Trump admin dumped thousands of asylum seekers in San Antonio. The city's response has been beautiful.

Tod Perry
05.23.19
Photo by Mario Tama / Getty Images

Tens of thousands of asylum-seekers from Central America’s “Northern Triangle,” comprised of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, have fled to America over recent years to escape the region’s corruption, drug trafficking, and gang violence.

After these families are processed and detained at the border, they are scheduled a court date at their final destination in America, which is usually with a friend or family member.

Last March, hundreds of these immigrants began showing up at a Greyhound bus station in San Antonio, Texas. Since then, the stop has seen around 200 or more people on a daily basis. Most of the families have only what they can carry in their hands and are in serious need of food, money, and sanitary supplies.

“The migrants arrive only with the clothes they are wearing and what they can carry, and what they can carry in most cases is their young children,” Colleen Bridger, the city’s senior public-health official, told Mother Jones.

“We get no help or funding from Washington even though we are, in effect, acting as an extension of the federal government by processing and providing vital services to these asylum seekers," Bridger continued.

So, San Antonio and its citizens have banded together to help America’s newest arrivals.

The city opened up a resource center at a shuttered Quiznos sandwich stop by the station where it has served as a haven for the weary immigrants. Here, they can call family members and are provided with a new backpack, a Red Cross blanket, soap and toiletries, a bag of 20 snacks, a small stuffed animal, crayons and a coloring book, a used English-Spanish paperback dictionary, and a reusable water bottle.

They can also enjoy a hot meal served by the San Antonio Food Bank.

Catholic Charities has been spending around $14,000 each week to pay for bus fair for the refugees to help them reach their final destination.

The immigrants sleep at nearby Travis Park Church, a Methodist congregation, with a history of serving the homeless.

The response in San Antonio stands in stark contrast to that in Washington where lawmakers have stumbled at putting together any plan to alleviate the immigration crisis.

Recently, White House advisory Jared Kushner briefed Senate Republicans on a potential plan, but was greeted with skepticism even from his own party.

While the recent arrivals have put a strain on city resources, the people of San Antonio are putting the politics of the situation aside and providing humanitarian aid however they can.

“It’s easy for things to go political when you don’t have a name and a face to go with the problem,” Bridger told Mother Jones. “We have names and faces of families who are here, so I think when it’s up close and personal, people do a better job separating the politics from the people.”

Family

Feminist blogger has a fool-proof response to the question, ‘Can I buy you a drink?’

Photo by Gregory Hayes on Unsplash

"Can I buy you a drink?" is a loaded question.

It could be an innocent request from someone who's interested in having a cordial conversation. Other time, saying "yes" means you may have to fend off someone who feels entitled to spend the rest of the night with you.

In the worst-case scenario, someone is trying to take advantage of you or has a roofie in their pocket.

Feminist blogger Jennifer Dziura found a fool-proof way to stay safe while understanding someone's intentions: ask for a non-alcoholic beverage or food. If they're sincerely interested in spending some time getting to know you, they won't mind buying something booze-free.

RELATED: States are starting to require mental health classes for all students. It's about dang time.

But if it's their intention to lower your defenses, they'll throw a mild tantrum after you refuse the booze. Her thoughts on the "Can I buy you a drink?" conundrum made their way to Tumblr.

via AshleysCo / Tumblr


via AshleysCo / Tumblr

The posts caught the attention of a bartender who knows there are lot of men out there whose sole intention is to get somone drunk to take advantage.

"Most of the time, when someone you don't know is buying you a drink, they're NOT doing it out of a sense of cordiality," the bartender wrote. "They're buying you a drink for the sole purpose of making you let your guard down."

So they shared a few tips on how to be safe and social when someone asks to buy you a drink.

