White Hot Hate by Dick Lehr

Author:Dick Lehr [Lehr, Dick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780358359968
Published: 2021-11-09T00:00:00+00:00

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THE CRUSADERS were not the only ones noticing a cultural change induced by a Trump’s corrosive campaign rhetoric. Ifrah Ahmed, comfortably settled into life in Garden City after her arrival three years earlier, detected the shift—sometimes subtle, sometimes not—both at work and around town. She liked her job at the Tyson meatpacking plant, where her responsibilities had continued to increase; she’d gone from being an interpreter to a supervisor of workers in the “harvest,” or slaughterhouse. She began realizing that many of her white colleagues were cheering for Trump. She had expected them to be put off by his comments, as she was. This was America, after all, a country, she thought, that “prides itself in diversity and acceptance.” It was why, as a refugee in Nairobi, she’d prayed to be allowed to resettle in the United States rather than other free countries, such as Canada or Australia, where her sisters had been sent. But her co-workers apparently were not put off. One, a veterinarian, someone she liked and whose company she enjoyed, had returned from a rally, excited to have had his picture taken with the candidate. The vet tried to soften her impression of Trump, telling her that he wasn’t against all immigrants, just illegal ones. Ifrah, who counted Mexicans among her circle of friends, countered that immigrants, whether legal or not, were simply looking for a better life for their families. “Just because they are illegal doesn’t mean they are going to harm you,” she said. The two had come to a stalemate, and they agreed to disagree.

One day Ifrah was with a friend, browsing the clothing racks at a Target store, when she noticed a man eyeing them. It turned out he was a security guard, and when Ifrah and her friend stepped into a fitting room, the guard was fast on their heels. He ordered them to put down the clothes; a testy exchange ensued. Ifrah wanted an explanation for the intrusion. What had they done wrong? The guard said he was following his gut; he had a feeling they might be shoplifters. He said flat out that he didn’t trust them. In all the times she’d shopped at the store, Ifrah had never before experienced profiling. Then, on a weekend night at a dance club she frequented, the disc jockey at one point trained the spotlight on her, her cousin, and a transgender Tyson co-worker. Over the club’s sound system, the DJ declared he sure hoped that Trump would make America great again. The women tried to laugh it off, but Ifrah found the moment unnerving.

She received yet another jolt when she toyed with the idea of finding a new apartment. Spotting a promising listing, she called the landlord. The man was pleasant on the phone, inviting her to come by for an application. When she did, the landlord’s demeanor took a turn. Seeing Ifrah, he said he didn’t rent to Somalis.

Ifrah said, “Excuse me?”

He repeated his statement: no Somalis need apply. Ifrah left, stunned by the sheer bluntness.

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