Dear reader,
You may not know me personally, but I am willing to bet we are very much alike. Just like you, I am a college student. Just like you, I am concerned about the state of the world right now. Just like you, I’m watching the upcoming US Presidential election. Just like you, I tuned in to the debate on September 9th. Just like you, I was horrified by the statements villainizing immigrants, horrified by the blatant lies, hatred, and bigotry. However, this is where we might differ. To me, it hits different. To me, this hatred hits harder. Why?
Because all of it is directed specifically at me. It’s personal to me.
I first came to the US four years ago, in February 2020, on the brink of a pandemic outbreak. I was young and I was terrified. What terrified me the most was how so many people here in the US seemed to hate me for no particular reason. All they knew about me was the origin of my passport and my accent, and yet they hated me as if I had personally hurt them. I never understood that.Â
To this day, I still don’t understand. Most immigrants, including me, have done nothing but work hard for a spot in this country. We have made countless sacrifices looking for a better life in the States, and yet, we are deemed vermin, criminals, and alien. I don’t think I will ever understand the sheer hatred some have for me. And yet, there is something else I don’t understand, in the midst of all this.
Why do some people find the hatred funny?
Why is it funny?
Why is it meme-worthy?Â
Why is people’s hatred for me, my family, my immigrant siblings, so funny?
Try and explain it to me.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I LOVE joking about my immigrant status and xenophobia. If you’re my friend, you know; my response to everything is “it’s because I’m an immigrant, isn’t it? You hate immigrants.” However, I have earned the right to make those jokes. I am making lemonade out of the lemons thrown at me on national television. And yes, you are allowed to laugh. Please do, actually. I made the joke for a reason. But at the end of the day, it is MY joke to make. Not yours.Â
When you make a joke about hatred that doesn’t affect you, you make light of it. You send the message that you don’t take it seriously. You send the message that it has nothing to do with you, therefore you don’t care. While I do believe some statements are so ridiculous they are worthy of mockery, we can’t JUST mock. We need to mock and take action. At the end of the day, the people that GENUINELY think “transgender aliens in prisons are getting gender surgery” are using their hatred to pass hateful laws. They’re using their hatred to share their ideology. And somewhere, someone agrees.
If you think it’s so ridiculous, fight back. Because it’s not okay. It’s not funny when you say it. It has real life consequences. And frankly, I’m tired of being the only one remotely concerned about them.