Last night I got a brief glimpse of what it's like to be undocumented in this country. It sucks. It's not pretty. It's hurtful. And it doesn't make sense.
I asked my friend Maria to go to the Echo with me to see Lady Sovereign last night. Lady Sovereign is an English grime (hip hop) singer of some repute who has a new CD about to drop. The Echo is an edgy club for new and emerging artists mostly. It's in an artsy area of LA, Echo Park. It's a part of town where Latinos, artists, gays and young professionals live and hang out.
I bought the tickets on the net and learned that the show was sold out (Sov has not been in the US for a year or so). There was a line in the cold and the rain, but we waited patiently.
I should mention Maria had told me she didn't like waiting in lines. I soon was to learn why. She's undocumented. She's 30 years old though maybe she could pass for a year or two younger, nothing more. That did not seem to be an issue as the age limit for the show was 18. Anyway, Maria has a fake ID but it's not a great one. She's bilingual. I wish I was, but I'm not.
So, after our long wet wait we got to the head of the line. The doorman asked for IDs. I guess he was issuing wristbands for drinking--not an issue since we were not going there for the drinks.
We showed our ID. No problem for me. Big problem for Maria. The guy took one look and said in a very loud, surly voice, "It's a fake ID! You'll have to get out of line." Then, he lifted the rope and pushed us out of the way.
I was in shock. What, you have to be a citizen to get in? It took a minute for me to realize what was going on. Maria knew at once. I could almost feel her sinking into the pavement. I could feel her hand get very warm. I tried to talk to the guy, but all I got for an answer was more "Fake ID" talk. It was like some bad movie, but it was really happening. What do you want? Letters of transit?
So many things passed through me at once--anger, sadness, embarrassment for my country and all it's been through the last 8 years, but mostly a new and sad understanding of the shit Maria encounters daily. It was so dehumanizing, I didn't want to believe it. But there it was. Are you happy Lou Dobbs? Is this what our country is about?
Maria was upset but she tried to mask it. She told me there are some parts of town where it's no problem (mostly downtown and Eastside places). But in other areas, Hollywood, Pasadena, etc., the bars and clubs will not let her in.
I keep trying to make some sense of this, but I don't get it. Why can't a person just have some fun? Where's the harm? Maria is clearly old enough, even if she can't "prove it." The irony of Maria being rejected at a club that tries to have a reputation for breaking barries (in music, at least) was hard to take. What have we become? What has happened to our humanity? Now I know why Maria doesn't like waiting in lines.