Talking politics with strangers

I had the pleasure of working as a private tour guide for a family from Texas recently. It’s fun to let people tell you what they think and not tell them what you think or challenge their views. Love is the answer.

Immigrants

The husband was a police officer. He was grateful that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has been rounding up undocumented immigrants and shipping them to sanctuary cities.

“These sanctuary cities should know what we are dealing with,” he said.

Don’t vaccinate

His wife, a veterinarian, lectured me about how rabies vaccines cause health problems in dogs.

“Vaccines aren’t safe. At most, you should vaccinate every 5 years at most” she said of Gord.

I figured it was probably good not to ask about Covid vaccines because I probably know the answer.

What should have happened Jan. 6

This one shocked me.

“The problem was when those people attacked the Capitol, the police didn’t shoot them all and teach America what happens when you attack the sacred halls of Democracy,” she said.

I didn’t think it was possible to get more to the right than calling them peaceful tourists but working in shooting them all, what a special take.

Finally, on gender

She also ranted about the need to return to an America where things were simpler, like the time when there were only two genders.

Later in the day her teenage son looked at me and said “today, I identify as a squirrel. I am a squirrel.”

I looked at him, as an apparently heterosexual, girl-crazed boy and said “you look more like a dog to me.”

We shared a laugh, and I chuckled inside. It’s not schools that indoctrinate our kids. We do that – they see how we live, how we work, and echo our words.

He had two working, healthy parents with the economic means to own a motor coach and tow a Jeep from Texas to Letchworth. I am pretty sure he won the lottery. He was born a squirrel.