So tonight I went to my garden

[wellstone dem]

On the day I had planted my garden there was a Somali woman and her daughter in the park that my garden is in. We had talked briefly about what I was planting and when I showed her a picture of the carrots, she told me they planted carrots in Africa. I told her that if she came back in August I would give her carrots.

Tonight, she was there again, sitting at the picnic table watching children, and I said hello. It was a beautiful night to work in the garden. And there were so many children, all Somali, playing in the park. There were two boys on the merry go round, when I looked up one was laying on the ground. His friend helped him up, they laughed because the boy had got dizzy and fell while trying to walk.

There were two girls playing, then one said, "You're being mean." "Am not" the other replied. "Are too." "Am not".... Kids were playing soccer. One boy yelled out. "I am a legend!" Two girls went by, one pushing the other in a stroller. They saw me watching, and the girl in the stroller started to pretend she was a baby.

It all made such a wonderful evening in the park. Then a car drove by and two young men leaned out the windows and yelled. "This is America!" "America" "Yeah, this is America!" And they drove off. I walked over to the woman I had spoken with and told her I was sorry that people yelled things like that. She looked at me and smiled, I don't think she understood what I said. But a girl who was standing nearby seemed to be explaining as I left.

I went back to my garden. I planted more carrots. As I left, I leaned out my car window and waved at my friend. She waved back with a huge smile on her face.

I'm not sure why I still feel like crying.

[elleng]

1. So do I.

Thanks for posting.

[babylonsister]

2. I just have to keep believing

the people that care are in the majority, and prove it. You did.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

3. .

[sheshe2]

4. You painted a beautiful picture.

Some just want to ruin that. Don't let them.

[DRoseDARs]

5. You know, the ammosexuals have made things so warped these days...

...you could have pulled out a gun, shot the two dead, and "Stood Your Ground" on the grounds you felt they were threatening the children.

[Shemp Howard]

11. Nice. Perfect way to ruin the moment.

Please...do we have to turn every last thing into some sort of political or social statement? Can't a nice moment for once be just a nice moment?

[DRoseDARs]

16. *facepalm* What do you think was the impetus for this story?

"This is America!" "Yeah, this is America!"
Racist goons spouting their racism.

Methinks you doth protest too much.

[wellstone dem]

19. I actually did think about guns

I thought that if I was Somali I would definitely be thinking about getting a conceal carry permit, because of the anger in the men's voices. I thought the men that were yelling might have a gun.

[DRoseDARs]

21. Keep an eye on things. If it continues, absolutely report it to the police...

Also consider trying to expand the group gatherings. May well be enough to ward off further interruptions of fuckery.

[calimary]

28. Sad to say, these times make that an understandable reaction.

I probably would default there, immediately, myself.

[smallcat88]

6. I know exactly why you feel like crying

You have a heart.

[hopemountain]

7. only love prevails

for many of us. the hard hearted and mean spirited are making their own world.
so glad to hear you are on the side of lovers and warriors for love.

[calimary]

29. Maybe so, but it sure is taking its own damn time.

I keep trying to remind myself of that. The quote I think by Buddha that only love overcomes hate. Well, it sure seems to be taking its own damn time. And the hate seems to be the only thing that's growing.

[klook]

8. THIS is America

- what you shared with these good people.

Thanks for the beautiful report.

[hamsterjill]

9. I'm glad there are people like you in the world.

Gives me hope for mankind, you know?

[awoke_in_2003]

10. We are a nation of immigrants...

and should be proud of that.

[Justice]

12. I went to the DMV today and had an experience that reminds me of yours

In front of me in the first line to the initial customer service person (who gives you the right form and directs you to other lines depending on the reason for your visit), was a very young, very pregnant woman and her female friend.

The friend had a book by Joyce Meyer (female televangelist). I felt bad for the pregnant woman having to wait in line.

As we waited, it was a little crazy with people walking in and out to our left as numbers were called - apparently some wait in the hallway.
Also, once people received forms at the customer service desk, they would complete them and then return to the desk in a line on the left side and receive priority over people in our right line.

As we waited, I continued to feel badly for this pregnant woman. I wondered if she was married because she looked so young. I did see rings on her finger, so assumed she was. I was thinking about the friend with the book by the christian preacher.

Suddenly, a hispanic woman came out on the left side of us and walked up to the desk. The two women were very upset thinking this woman had jumped the line. They started accusing her of jumping the line. When it is was clear that she had not done so, but that she was returning after waiting until her number was called, they started saying, this is america, we speak english here and other taunting statements. They were very upset and tried to catch my eye to see if I would agree with them. They kept talking but softer and softer as it was clear no one else around us was going to catch their eye and agree with them.

I was going to say something about them not having read the christian book yet, but I didn't. Your story made me wish I had walked over to the other woman and apologized to her for those foolish girls.

[alphafemale]

13. The scene you described? "This is America!"

Yes. It was. "This is America."

A beautiful part of America beyond the understanding of clowns shouting things from cars.

[azurnoir]

14. yes this is America and it's changing along with what it means to be American

we're a work in progress

[The Road Runner]

15. Thanks for posting this. Nt

[Uncle Joe]

17. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, wellstone dem.

[Jamastiene]

18. You are allowed to plant your garden in a public park?

That is brilliant and amazing. I wish they would allow that here too.

I'm glad you were able to enjoy the time in the garden despite the assholes in the car. I don't understand why so many Americans seem to feel it is their duty to be rude to people from other places. We're all humans. I don't see where their hatred comes from, honestly.

