Can We Take A Minute To Talk About Trump Visiting Chicago

Hello Friends,So, I know it's a few days removed, but I needed some time to soak it in, and to think about everything.  I'm sure you can understand. When it comes to President Trump, I feel like so many of us have to take a second to step back and just digest before we offer up any thoughts.I feel bad that I wasn't at the protest during his visit.  I was at the attempted rally at UIC back in 2016.  I don't know if you're aware of this, but that singular event has it's own Wikipedia page.  I encourage you to go check it out.Now, don't let me misrepresent my role in that fiasco.  I was in line when the action really kicked off.  The line to the rally completely wrapped around not just the building, but the attached parking complex, which makes up a full 2-3 blocks.  My friend Al and I made our way slowly all the way around.  We were about 10 people back from the glass doors, anticipation at a fever pitch, 20 minutes or os before the speech was supposed to officially begin.I remember a man in a wheel chair suddenly busting out of a side door, barreling down the walkway with the person pushing him looking panicked."It's been cancelled!" They yelled, while effectively what I would now call getting out of dodge.A few seconds later, a gentleman came out of the door, hands above his head triumphantly,"We shut it down!  They said he's not coming out! We shut it down!"Now, if you've ever seen video, or news reports of this faithful event, most of that footage is from the inside of the venue, in the hours leading up to this moment.  The scene inside was to all reports charged at best, and 3 seconds from a full blow riot at worst.One thing that never really came over in any of the news reports, was that outside was very humdrum and peaceful...until the people inside came out.  I mean, up that point, supporters of Trump and those against, had pretty much kept apart, and aside from idle banter from either side (full-on protesters were positioned across the street from the venue by police), things were calm.However, when the bedlam from inside the stadium, poured out into the streets, the atmosphere ratcheted up 10 notches very fast. This story from the Guardian has some good video from both inside, and outside the UIC pavilion.  By all reports, Trump touched down in Chicago, and the Chicago Police Department told him that the rally was a powder keg......and if you remember Trump's political campaign rhetoric, it was wholly vile. From "back in the day, we would've given it to 'em," to "Hilary wants to get rid of the second amendment...maybe there's something the NRA guys can do about that," to  of course building a wall, and making Mexico pay for it.  Divisive is an understatement for his campaign at the time, and yes, it would've only taken 3 words out of his mouth to start a much riotous situation I believe than what we actually saw.Also, as a side note, I remember seeing, with my own eyes, a man in full nazi regalia, come running out of the stadium, and obviously trying to figure out the fastest way to his car.  I didn't feel pity for him, but I remember thinking "dumb motherfucker heard UIC, and had no idea or thought to look how close that place is to the west side.  Motherfuckers don't play that" and literally watching him trot off into the night of the West Loop.  Does anyone else remember seeing that guy?  I know I didn't make it up.Yes, there were fights.  Yes, there were injuries.  I remember a young white male yelling "See, we can't have anything because of these fucking people!" and a Mexican man spinning around and saying "Who the fuck are you referring to?"But the point had been made. The event was cancelled, and effectively, Chicago had become a no-fly zone for Donald J. Trump.  They said the rally would be rescheduled.  If it was rescheduled, it didn't happen in Chicago.And while he's been here for fundraisers since that fateful event,  Donald Trump made his triumphant return to Chicago this past week at a police conference.Prior to the event, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said he would not attend the event, because the values of Chicago residents were more important than anything Trump has to say.I'm not the biggest Eddie Johnson fan, but I was very proud that he recognized that. I feel that sentiment is spot on accurate.  Make no mistakes, Chicago has some racist ass folks in this town, many of them alleging to be democrats.  Make no mistakes about it, but a majority of Chicagoans, in my belief, are generally good people who simply aren't down with Trumps bullshit.Chicago is a wholly segregated city, often touted as the most segregated city in the nation, and I do believe that to be true.  What that really means is in this city, you can generally cloister yourself in an area where everyone looks like you, perhaps everyone even speaks the same language, without too much variation.  If you want to see a whole bunch of Chinese people, and eat Chinese cuisine cooked by Chinese folks, you can do that here.Once upon a time, if you wanted to see a bunch of Puerto Rican people, and be immersed in some variation of Puerto Rican culture, you could do that, although now I feel like that neighborhood has been under attack for years.But if you wanna live in a hood with mostly white people, and hell, even if you wanna live in a hood where a majority of the people like an agree with Donald Trump, you can find that here...I'm looking at you Mt. Greenwood.What I often wonder though, is why?  Why would you want to live like that?   I truly find joy in learning about the diverse cultures of this city.  I visited Pilsen recently, and ran into a family dressed up for Dia De Los Muertos, and my best guess would be headed to the Dia De Los Muertos Festival that was held at the National Museum of Mexican Art.  I took a picture, which you can see by visiting my Instagram here.In my head I thought, "Wow, they look like a family from Coco," and I started thinking about Ofrendas.  And for me, that wasn't good enough, and I looked up the holiday, and now I know more about it, and about Mexican culture and heritage.  That to me is a plus, not a minus.  Yet, I digress.So Johnson skips the conference, The International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference.  Of course, Trump comes out the gate taking swings at both Eddie Johnson and Chicago as a whole.Trump displays so many character flaws...at this juncture, it's far more sad than maddening.  He's weak, of both character and heart.  He felt insulted, so he immediately gets on a microphone and tries to demean people to make himself feel better.  How does a head of state justify that in their own mind?  And this is a repeated thing...fairly constant.  I can't imagine what it would be like to speak to him face to face.  I imagine he can't engage in any type of meaningful debate.Even worse than his comments, none of which held any bit of truth, but as we know Trump often plays double dutch with the truth, but even worst than his comments were the bootlicking police chiefs who clapped along.  Not all though.  There were some who knew Trumps faux tough guy talk is just that, more of his bullshit.  Thumbs up to you all.And so it goes.Reportedly, there were thousands of protesters either outside the conference, or outside of Trump tower in downtown Chicago.  I had to work, which I could've squeezed out of on a long lunch, but man, I thought back to that 2016 rally, and I just didn't want to get myself into any craziness.I'm past trying to reason with Trumpers, and it's not my job, interest, or even place to try to understand racists, bigots, sexists, and xenophobes.  All I really want to say to Trumpers is "Don't say shit to me unless you gon' put your hands on me, in which case we can skip to that part, I will beat the brakes off you, and we can go on living our lives."And yes, I know violence doesn't solve things, but it's very expedient. As I once was told by a 90+ woman with a baseball bat after being insulted by a patron, and several of us saying "it won't solve anything," to which she replied "It'll give me satisfaction."Sometimes you just need some satisfaction.What did you think about Trump visiting Chicago?  Did you participate in the protest, or in the protest in 2016?  Let me hear your thoughts down below in the comments.Oh!  Go check out my podcast now!  The show is Off The Beaten Podcast. You can find this week’s show on Apple Podcast, on Stitcher, Spotify, or on our website. Also, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to see the sights of the city and what’s going down. My podcast also has it's own Instagram. You can also sign up to get Off The Beaten Podcast in your inbox.