Go Home

The hurtful sentiment to “go home” isn’t news to anyone of color in America. It’s neither shocking nor alarming. Because we’re used to it. I used to reply with a snide, “Go home? You mean to Virginia where I grew up?” This was followed by silence and a textbook look of defeat.

All the recent surprise and disdain among white people is a picture of privilege. Privilege has nothing to do with intent, so don’t go getting righteous on me while defending your station in life. Remember that when someone calls us out on our privilege, it’s not about us. Listen first, react thoughtfully second. If nothing else, this latest presidential episode shows us how much people of color have been dealing with well before Trump was elected. We have kept quiet and silently suffered for a very long time, sharing a knowing glance as microagressions ping around like a level 10 game of Break Out.

In case you were wondering, I’ve been told to “go home” countless times. It’s happened in every state I ever lived in, at boarding school, and at work. I’ve heard it from conservatives and progressives alike. When advocating for issues related to social justice, Democrats have told me to go back to India and fix its problems first before coming here ranting about what to change. I’ve been told, “What do you know, you’re not really American.” All that has been followed by guffaws of laughter and high fives, as if everyone is in on the joke but me. And all sorts of people have fed me the lame retort to leave if I don’t like it. If you’re brown in America, this isn’t new.

But this president sure has made it worse.