Episode 59

The air in the small room was thick with the scent of sage and something else… something ancient and earthy that clung to the very fibers of the worn rug. It was here, in this space that felt both intimate and vast, that I sat with my husband, Ny, and his Auntie, a woman whose eyes held the wisdom of generations. We were discussing a topic that had resurfaced with a painful urgency: the deeply ingrained prejudice that still festered in corners of this land.

Auntie began, her voice a low rumble, like distant thunder. She spoke of the days when she was a young woman, just starting out with her own family. They had moved to Tooele, Utah, seeking a fresh start, a place where they could build a life. It was a simple need, really – clean clothes for work, for their children. But simple needs, it seemed, were a privilege denied.

She recounted, with a weariness that settled into her bones, the repeated rejections from every single dry cleaner in town. Each door that closed, each polite but firm refusal, carried the same venomous sting. The words, sharp and cruel, echoed in the quiet room as she repeated them, her voice trembling slightly. "We don't want your kind around here. You're nothing but a filthy savage the only good savage is a… savage." The final word, a slur so vile it choked the air, hung heavy between us.