3 Black Women on Occupy Wall Street (2 of 3): At my local chain coffee shop.

The other Sunday the weekend after the local mayor busted the Occupy Wall Street protestors in my city for a 2nd time and arrested over 100, I stopped through the local chain coffee shop to get some coffee and enjoy the late afternoon out on their patio, and asked the upper 30s (black) woman who's a barista if she heard how many people exactly got arrested.

"I didn't hear that that happened again," she was like, "But I am happy people are doing something," and she started talking about how people are drowning in student loans and how banks only think of shareholders and keep doing crazy ATM fees and deceptive loans etc., to make money off people who have nothing and funnel it to the top.

She also said she the mayor better be careful busting the protestors like this, because people will start getting pissed at him - a sentiment a late 30s well-dressed (white) professional woman agreed with, saying she was already getting angry.

3 Black Women on Occupy Wall Street (1 of 3): On the subway.

The other week I was on the subway going downtown after school and I happened to sit next to this mid-40s (black) woman, and we ended up chatting after the train was stopped at one station a while and we started bitching about when it would start up again.

Then, I told her I was going with a friend to see the Occupy Wall Street protests (or at least my city's version of it) downtown.

"Are you going to see it, or are you going to join it?", she said, looking at me questioningly.

"Actually, to join it for a bit," I said.

"Good!", she was like, then she said she totally gets it and would go if she could, but she can't with work and kids. She then said she lost her house over 2 years ago and has had to take out payday loans to make ends meet sometimes, and it's criminal what the banks do to people.

We also started talking about GOP presidential candidates.

"Mormon has nothing to do with it!", she was like, "An asshole is an asshole!"

Met a Syrian (2 of 2): Church.

So, the (Syrian) guy I met was Catholic (he says 10% of Syria is), and still goes to church here.

He says church here is more atomized, because back in Syria it was a chance to see family members and friends you hadn't seen in a while and catch up, whereas here people don't live near their extended families like that.

He also said that it's quite obvious that people are age have fallen away from the Catholic church; very few people go, and he's met so many people who have gone through the sacraments, but just don't attend. He said that that drop-off in #s seems huge and is just shocking.

That is actually the same thing the Latin priest was saying 2 summers ago! He said that's the major unrecognized problem in the Church right now.

Met a Syrian (1 of 2): Facebook.

So I met a(n early 30s) Syrian doctor the other day.

I was asking him about the Arab spring, and he said a friend of his who's a physician wrote something on Facebook that the government interpreted as anti-government, so they showed up in the middle of the night and took him away.

That was six months ago, and his parents received word last week that his location is still unknown.

My parents on the Koch Bros. etc.

So I sent my dad that one Mother Jones expose "inside the political action rally of the Koch Bros.".

He read it, and was even more disturbed than he had been.

When I asked him about vote suppression, he said he's been watching for that in the news, and is really disturbed, and he just doesn't know what this country is coming to.

As for my mom, she hadn't read the article, but said she would.

As for vote suppression, she thought it was unfair, but she said, "Just you watch, there'll be lawsuits about this," trying to comfort me that everything would turn out all right - which I do think she believes will happen.

Friday night on the subway, Halloween weekend.

So Friday after class I stuck around to work all day and then go to the gym, then I met friends at the student bar, and since I stuck around to say hi to the Catalan (he didn't show up till 11pm), I set out for home very late.

Just as we were getting to downtown, the only people on the subway car was this (fat) (tired-looking) (middle-aged) (black) woman and two young (black) guys, and when we pull up to this station and the subway doors opened, there was just this shrieking coming in, and we all look out to see like 10-12 (early 20s) (white) girls dressed up in very skimpy outfits and all drunk off their ass and one crying and shouting at the top of her lungs while the makeup from her face ran because of her tears, "WAIT, WE CAN'T GET ON NOW, WE HAVE TO TAKE THE NEXT TRAIN, WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR..."

At that, the (black) woman just lifted up her fat arm and shook her finger and looked off nowhere in particular and said loudly and firmly, "Aww, hell no."

And, the guys started shouting out, "Yeah, that's right, take the next train!"

Fortunately, the doors did close, and that huge group had to wait for the next train.

Halloween weekend post: (white) (American) girl costumes.

So the (half British) (half Sudanese) sister of my one (half British) (half Sudanese) friend lives in this same city since her husband is here, and she started up law school here.

The other week she was telling me about all the parties they have at her law school, and how a lot of them are dress-up and it's an excuse for the (white) girls to get raging drunk and then dress up in as little as possible.

"And the next day you're in class and all in the lecture hall," she was like, "And we're supposed to sit as if everything is normal, as if I hadn't seen them in their underwear the previous night."