When I first moved into my duplex unit, I was quite pleased. The other half wasn't occupied, and I lived on the side closest to the driveway. The neighborhood was quiet, and I was close to all the food and stores I needed, including a dispensary I often frequented. I set a few chairs out on the porch, would sit out in the evenings smoking medical marijuanaand even enjoyed inviting my friends over a few times. But that is no longer the case.
New Neighbors
One day, I arrived home from the dispensary with a brand new bag of goodies. I was eager to smoke one of the prerolls I picked up as I had gotten it for free as part of a sale. When I got to my house I discovered my landlord out font, and a family moving things out of a minivan into the unit next to mine. I walked up and said Hi, and he waved and said these were the new tenants for the unit next to mine. He didn't introduce me to any of them, and left shortly after. I was surprised to see 10-12 people all carrying things inside the small unit, some of them checking out the property and sitting in my lawn chairs. I figured they we're family and friends helping move in, and that they were only being loud that night because they were celebrating the new house. It didn't really set until couple days later that all 10-12 of these people would be living next to me, hanging out on the porch drinking and being loud every night. None of them speak english and I have no idea who any of them are.
I became upset and even considered moving. However, after contemplating it, I quickly realized the racist implications of doing so. I had to accept their culture and come to the terms with the fact that my comfortable life prior to this was all due to my white privilege. And so my learning process began. Here are a few of the highlights of the things I learned:
Banging on trash cans is a norm; breaking glass is a childhood pastime
When the 5 kids living next door aren't at school or inside, they are outside having fun. Their favorite game is to break glass. They always have plenty of glass bottles to break and enjoy throwing them on the back porch and the driveway. They smash them in the back yard against cinder blocks all the time. When they don't have glass to break, they are making music by banging on the trash can lids for hours. Nobody will stop them or tell them to be quiet. They will continue tl bang on the trash can lids with sticks and stuff. You just have to accept it.
Screaming and arguing at all hours of the night isn't unusual
Sometimes when emotions run high, my neighbors would scream, slam doors, or even throw things or hit eachother. The kids would often be in the same room witnessing the abuse. Our overtly white cultural practices may cause us to feel uncomfortable by situations like this, but we should accept that they happen, and not encroach by reporting it to the police. That brings us onto our next point...
The police will never be called
One night, my car got broken into. The thief smashed a window and stole my bluetooth speaker, some cash, and a dab cartridge. I am a medical patient, so I wasn't worried about telling the cops about it. As I went to call the police, two of my neighbors saw what I was doing and began waving their arms and saying no repeatedly. They seemed to look frantic and scared. Suddenly images from Twitter and the news flashed in my head: George Floyd pleading for help as he lay suffering, police stomping and crushing his windpipe and laughing as he slowly died in agony. I put my phone away and said ok. The police wouldn't have helped anyways, and whoever took the stuff from my car needed it more than I did. Though I don't understand why they found it necessary to bash my mirrors off and rip my insurance papers up as well.
I was amazed by the resiliency of my neighbors. Despite there being a break in just a hour earlier, they were our back drinking and laughing that night with no problems. I found it amazing. That was one thing they loved to do, drink and cookout on the porch.
Yes, they killed a chicken in the yard with a hammer
One afternoon there was the usual evening festivities going on outside my bedroom window. People were drinking, kids were throwing bottles and smashing trash can lids, and they were playing their music from a new bluetooth speaker at the highest volume setting. I heard a commotion and peeked out the window to see an extremely drunk man on the ground swinging a hammer at a chicken. Everyone burst out laughing and he beat the chicken to death with the hammer. I was shocked and horrified but stayed in my room silent.
Smoking marijuana is a no no
Since there were numerous children running around outside all day, I decided to smoke a small amount of bud indoors one day. After a few minutes of it, I heard a loud banging at my door. One of the people next door, a muscular guy with a lot of tattoos was yelling angrily in spanish and banging on my door. I begged and pleaded for him to stop but couldnt understand a word he was saying and I don't think he heard or understood a thing I said. He stopped after a few minutes. I opted out of calling the police that time as well for obvious reasons. I could not allow them to hurt or kill a POC. Even the thought of them taking one to jail makes me feel sick. What my neighbor did was wrong but he doesn't deserve that! I have resorted to blowing clouds of smoke into the toilet and flushing them.
In conclusion, living with mexican neighbors is a learning process that takes time and patience. But if you don't want to be racist, you have to accept it and see things from their perspective. So the next time you think about calling the police on domestic abuse or a violent crime, consider the consequences, the implications, and how your white privilege influences the situation.
Read more by Dr. Elmo CookieKush:
So true btw this is perhaps one of the best pieces of literature I have ever read in my entire life. I looked through your website and your review of george floyd og really was awesome!
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