[wellstone dem]

20. Our city has a number of community gardens that are located in parks

The garden is in one corner, with a nearby playground, basketball hoop, and ice hockey arena. The kids play soccer in an open area or in the ice hockey enclosure.

It is really nice. I do have a house, but the yard is small and shaded.

There are about 18 plots at this garden and I think there are two others.

[davidthegnome]

22. As long as there are Americans like you...

Then Americans like those idiots driving by in their car will be outnumbered and outwitted (one of you is worth any number of them). I can't cry much myself, it takes some kind of severe emotional situation for me to reach that point, perhaps because I've become so numb to all of the terrible things reported by our media.

I lost a good friend a couple years ago, a childhood friend I had grown up with. I had flown from Maine to Kansas City for his wedding, where I was a groomsman. He and the other groomsmen were all military, hardcore right wing, politically backward... but this gentleman and I had grown up together, he was like a Brother to me.

As they were driving me to the Airport one afternoon, there was an older, Hispanic looking gentleman with long hair, stubble, clothes that indicated that he hadn't been able to wash them in a while. He was obviously homeless, as also indicated by the sign he was holding. We had beer in the back of the SUV we were riding in, left over from the wedding. The driver (one of the groomsmen) pulled to a stop and held one out for the man, who eagerly ran over and grabbed it. With a "God bless you boys! and happy fourth!" (it was the fourth of July) he walked off, smiling.

The men in the SUV (including my friend) started joking about it. "We should call the cops, tell them "Hey, there's this scary homeless guy running around with a beer here" haha". They had random jokes, lines about homeless people, the uselessness of "bums". It made me sick. I regret to this day that I never said anything to them, just sat and listened with widening eyes and the sudden notion that these guys were assholes.

The jokes they started making about Hispanics as we reached the Airport made me want to throw up. I made a quick escape, congratulated my friend on his wedding - and got on the plane back home. I don't talk to them anymore, not even a childhood friend who had meant so much to me. I'm not sure he ever really understood why.

There is a way of treating people, a decency, a compassion, humility... basic kindness and empathy that is so sadly lacking from many young Americans (particularly American males) these days. A man who is so inhumane as to mock the homeless and tell racist jokes is no friend of mine, no matter who he may once have been.

America? America the Beautiful? "All men are created equal", "We hold these truths to be self evident", you know... I think we need to alter some things, some lines. One being that all PEOPLE are created equal - and that we should hold THAT truth to be self evident. I think that we need to explain to our people (patiently and slowly and with very small words) that there is nothing inherently superior or grand about simply being American. There is nothing superior in being a white American, or in being a white male American, or in being a wealthy white male American. One human being is worth as much as any other.

How dare anyone think their race or Nationality makes them superior, how dare they even suggest that others are not welcome here. We are Irish, Indian, Pakistani, British, Native American, African American - we come from every race and Nationality of the past and present. We are human beings. And this America that uneducated, ignorant little bigots think they know so much about was built as much by Native Americans, Chinese Laborers, African American slaves, indentured servants, and the poor of various Countries... as it was by anyone else. The blood on the hands of our forefathers should leave our own stained until we have shown enough compassion to wash away the horrors of the past.

Why do people have to be so cruel, so stupid? Why do they have to treat others this way? I don't know. I can only say that they must be very small and insecure. I can only say that, in the grand scheme of things, they are far less significant and far less worthy than the Soccer boy who is a legend.

[postulater]

23. I'd rec this if it was an original post.

"I can only say that, in the grand scheme of things, they are far less significant and far less worthy than the Soccer boy who is a legend."

Yup.

[wellstone dem]

27. thanks for posting this.

I love the last line as well.

Thank you.

I'm headed back to my garden right now.

[noiretextatique]

24. this is a country of immigrants...and the enslaved

And slaughtered. This is OUR country too. Funny that some believe it "belongs" only to them. Further proof that we need to invest in education.

[Duval]

25. Beautifully expressed. n/t

[treestar]

26. this is a nation of immigrants

and a country of refuge. Those people miss out on the best part of the country, the ones who don't see it.

[TNNurse]

30. You are a true American

Those idiots in the car just do not understand. I should feel sad for them because their lives are so narrow, but I don't because they are assholes.

[barbtries]

31. because people can be so beautiful and kind

and so ignorant and mean. thank you for a good read.

[lucca18]

32. Thank you for your compassion, caring and respect.

[iamthebandfanman]

33. you shoulda yell back..

exactly!
and gave the middle finger

them being here and enjoying life is about as American as you can get, if you ask me.

[IrishAyes]

34. Maybe you felt like crying for the same reason most of us probably would;

the contrast between how the world should be and how it can be. I'm glad you were there to make friends with the lady and the kids, partly for their sake but also your own.

Although finances (or rather lack of) forced me to retire to a very cheap remote spot in the MidWest, I used to live in Los Angeles and NYC both for significant periods. What I miss most is the delightful mix of cultures in those places. When I first moved here and people would ask me about my life, if I told them about the block parties where everybody brought native dishes and so on, it invariably infuriated these xenophobes and saddened me that people could hate strangers they never even met. I truly believe it's a form of insanity.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

35. I know why you felt like crying

The same reason I would.

[paleotn]

36. Wonderful post. Thanks for sharing...

It's a real shame we have to apologize so often for our less enlightened citizens. Seems it's always been this way. Does my heart good though to realize there's people like you who make America what it was meant to be.