From the other side of the bar, I see this crap all the time. Seriously. I work at a high-density bar, and let me tell you, I have anywhere from 10-20 guys every night come up and tell me to, "serve her a stronger drink, I'm trying to get lucky tonight, know what I mean?" usually accompanied with a wink and a gesture at a girl who, in my experience, is going to go from mildly buzzed to definitively hammered if I keep serving her. Now, I like to think I'm a responsible bartender, so I usually tell guys like that to piss off, and, if I can, try to tell the girl's more sober friends that they need to keep an eye on her.
But everyone- just so you know, most of the time, when someone you don't know is buying you a drink, they're NOT doing it out of a sense of cordiality, they're buying you a drink for the sole purpose of making you let your guard down.

Tips for getting drinks-

1. ALWAYS GO TO THE BAR TO GET YOUR OWN DRINK, DO NOT LET STRANGERS CARRY YOUR DRINKS. This is an opportune time for dropping something into your cocktail, and you're none the wiser.

2.IF YOU ORDER SOMETHING NON-ALCOHOLIC, I promise you, the bartender doesn't give two shits that you're not drinking cocktails with your friends, and often, totally understands that you don't want to let your guard down around strangers. Usually, you can just tell the bartender that you'd like something light, and that's a big clue to us that you're uncomfortable with whomever you're standing next to. Again, we see this all the time.

3. If you're in a position to where you feel uncomfortable not ordering alcohol:
Here's a list of light liquors, and mixers that won't get you drunk, and will still look like an actual cocktail:

X-rated + sprite = easy to drink, sweet, and 12% alcoholic content. Not strong at all, usually runs $6-$8, depending on your state.
Amaretto + sour= sweet, not strong, 26%.
Peach Schnapps+ ginger ale= tastes like mellow butterscotch, 24%.
Melon liquor (Midori, in most bars) + soda water = not overly sweet, 21%
Coffee liquor (Kahlua) +soda = not super sweet, 20%.
Hope this helps someone out!

RELATED: Permit denied for 'straight pride' parade in California

If you do accept a drink from someone at a bar and you want to talk, there's no need to feel obligated to spend the rest of the night with them.

Jaqueline Whitmore, founder of The Protocol School of Palm Beach, says to be polite you only have to "Engage in some friendly chit-chat, but you are not obligated to do more than that."

If someone asks to buy you a drink and you don't want it, Whitmore has a great tip. "Say thank you, but you are trying to cut back, have to drive or you don't accept drinks from strangers," Whitmore says.

What if they've already sent the drink over? "Give the drink to the bartender and tell him or her to enjoy it," Whitmore says.

Have fun. Stay safe, and make sure to bring a great wing-man or wing-woman with you.

alcohol bars single dating safety
Well Being

Need to relax? Try jasmine, which may be as effective as a sedative, study claims

Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Unsplash

Jasmine has been used as a natural treatment for depression, anxiety, and stress for thousands of years. Oil from the plant has also been used to treat insomnia and PMS, and is considered a natural aphrodisiac. It turns out, our ancestor's instincts to slather on the oil when they wanted a little R&R were correct.

A study, published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, and according to Professor Hanns Hatt of the Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany, revealed that jasmine can calm you down when you're feeling anxious.The results can "be seen as evidence of a scientific basis for aromatherapy."

"Instead of a sleeping pill or a mood enhancer, a nose full of jasmine from Gardenia jasminoides could also help, according to researchers in Germany. They have discovered that the two fragrances Vertacetal-coeur (VC) and the chemical variation (PI24513) have the same molecular mechanism of action and are as strong as the commonly prescribed barbiturates or propofol," says the study.

Keep Reading Show less
Nature

The first Republican in Congress has signed on to an assault weapons ban

We can do this. Don't give up hope.


Rep. Peter King (R-NY) is a name you should remember. If you don't follow politics closely, remember his name because he's the first Republican in Congress to openly join the call for a renewed federal ban on assault weapons.

If you're a Democrat or a diehard progressive partisan, remember his name because it's proof that as a nation we can put principles before party and walk across the political aisle to get things done.

If you're a Republican, remember his name as evidence that real leadership in politics sometimes means risking your reputation to do what is right even when most of your colleagues disagree or lack the political courage to go first.

But let's allow Rep. King to explain himself in his own words:

Keep Reading Show less
Democracy