How they see you

Been telling you for a long time that you are profoundly mistaken to think, that the colonizers disregarded your humanity in your own country, but that they will suddenly respect you as a human being if you're in their countries. That's not the case, and you're seeing that now. They see you exactly the same way when you're walking in the streets of Minneapolis as they would see you when you were walking in the streets of Mogadishu. They don't look at you any differently. And in fact they will see you that way even if you just look like you would fit in walking in the streets of Mogadishu.

It doesn't matter if you're even from there. If you don't look like them, and by them you know what I mean. If you don't look like what they consider to be an American, then they will always see you as less than them. They'll see you as less than human. They'll see you as part of the global South, part of that part of the world that they have historically attacked, invaded, occupied, colonized, enslaved, and exploited and thought that you were eligible for that and they'll still think you're eligible for that.

It doesn't matter if you're in Dearborn, doesn't matter if you're in Chicago, in Atlanta or LA or in London or Paris. They think that you belong under their boot. If you're from the global South, they think you belong under their boot. If you're from the global South or if you even look like you would fit in in the global South. When they say American, it's just a euphemism you and I both know for white and it's a euphemism for rich.

If you're neither one of those things, then you're never gonna be a citizen in their eyes. That's a fact. And you should understand that even if you are in America, they will always be inclined to treat you the same way that they would treat you if you were still in the global South. And you should understand that increasingly that is exactly how they are going to treat you in America. You understand?

They never treated you like that because of where you were. They treated you like that because of who you are and you're still that same you whether you're in Somalia or you're in Minnesota. You get this through your head. So wherever you are, where you are, that is a colonial battleground, always. A western passport is not gonna be protection against colonizer hatred.

It never has been and it never will be.