I went to the grocery store last week. I haven’t been physically inside a grocery store in a couple of months because I often use Instacart. Food prices are almost ridiculous now. I wanted to bake this weekend and needed vanilla extract, which cost $24. I thought it must be a mistake, so I asked the staff if that was correct. It was. I decided not to buy it, so there was no baking. I saw many people in the store putting items back on the shelves and some checking out only to remove food before the clerk completed the bill. I also saw people stealing items. This is a Saturday at the grocery store.
There was an older woman in the store, intentionally shopping and talking to anyone who would listen. She pushed her cart, holding a cane, up and down the aisle, talking and walking. She told me that every week she comes to the store, the prices have gone up—a can of beans used to be five cans for $2.00. Now, one costs $2.00. I could tell she was counting as she shopped. I handed her $20 and looked away, with tears in my eyes. This should not be.
I went to the health/cosmetics care section of the store looking for baby oil, only to find that it was closed and replaced with liquor. I visited Walgreens for the same item, and now everything is locked up, including toothpaste, aspirin, and vitamins. You have to ask a clerk to unlock the cases to get your items. Unbelievable. I couldn’t wait in the line that was about a block long. I will probably order from Amazon.
Last week, I was reaching out to corporate clients to buy advertising for N’DIGO STUDIO when I came across the Trump rant on DEI. It’s real. Corporations are stepping back from small businesses, Black businesses, and women’s businesses. They say we are now more “conservative.” They say we might be too “woke.” What the hell does that mean? It means Black small businesses are seriously threatened. It does not matter what your category is. We’ve been doing business for 10 years; what are you talking about? Then the truth comes out: we’re afraid of Trump. I also discovered that some companies are redefining DEI to mean opportunity.
So, the fundamentals of business are changing. My reply to some was, “Have you been watching Target?” Business is business, and customers are customers, was my point. Can a big company really afford to lose millions of customers? The better companies are becoming innovative and will stay in business, but some are pulling back. Some small companies that sell beauty and hair care products to Black women are facing challenges. They had their products on the Target shelves. And what about PBS and National Public Radio (NPR) ? Will they vanish before our very eyes with new and different programming? I hope not.
Trump Banned Words…
Trump is showing us the power of words. Words don’t necessarily mean what they used to mean. Some words are bad, some are distorted, some are whatever. Tribune Columnist John Kass just wrote in his latest blog some of those words on the “Blacklist.”
“Among the blacklisted terms: privilege …violence (as in “environmental violence”) … dialoguing … triggering … othering
… microaggression … holding space … body shaming … subverting norms … systems of oppression … cultural appropriation … Overton window … existential threat to [the climate, democracy, economy] … radical transparency … stakeholders … the
unhoused … food insecurity … housing insecurity … person who immigrated … birthing person … cisgender … deadnaming … heteronormative atriarchy … LGBTQIA+ … BIPOC … allyship … incarcerated people … involuntary confinement.”
And then there is the concern of whether the military troops are coming to Chicago in a Gestapo style and play good guy, bad guy in our city. Where will the troops go? Will they visit the Magnificent Mile, Grant Park, Englewood, or Lawndale. What does it all mean?
We constantly hear the President of the United States insult our mayor and governor with disrespect, calling them “stupid” and disregarding their positions and authority as he breaks all rules and protocols.
Then, I went to an outdoor cookout, and the conversation was about leaving the country and where we should go. I heard one person talk about getting dual citizenship, so if America becomes too bad, he would leave for a new land. I heard from another friend last week that she had bought a condo in Ghana.
And just consider, Trump hasn’t even served a year in office yet.
Daily living in America is becoming B-I-T-C-H-Y.
