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smshige3

This land is our land


When I hear people telling others that they don’t belong and should go back to their country, it opens old wounds. I remember growing up in U.S. in the 50s and 60s when others intruded us, told us we didn't belong—to go "back to China!" As we came from Japan, that might have been funny for its ignorance if not filled with so much hatred and fear.

We were children and looked to mom to know how to deal with it. She showed us how to unapologetically assert that this was our country too—it didn’t belong to them—they even stole it from native peoples. We learned that it was okay to be upset and angry when crude people violated our space and dignity. Once she became a citizen, mom refused to be treated as an alien and so we too demanded respect and inclusion in our new country.

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