Me: Did you see the latest news on Trump. Crazy times. Such anti-immigrant hysterics. Incredible racism rearing its ugly head.
TLIA: Seriously. My cousin from India applied for a Green Card and it’s going to take a long time now, it may not even happen. He’s super successful and wants to build a business here. Trump is so racist it is insane.
Me: Yeah, I agree. Of course Obama wasn’t exactly progressive on immigration but with Trump the agenda is so clear and so much aligned with White Supremacism.
TLIA: Well, Obama was so much better. On immigration, he focused on the uneducated types who just want to reap the benefits of the USA. I mean, people like my cousin work hard and build businesses. I get the need to keep the borders controlled but Trump is just a racist. This Make America Great Again stuff is hilarious. There are other great countries –like India.
Me: Well I guess we can agree on some stuff. The whole world is losing any liberal bearings. I mean look at Trump, Putin, Modi, Duterte, Orban, Boris Johnson, and Bolsonaro. This is a depressing time.
TLIA: Modi? He’s awesome.
Me: Yeah Modi…..
TLIA: Oh come on, India needed a real leader. We’re the smartest people in the world –look at Silicon Valley and all our doctors. India needs to grow and not take the Socialism path of Congress. If you aren’t part of the growth, get out of the way. There is actually so much money in India, we just need to use it to our favor and not give it to politicians. We are so much greater than China.
Me: Sorry, what? Huh?
TLIA: Look, he is trying to clean up India. People think we’re poor. We’re actually rich. We could have a bigger economy than China or the US if we wanted. Modi can grow India’s economy and keep all the anti-Indian voices in check. He’s done it well. He understands real immigration policy. He has so quickly undone all the foolishness of Nehru.
Me: You know, there is not universal support of Modi even within India. Not even close.
TLIA: Everyone supports Modi other than the terrorists and the people who want India to fail. All my family in India is massively pro-Modi. He’s so much smarter than anyone else. Look at how he has made India so proud in the world. He even tackled the Coronavirus after the Chinese released it. He has shown how much we can teach the whole world.
Me: Anyway we disagree on India, back to the US.
TLIA: Yeah, well we have an election this year.
Me: Bummer that Sanders bowed out.
TLIA: You like him? Insane. He’s a Socialist. It doesn’t work. I hate Trump but I’d never vote for Sanders. He is not pro-India. Even Trump is better for India and the economy than Bernie. But Joe Biden is the best. He gets it. We need to stand together as one.
Me: Well, I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree on that.
TLIA: Okay, I need to get to my golf game then take my son to coding class.
Me: Yeah, you do that.
Romi Mahajan in an Author, Marketer, Investor, and Activist
Originally published in Medium
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