On the MUNI Metro, standing in the aisle, hanging on a strap.
"Hey, mister! You have a little friend
attached to you!" The man was pointing to my jeans, but
I couldn't see anything, until another guy pointed to my crotch.
It was a nice, big bumblebee. He seemed quite comfortable on the denim.
I told the passengers near me that he wouldn't harm them since bumblebees are not very aggressive, but two girls moved across the aisle anyway.
A passenger sitting on my right side then took hold of my backpack's strap and edged it off me and onto the ground. I told people to just leave him alone.
But a young man quickly stomped on it.
Loudly.
"He would have died in this place anyway!" he said, with a chagrined smile. People formed two camps:: those in relief and those in remorse for the poor bee.
I was in remorse, of course.
For some people their plight is like that of the bumblebee: alone and out of their element, they can be both respected or feared. Some people think that they might not fare well no matter what happens, so they kill them with discrimination Ir worse yet, total indifference.
Or exterminate them outright.
This 4th of July, it's time to reflect on the inclusiveness of America. The Trumps, the Coulters, the Neo Nazis and White supremacists, the (slightly) elevated trailer trash, the xenophobic element of America has never been what America has been about. Celebrating a xenophobic America is like Hitler's Germany in the 30s.
America was built on inclusiveness. The puritans missed the boat on that score, but people quickly wised up: the only way to survive was to be all-inclusive.
John Cena produced a PSA about patriotism pointing out that half of America is comprised of minorities. Inclusion and diversity - the American Way.
