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The Justice Dept on Netroots Radio Presents: "What Makes Her Look Away?" [1]

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Date: 2023-03-19  

It bothers me, this feeling of trespassing,

taking certain bus routes

from Walthamstow, from Elephant and Castle.

Their colourful clothes, their dreadlocks,

the curiosity in that young boy's stare,

his white teeth when he smiles.

I catch one white woman saying to another,

"I wouldn't like my children growing up here.

It's so . . . multicultural."

What makes her look away? Why does she tremble?

Who are those in parka jackets, waiting in the darkness

for the first bus in Hounslow, in Tooting, in Oval?

Baristas. Cleaners. Bus drivers. Sales assistants.

Lives measured in shifts and toilet breaks,

happiness in the annual leave they take.

What about that man in the local

chicken shop? He's been frying drumsticks

for years and years. Does he ever speak?

I know who that Chinese girl is outside

Canary Wharf station, handing leaflets

to passers-by, on a weekend, for a few quid.

She studies management by day

and in the evening swipes meats and fruits

at the counter, but she'd stoop for any

job in this country, if it means she can stay.

Why does the Uber driver tell me

his story? He works seven days a week,

has never been to the theatre.

In Pakistan, his father is dying.

He's saving every penny for his children.

Nothing you can't buy with money. He smiles.

The cab passes slowly through the streets

in Chelsea, disappears into the traffic.

[END]
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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/3/19/2159159/-The-Justice-Dept-on-Netroots-Radio-Presents-What-Makes-Her-Look-Away

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