Donald Trump is a racist, and he enjoys hurting people, including Mexicans. But I’m not talking about him. There are at least 120 million racists in the United States, but I am not talking about them. Those people want to actively create laws, implement policies, build walls, restrict immigration, and use violence to harm Mexicans. That is not apathy
I am talking about the Americans who are sure they are not racists, who say they oppose Donald Trump, who claim to be disgusted by separating immigrant families, who have no idea that the US is violating international law by placing a limit on the number of refugees the US will accept, or who didn’t even know that Donald Trump implemented a refugee limit. I’m probably talking about you.
Three Americans are supporting my recovery. Three. But a small group of Mexicans has rescued me homelessness, they have rearranged their lives so they can feed me, they go out of their way to help me get the medicines I need, and they put a ton of effort into helping me turn the vicious cycle of poverty and illness into a virtuous cycle of healing and happiness.
My life here is certainly better than living on the street. I still need a few more resources, however, to stop the downward spiral of my health. I must be able to escape from the roosters and barking dogs, for example. When my biochemistry is bad, I am sensitive to some noises; if those noises trigger the release of more bad biochemicals, then I become hypersensitive to more noises. If continued noise triggers more release of bad biochemicals, I can’t eat, I have nightmares, I can’t rest, I have stomach pain, I have headaches, I have difficulty breathing, and many other problems.
Again, my life here is better than the streets. The problem is that because I am in a downward spiral, I am still getting worse. Stopping the downward spiral is not difficult, but it does require resources. I could use Bluetooth speakers to play music to block the noise, for example. Some small changes can have large benefits.
But it is unrealistic and selfish to place so much burden on the people who are supporting me here. Americans waste money by wasting food, overusing the air-conditioner, overusing the heater, driving one-quarter of a mile to the store, not carpooling or using mass transit, buying more clothes and shoes than they can possibly wear, paying for gym memberships and cable channels they never use, throwing pennies in the garbage, and many other things.
Then you read my website and say to yourself, “Oh, good! Some Mexicans are supporting Hunter so everything is OK.” But it’s not OK. I need more resources merely to reach a level where I am coping and not declining. And I need more resources to implement therapies to heal. And these wonderful people are working hard and sacrificing so that they can help me. But Americans don’t give a fuck.
Americans are too rich to give a fuck about the people in Mexico. Americans have so much luxury that you cannot imagine what life is like here in Mexico. Americans think that living in Mexico is similar to living in the US but with more tacos, tequila, and crime. (“If you want less crime, don’t drink tequila!”) So when a group of people let me sleep on a floor, give me some food, and buy me some medicine, Americans are too rich to understand that these actions are meaningful sacrifices.
America is in a panic because in a few years, the Supreme Court might allow states to ban abortions. But Americans are too rich to give a fuck about the more than 700 Mexican women who are in jail right now because they sought an abortion, had an abortion, or had a miscarriage that the court decided was a covert abortion.
I have a real opportunity to recover and to contribute to society again. I have this opportunity because of real sacrifices by people here. But in America, where almost every home has potable water from the tap, Americans are too rich to drink low brow water and you spend millions on bottled water. In Mexico, everyone also buys bottled water. Most people buy it because no tap water is potable. Some people buy it because they don’t have running water in their house.
If you and a few other Americans made some “sacrifices,” such as drinking less soda, only buying a $6 coffee three days a week, or keeping your car tires properly inflated, then you and a few other Americans could send me a little money each month. That would help me to heal and it would ease the burden that these people have selflessly volunteered to endure.
Please don’t punish them for being kind to me: support my recovery and ease their burden.
