Notebook of a Nomad

1/5/25

After we checked into the hotel in Brisbane, we walked to the park with a ferris wheel and plenty of shops and restaurants.

1/6/25

Crikey! What a beautiful zoo! We started our day going to the Steve Irwin Zoo which has a huge footprint that allows for a lot of space for the animals to roam. We saw tigers, giraffes, rhinos, and of course crocodiles. Steve’s son, wife, daughter, and son in law all hosted the crocodile show which is rare according to our bus driver.

Today’s adventure was a van trip to a few different hikes, a small village for lunch, and a man-made glow worm cave. It was a small group in our van with 7 tourists, 4 of which were myself, my uncle, my aunt, and their friend . The beginning of the trip included the standard introductions. We gave our name, where we’re from, and one interesting fact. I told everyone that I was on a world tour and plan to hit every continent in 2025. There were a few followup questions as people were intrigued by the journey and wanted to know more.

After lunch we had some time to explore a little strip of shops, cafes, and restaurants. I had the cinnamon roll that was highly recommended by our tour guide. It was fine. lol. It was paired with a coffee. Since the rest of my crew went next door to the brewery, I sat down next to the couple from LA who seemed friendly and expressed interest in my travels. Jose and Scott have been together for 26 years. Jose is a flight attendant so they travel quite a bit. I made sure to ask them about their favorite experiences during their travels and the Galápagos Islands and their African Safari were among their favorites. 

I showed them my tentative itinerary and asked for their input. After a while it felt appropriate to share more of my background regarding my accident, the long litigation process and my surgeries. I told them that my trip was a way to celebrate putting all that behind me. I added that I wasn’t happy with the recent election outcome and that landed like a malfunctioning Boeing plane.

I thought that the gay couple from LA who love experiencing different parts of the world would not be a fan of Trump. Especially since Jose is Mexican and Trump has spent the last decade scapegoating Mexicans. Realizing that I made a miscalculation, I quickly turned the conversation back to travels. That transition was easy as they didn’t want to mention politics at all and I’m guessing it was because they think differently than me. We continued to have a nice chat until they headed to a souvenir shop.  

Before getting on the bus I was talking to Scott and Jose again and decided to show Scott a picture of my car after the accident.

Scott was amazed that I survived and asked me if it made me see the world differently. I told him “Not really. I feel like the same person today as I was before the accident.” I admitted that it changed my perspective on a few things. Because how could it not?

Jose asked me if I had a “born again” moment, which is a term I associate with born again Christians. I assume Jose’s faith explains his apparent support for Trump. The majority of christians love Trump and many think that god saved him from assassination attempts. It doesn’t matter that Trump’s ideology is the antithesis of the teachings of Jesus which makes it the antithesis of christianity. These christians abandoned Jesus a long time ago.

Trump has been intentionally cruel to Californians, Mexicans, and gay people. It really is astounding that they could support a man who so clearly despises who they are. And if Trump doesn’t despise them himself, at minimum, he stokes anger and resentments against them as a political tool.

I think politics can often be described as the “in-group” vs the “out-group.” Gay people were part of the out-group for a long time. They supported democrats because democrats represent out-groups. Once four liberal justices and one moderate conservative justice made gay marriage a constitutional right, I think it freed some to act more selfishly and look out for themselves now that they feel part of the “in-group.”

I think the same is true for latino voters who support Trump. They feel like they’re part of the “in-group” since they’re here legally. They don’t want to acknowledge that republicans hate immigrants because they are brown, not because they are undocumented. Many latinos are so desperate to be part of the “in-group” that they tell themselves that republicans would classify them as “one of the good ones” since they’re here legally. That’s a really bad bet. Especially since Trump has proposed removing birthright citizenship. (Since writing this, Trump has done what he said he would do and has issued an executive order eliminating birthright citizenship.)

As far as California goes, Trump raised taxes on all blue state residents by revoking the state tax deduction for federal taxes, a move designed to target democrats. He also tried to withhold federal aid to California during their wildfires when he was president. An aide had to convince him to release the aid by showing that the affected county/counties actually voted for Trump.

I know I’m supposed to be writing about my travels but I just don’t understand how so many people can subscribe to an ideology based on hatred. Especially the people who are the targets of that hatred but still support Trump. It’s incredibly confounding and I’m still processing so much of it.