My Blog, My life

I got a comment on my blog yesterday that I moderated, because I can: I pay for the blog. Someone I didn’t know accused me of being “afraid of Trump signs.” Yes, I mentioned that there were political signs in the area and that led us to not want to spend more money.

I didn’t say what the signs were. You can assume, but you might be missing some: some signs were Trump/Pence. One was a former Trump/Pence sign with the Pence torn off (traitor to the party, right?). There were many confederate flags, and some Let’s Go Brandon signs.

I’m not afraid. But I did not start this fight. I am not the one leaving up divisive political signs or adding to them, long after an election is over. I am not the one who put politics in the middle of a pandemic of a deadly virus that killed AT LEAST 1 million Americans.

So, it boils down to, do I trust eating in a restaurant in an area with people who support an autocratic ex-president who still supports Vladimir Putin, who is currently bombing civilians, (including maternity hospitals) in a sovereign state?

No.

No I do not.

Of course it goes much further as well. I have so many friends and family members who are in the LGBTQ+ community. I know that those signs stand for taking away their rights to simply live as who they are. I know that those friends and family members would not be welcome in these areas. And I want to go places where they are welcome.

Am I afraid? No.

But I have dollars to spend, and one life to live, and what I have, at least, what I still have for now, is choice. I chose to visit an Airbnb in a rural area. I chose to visit some state run natural resources, which I support highly. I chose not to spend any additional money in the neighboring communities, for a variety of reasons, one of which was that we had such a lovely view from our room and had brought food to cook.

Are there lovely people in these places, just as there are lovely people everywhere? I am certain. There are lovely and not lovely people who live everywhere.

You may not know this about me, but I grew up in a small town in South Carolina. I grew up surrounded by confederate flags and Reagan supporters. Don’t assume you know me because I live in a city now.

But, as a traveler, as a human, I have choices. I’m debating visiting Austin with Louie in the summer (he has another conference there), and I think, hmm, do I want to go to Texas? All the guns, all the anti-trans legislature, etc. Plus the heat (my god, the heat!) in June will be annoying. But there are some really interesting looking things there, and I know Austin (and Texas) are full of wonderful people trying to do wonderful things for the world. And Louie has a place to stay because of the conference, so it’s just the cost of the plane ticket and any missed work (which, it’s summer, if I can’t be more flexible in the summer when can I be?)