That's right, I'm in Phoenix and of course later today Donald Trump will be making an appearance here. I find the whole event extremely stressful. Many in the 85006 will be downtown protesting later today and the venue Trump is appearing at is very close to the 85006 - it's not hard to get there at all from this neighborhood. Where I find things stressful is that I am having some weird kind of hunch that something awful may happen - I don't claim to read the future but I have had hunches before - usually somehow involved with death - that have turned out to be true - not always, just sometimes. But it's enough to keep me away from the protests.
I tried to get my husband to not work downtown today but he says it will be overrun with security and he's not afraid and wants the $25 an hour - he talked them up after the temp service tried to get me to go for $25 an hour - he says with this extra money he will do something special for the two of us. It's hard not to like that but I'd rather he be safe and not downtown. But so it is.
What is even more stressful to me is that last night I became sick - not hospital check in sick Thank Goodness - just nausea and throwing up a lot but it doesn't have the underling awfulness to it that my liver infection did. I believe it's just nerves from the stress of being looked down on for not going to the protest.....it's been hard to deal with 85006 social disapproval but one quirk of my personality is that when I have a hunch I go with it and social disapproval only makes me go with my hunches even more, and it doesn't matter where the social disapproval comes from - it can be lateral social class disapproval like in this case and I still don't yield.
I do respect all the protesters going downtown today - from the 85006 and otherwise - but I'm not equal to it. I truly have a hunch something awful is going to happen. I think I'll drop by the neighborhood Catholic church - though I don't know if the doors are open after morning mass - and see if I can get in to light a candle or two for peace downtown today. Please, all of you that are willing to, please send good thoughts not to the 85006 but rather to the downtown Convention Center where Trump will be appearing. Just good thoughts of peace and no insane drama........and I'm off to make some ginger tea for my nausea. I hope some here will understand my reasons for not going downtown today........Rob
PS Came back to add that I just got a call from the girlfriend of the roofer a few doors down - she's not going either, at the request of her boyfriend. I'm glad to not be alone in this but I don't like the boyfriend's reason - he said he's afraid that if Trump is here to grant a pardon to Arpaio this may escalate things between the police and the protesters and the police may just start gunning protestors down, knowing that as American police they will at most get a slap on the wrist and face no real consequences. I actually hadn't thought of that - my hunch was more along the lines of something happening to Trump, but I could totally see this happening, too. Jeepers I'm glad my husband will be working indoors and not outside protesting!!!!! A very scary day today - the more I think of it, the more I worry for all the protestors (and it's not just the 85006, I understand there a busloads of college kids coming over from Arizona State University to protest, along with some coming up from U of A in Tucson and my alma mater, NAU in Flagstaff - young people with their whole lives ahead of them vulnerable to the American police. I can't help but be very afraid. Let's hope that nothing bad happens and even if there are skirmishes, no deaths. Please, no deaths. On either side of the equation - no deaths. Rob