On Utah, Uber drivers, the coastal elite, and the political makings of America.
From the cozy corner of the “coastal elite city” that I call home, Brooklyn, NY, I don’t often viscerally feel the political divisiveness that is pervasive throughout the country.
I chose not to surround myself with racists, bigots, or white supremacists. (Any sane person would do the same.)
But in a state like Utah, things are up for grabs. Uber rides are like a box of chocolates; you never know who you’re gonna get. And my Uber drivers around Park City have been nothing short of fascinating.
It has been a case study on the political diversity of America. I’ve had a front-row seat (or, really, a back seat, because I sit in the back of Ubers) on the inner workings of politics in this country while taking Ubers in and around Park City for the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.
I’ve learned a few things on my Uber rides commuting back and forth between Park City and my Airbnb.
For starters, the people are chatty.
Unlike the occasional Uber rides that I take in NYC, which are often silent, my conversations here were filled with boisterous back-and-forth banter. I spoke with a man from Ghana who had been living in Salt Lake City for 12 years. He encouraged me to visit Accra. Nice, friendly people, he said, who want nothing in exchange from you. Unlike the Nigerians. (His words, not mine. I know Nigerians, they are lovely people!)
I spoke with another man from Venezuela. After chatting back and forth about Hugo Chavez, about Cuba and Fidel Castro, and about the current “political situation” (of course, he celebrated the U.S. capture of Maduro… I didn’t have the heart to tell him that the U.S. was not there to help the Venezuelan people… but instead to steal oil…), as we turned the corner to my AirBnb, he closed the convo telling me that I was misinformed… and that I needed to go do my research. (How dare he…) Little did he know I had a PhD in Latin American history… acquired from YouTube, Eduardo Galeano books, and my own travels through Latin America. Hah.
But my most interesting conversation was with Frank, a 80-something year old white man from California. Being from California, I thought we’d be… aligned.
Another thing I’ve learned, is to be vague about what I do for work and what I’m working on with the documentary.
Because according to Republicans. I might be what you call a woke leftist. A domestic terrorist. Antifa. I think a cookie addict, aspiring photographer, lover girl is more accurate. But I digress.
And several of my Uber convo have turned awkward, silent or tense after I tell them I’m working on a documentary about Black and Brown climate activists fighting authoritarianism in the country.
With Frank, I began to fill in the pieces of his political beliefs as slivers of the conversation revealed who the man behind the wheel really was.
He told me he was from California. “Why’d you leave?” I asked.
“Things really started to change.” Hmm. Change?
“How so?” I asked.
“Well, my sons had to go to three separate schools because California started integrating them. So we got out of there right after that.” Whoop. Noted.
We also started talking about Sundance. Trying to make conversation, I asked him, “Soooo, why do you think Sundance is leaving Park City?”
“Of course, politics.” He went on to say something about how the liberals were offended by the politics of the rest of the state.
Well, Frank, of course!! Why in the WORLD would anyone want to give their money to a state or to people who do not believe in their existence? (There were neo-Nazis walking Main Street, punching politicians.)
We also started talking about the snow. It’s been an unseasonally snowless winter in Utah. I brought my snowboard and was not able to hit the slopes in what I’ve heard is some of the most beautiful, powdery snow.
As we talk about the snow, I bit my tongue, going back and forth on whether I should follow up.
I did.
“Why do you think that is?”
Silence. He didn’t answer. And it could have been because he was partially deaf. He was 80ish. And much of our convo included him asking me to repeat what I said. Because he could not hear.
But this ALSO could have been the perfect time to NOT hear me. Because what could one say but climate change?
If you are still reading, I’ll be honest with you. I’ve never been this close and intimate with a bigot. I try to keep my distance.I had the urge to confront him. To be direct. To ask him with genuine curiosity in my voice, “So how does it feel to be a racist?” I waffled back and forth, weighed the pros and cons as one might play with fidget toys.
But after doing the math, I was in the middle of nowhere with this man, in his car, in his state. I thought I could take him on…in fact, I knew I could. But then I’d stand no chance against a gun. After all, it is Utah.
As I neared my destination, our conversation ended on an even more sour note, but a predictable one at that. “You know,” he said… “All the passengers from New York and California never tip.”
“Interesting,” I said. Well well well, I wonder why.
I went on to say something about how Europeans, I noticed, also don’t tip. Trying to quip back. It’s not a part of their culture. He chimed in, “Not just Europeans, the Australians, too.” Ok Frank.
As I got out of the car, I struggled with a real moral dilemma… should I tip this man? As a Black person, my own guilt and shame often guide me to be overly generous, to overtip, even in shitty customer service situations. Would the same logic apply here? What would Jesus do? Ahhhh.
As I rushed to my destination, I looked at the Uber app.
Would you like to give Frank a tip?
I would love to lie to you. And tell you that in that moment, I clicked NO. I stood up for myself and for all the people Frank obviously had a strong disposition against.
But I tipped him $6. And went about my day. As Michelle Obama said, “When they go low, we go high.”
Fortunately, God had other plans for me!! Because when I got home later that night and re-opened the Uber app… it proceeded to ask me again, “Would you like to give Frank a tip?” The original tip, because of the horrible cell service, did not go through.
I clicked NO.
Becauuuuse WHY in the WORLD would anyone want to give their money…
You know.