I am a Canadian, so this really isn’t my issue. But I visit the USA often, I work for an American company, and – I hesitate to say this – I have a NAFTA visa. This blog most certainly is NOT about politics. It is about photographs. But no matter what side of the fence you are on, it’s hard to deny we are witnessing history of similar magnitude to things you studied in school. So I cannot resist the urge to record my impressions from time to time. I will do my best to simply record in a neutral tone, though no doubt I will fail more often than I will succeed.
I flew into Dallas today, and took a taxi into the city. The driver was a Jamaican immigrant, and he asked what I thought of the President elect. I deflected, and asked what he thought. It turns out he was a fan, which was definitely not what I expected. He liked the idea of deporting illegal immigrants with criminal records. As a hard working immigrant himself (I asked, rather than assume) he resented people who jumped the queue. When I inquired if there were other policies of the President that could concern him, he had nothing to offer – just the fact that it was completely reasonable to deport criminal illegal immigrants. The thought that kept running through my mind was “first they came for the socialists…”. I pray that I am wrong.
Speaking of prayers, Dallas is interesting in so many ways. Between two restaurants, on an average street, we found … St Jude’s Chapel.
This was strange enough, but the reflection on the building behind it, echoing the neon cross, took things to a whole new level.
And just when you think you’ve seen it all…
Hopefully not a metaphor for things to come.
Walking back to the hotel after dinner, we investigated a gathering in the local park. Turns out it was a demonstration against he-who-must-not-be-named.
To be fair, it was a rather small gathering, though they assured us it had been much larger on the weekend. But the thing to keep in mind is that this was Dallas. In this neck of the woods, two people protesting against republicans would be called a crowd, and three could be considered a riot.
And finally, tonight was the super moon. On the drive into town I had a perfect view of the full moon with the Dallas skyscrapers as a backdrop. But asking the driver to stop on the freeway seemed like a bad idea. Walking back for the picture seemed even worse. So I had to settle for this.
Not bad for a hand-held point and shoot camera.
Our country is in a state of great confusion for sure, with about half of us sitting on the edges of our seats, waiting to see what will happen. It’s not a good time for us, and the world.