealthex.io Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More on on that Topic: afrobougieblues.com/adventures-in-the-midwest/ […]

    September 16, 2024 at 5:47 am
  • ұлттық рух тәуелсіздік тірегі жаттау Reply

    стоимость обучения врача узи, как стать врачом узи диагностики өндірістің негізгі
    факторлары, өндіріс факторлары
    мыналар болып табылады: смотреть
    сериал про маньяка 2022, смотреть фильмы про маньяков и серийных убийц русские куда поехать на море за границу, куда поехать отдыхать
    в январе 2023 из казахстана

    September 16, 2024 at 11:00 pm
  • socom 16 Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Info to that Topic: afrobougieblues.com/adventures-in-the-midwest/ […]

    September 21, 2024 at 2:47 am
  • құқықтық сауаттылық заман талабы пікірталас Reply

    караганды су тарифы, караганды су сортировка саясаттану қай ғылымдар жүйесіне жатады,
    саясаттану кітап ду-61 когда выдается, 748 приказ ктж жаз мезгіліне байланысты жұмбақтар, наурыз
    туралы жұмбақтар

    September 23, 2024 at 6:11 pm
  • https://shbet.tours Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More on that Topic: afrobougieblues.com/adventures-in-the-midwest/ […]

    September 29, 2024 at 4:20 am

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *