Journalism is a humbling profession.
While much of it is mind-numbingly boring, filled with hours of reading and re-reading arcane legislation and poring over charts and spreadsheets, it’s sometimes equally as beguiling.
I meet and talk with dozens of people every week, almost all passionate, curious or adamant about endless things that affect all of our lives, often directly.
Part of my job as a journalist, too, is to be the voice of the newspaper for the community. Mostly, it’s an opportunity for me to tell people how important fact-based journalism is for us, and for our readers.
Last Wednesday, however, I did little talking and was blown away by what I heard.
The event was called “Above the Noise.” It’s a statewide program by Rocky Mountain Public Media and the Colorado State University’s Center for Public Deliberation to find ways to move past the relentless polarization that hampers progress on just about everything. Co-sponsored by the Sentinel and other media in the region, the event drew about 60 people to the Tivoli in Denver, first to watch the documentary, “Undivide Us.”
It was insightful, with communication experts working with a couple dozen people who clearly were on the polar opposite of a handful of hot-button issues like transgender rights and abortion.
But what came after the entire group watched the documentary was unexpected.
We were asked to gather in small groups in a similar drill to discuss our takeaways from the documentary and what we felt was important to us.
I sat with six people, a transgender life coach, an Asian-American magazine publisher, an Iranian immigrant who’s lived here for many years, a Mexican immigrant who also has lived in the metro area for several years, a bilingual Commerce City Journalist and a more recent immigrant from Peru.
First, there was talk about the importance of family and the ability to share a good life with family and good friends.
Alex, changed the tone.
“Freedom is one of the most important things in my life,” they said. Alex talked briefly about a past of moving into a nonbinary life.
They paused for a second and looked at all of us around the table.
“Freedom to me would mean not having to justify my existence every day. Every single day,” they said. “People constantly question why I’m the way I am, and are quick to tell me they don’t like it or understand it.”
How many of you have to explain why you should exist?
Annie, who I have known for a few years, talked briefly about her life as the daughter of a Chinese immigrant. She grew up in the southeast metro area and was the only Asian American in her elementary school.
“I wanted to be white,” she said, so that she could be included in the only world she knew.
There was a brief discussion about controversy over what should and shouldn’t be taught in public schools, especially to young children. Annie talked about how selective history was as a subject in her school.
Annie didn’t know as a child that other Asian Americans had ever existed in Colorado, or the nation.
“There was never any mention of our history here.”
She didn’t know that Chinese Americans were instrumental in the development of the West, including Colorado. She was never taught about the role of Chinese slaves in building Colorado railroads and cities.
She was invisible to everyone but her family. As a child, she didn’t understand it.
Fara, from Iran, had many of the same experiences as other immigrants at the table. She, too, is often asked “why” about endless things about her heritage, always being pushed toward seeing things the way “everyone else” sees them. She has always been made keenly aware that her heritage sets her apart from most people, even though there is almost always so much in common she shares with everyone.
She appreciated Alex’s insistence that gender is important to the person it belongs to. Fara, too, was astonished that so many people have such strong feelings about the personal lives of others, things that should and don’t ever affect them.
Christian moved here several years ago from Chihuahua, Mexico. He sympathized some with Elah, from Peru, and her concern over teaching young children about racism or gender identity issues. Her fear is that they are too young to understand and confused, even fearful.
Mostly, though, Christian said he worried about his own children, whom he and his wife home-school. As a Mexican American, he worries constantly about his children being accepted as “good” Latinos by everyone around him here in the metro area.
He’s afraid that if his children attend public schools with other Latino children, they will be suspected of being Mexican criminals or drug sellers, because that’s what so many white people think of immigrants from where he comes from.
He wants them to have every opportunity as Americans, and public schools create a potential risk, he says. Not because they’re not good schools, but because the majority of people who live here see Mexican-Americans from those schools as suspect.
Elah had similar concerns about how “Americans” would judge her and others, balancing a life that’s just living a life, and living a life that is satisfactory to so many people that judge her.
The conversations were overwhelming.
It was impossible not to realize that we, the majority of us, have created an impossible situation for immigrants and “others” here in Colorado, and across the nation.
These immigrants and others risk everything to come here, even to exist, to be told repeatedly, they don’t belong, they aren’t welcome and that they’re a burden.
Everyone at my table holds themselves to some unattainable standard of “localness” that doesn’t even exist. Not only can they never be a part of this ideal, it’s undefinable. They just know that they are made out to be “others” and they have to live with that. And they do.
Each and every one of them is wise, articulate and caring. Alex and Elah, on opposite sides of the issue on teaching young children about queerness or gayness, left together and planned on meeting to talk more.
Each of them muster the courage I’ve had to summon only on my worst days. They’re courageous every day. Everywhere. Every time.
When it comes to looking for something and someone you can count on, I’m with them.
Follow @EditorDavePerry on BlueSky, Threads, Mastodon, Twitter and Facebook or reach him at 303-750-7555 or dperry@SentinelColorado.com
I think we’re all well aware that the vast majority of “newcomers” are honorable people. Illegal immigrants are often resented because they are “horning in” on the social safety net, education and healthcare systems that were built by American citizens, with their tax dollars, for their benefit of American citizens. The real culprits are individuals like Mr. Perry, his left-leaning friends and the Biden/Harris administration who have sent mixed messages to foreigners that they are welcomed here despite laws to the contrary. They have done this fully knowing that statistics show that 98% of these immigrants will not qualify for asylum under U.S. law. They have used these individuals for selfish reasons as pawns to further advance their woke and Marxist social revolution. This is why they have deeply imbedded them in cities all across the country. If they ever have their asylum hearings and are ordered deported, it will be they who are to blame for the pain and suffering of these individuals.