This is a conversation that I heard last week from two employees in a federal government office. -To give you some background, I don't work with these two staff. They work for a different government program from the one that I work in.
Two white ladies. I'll call one of the ladies "Karen."
Karen: My husband and I are gonna go on holidays next week. We're going to visit his family in the States. We're kind of worried. His family is in Wisconsin. Milwaukee.
Second white lady: What is there to worry about? Are there protests happening in Milwaukee?
Karen: We're concerned that some of the protests against ICE agents harassing immigrants could get violent. My husband found out that there are plenty of blacks and Latinos who live in the downtown area of Milwaukee.
Those people can get violent, you know.
Second white lady: Oh, I see. Hmm. Maybe it's better to stay away from the downtown area. What is there to see in downtown Milwaukee anyway?
Both ladies laugh.
I'm sitting in my desk right behind the Karen and second white lady. Rolling my eyes. They don't see me. I'm thinking to myself:
"Lady, you don't really know what's happening in the U.S. It's the heavy handed tactics from the ICE agents which is inciting all these violent protests across the U.S. Stop putting the blame on minorities!"
I do agree on their last comments about Milwaukee.
Is there anything worthwhile to see in downtown Milwaukee??
I just know that Old Milwaukee beer sucks.
FYI: Old Milwaukee beer is actually brewed in Canada now.
