"Mom, will Jacob have to move away?"
Jacob (not his real name, of course) is a recurring character in the stories that Alexis tells. He was her first crush, but then she didn't like him, but then she did, and then she didn't, but now they're friends, or maybe they're not? I can't really keep track of these sorts of things. He's a football player who sometimes brags about being a football player, but it's okay that he brags because he's just trying to impress the cheerleader. She thinks it's cute that he wants to impress her.
"Why would Jacob move away?" I asked. I was truly confused and thought maybe Alexis was too. Another kid recently moved so maybe she had the two mixed up?
No.
"Because that man says he has to," she continued.
Maybe you've figured out where this is going, but I hadn't. It didn't become clear until the conversation continued.
"What man?" I asked.
"The guy who is might be the next President. He said all of the Muslims have to go away," she finished.
The air left the room as I stumbled in search of a response. Alexis, not realizing I was down for the count, continued. "I guess Ryan will have to leave, too, since he said Mexicans are bad people. Do you think Madison is Mexican? I hope she's not."
I had no answers. None. I wanted to promise my 10 year-old that nothing like that will ever happen, but I can't honestly make that promise right now. I'm hearing the same words that she's hearing, often directly from the man himself. Hate is a campaign promise and support for it is growing.
It just keeps going.
I hear them. I hear very intelligent people quietly and loudly saying that it's time for a change. I hear them when they say that they're tired of politicians politicking and they just want something different.
I strongly believe in honoring different, but this is a time when it is not acceptable.
I recognize that there isn't just one man who is promoting a way of life that excludes people on the basis of nationality, religious beliefs, and sexual orientation, but there is only one who isn't trying to veil the hatred beneath several layers of "politicking." The implication is that he doesn't know it's wrong. If you hide your racism beneath layers of rhetoric and empty promises, there's at least a part of you that recognizes that racism isn't acceptable. If you don't hide it, you must feel it in your heart.
Suddenly we've got lots and lots of people walking around wearing racism like it's a badge of honor.
We've got kids -- plural because Alexis isn't the only kid asking these questions these days -- we've got kids who are worried about their friends who aren't white.
I can't promise that those friends are safe.