I was sitting on a bench outside the Los Angeles Union
Station, waiting for a friend to pick me up. I
had taken a lovely and relaxing train ride
from San Diego to Los Angeles and was basking
in the afterglow of a few hours untethered to
purpose, people-watching, ruminating, and
enjoying the higher than usual heat. I was all
spread out on the bench, and startled when a
seasoned sister asked if I minded moving my
things so she could sit. So I moved them and
she plopped down and began talking, even as I
tried to read at my book. Her monologue
commanded attention, though, so I put my book
aside to listen.
Sis talked about all the deals she got in the garment
district and proceeded to show them to me. A
purse she got for eight dollars, a shawl, and
a romper for her granddaughter. Then she said,
I should not be shopping, but it’s better than
drinking or drugging. Okay. I look at her,
now, fully. She is walnut brown with snow
white hair. Just a few years older than me, I
wonder if this is my future. Junk shopping and
talking a mile a minute to a stranger.
She says she paid too much for the shawl she bought, and
she really doesn’t need it. I can buy it from
her at a discount, she says, half of what she
paid for it. I declined the offer, and hoped
the conversation would shut down but it did
not. Sis got onto the subject of inflation and
started talking about high prices. They are
coming down, I say. Not enough, she says, and
talks about the price of eggs, a sore point
for everyone. In October 2014, egg prices
averaged $1.95 a dozen. According to the St.
Louis Fed, they peaked at $4.83 in January
2023. This August, they were $3.20 a dozen. I
have enough sense to know that this sister
does not want to hear about supply chains or
economic trends, so I just listen, hoping my
friends will come soon.
I was mentally drifting from the conversation, when my
seatmate jolts me to attention. That’s why I’m
voting for Trump, she says. He can handle “the
inflation” better than she can. Really? I say.
What makes you think that? Well, isn’t she a
Communist, sister says. Where did you hear
that from? The news, she says. Don’t you watch
the news? I laugh. I watch the news nearly
24/7 I tell her. What do you watch? she asks.
Mostly CNN and MSNBC, I say. See, I watch Fox.
Humph! I almost spit out my water. And Tucker
Carlson says she is a Communist. Do you fact
check any of this? I ask. Not really. They say
it all the time, it must be true. Why would
they lie?
Exhale. I write down a couple of things for her to check
out. I tell her they are lying. I ask if she
voted for Kamala before, since she has been on
a statewide ballot thrice before, both as
Attorney General twice, and United States
Senator. My seatmate says, yes, I voted for
her, but I did not know she was a Communist.
But she isn’t, I exclaim, perhaps a bit
loudly. Well, if you are going to get mad, I
am going to go sit someplace else. Stay, I
say. My friends will be here soon. And I
really want to understand why Fox is your
primary source of news. We chat a bit more,
but she is not budging. Fox tells her the Vice
President is a Communist and she believes it.
And talking to me isn’t going to change her
mind.
This reminds me of the obtuse Kellyanne Conway, the former
Trump aide who, when caught in a lie said, “we
have our own facts.” Or JD Vance who says he
will make up stories about immigrants eating
pets if it brings attention to the immigration
crisis. Where do you get your news from? How
does it shape your views? How will it affect
your vote? And how many of us have the
fortitude to enter into challenging
conversations to debunk Fox lies? We have just
a few weeks to get the facts out there.
My train station conversation reminded me of the gulf that
separates so many of us. Two Black women of a
certain age, with a very different lens on
truth.
