‘Cabbies in the Mist’: My Latest ‘Hot Type’ Column in Byline
My weekly Hot Type column in Byline Supplement focuses on conversations with taxi drivers in DC, London, and Paris, who are united in their hatred of Donald Trump
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“The country that gave us the Statue of Liberty as a celebration of our achievement of accelerating human freedom has watched us fall behind enemy lines… And there has not yet been time to grieve.”—me in Byline Supplement, from my latest Hot Type column
In Saturday’s Hot Type column for Byline Supplement, I relay some of my travel experiences:
It is incredibly dismaying to read reports from renowned Substack writers, who are still talking about the Constitution, the Supreme Court, norms, and checks and balances.
America is under foreign occupation, because we didn’t prosecute traitors.
The traitors were obvious to anyone paying attention in 2016/2017, but because too few Americans study what happens in other countries, the wake up call for many came too late.
And while it’s nice that celebrities are now giving speeches, we needed them last year, when their colleagues were busy taking potshots at Joe Biden, because of the madness of purity tests when fascism was on the rise.
I don’t know where we go from here, but the situation is catastrophic.
And it turns out, taxi drivers in Washington DC, London, and Paris understand how dire things really are.
I am so moved by the love and sorrow expressed by cabbies for America. Take a moment to read the excerpt below.
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Below is an excerpt from Saturday’s Hot Type:
Hot Type: Cabbies in the Mist
American political columnist Heidi Siegmund Cuda shares her travel diaries and conversations with taxi drivers in Washington DC, London, and Paris, where the disgust for Donald Trump is now palpable
A taxi driver from Ghana in Paris slipped into a Donald Trump Jr impersonation. It was before dawn in February and very cold, and he immediately knew from my greeting that I was an American.
He began riffing on how ‘dad’ bragged about plans to clean up New York City.
I said, “I liked it better dirty.”
With a glance in the mirror, he confirmed I wasn’t MAGA.
He went into a full-on comedy routine — staying in character as son boasting about father, who he clearly depicted as a blowhard.
Once he confirmed I was friend not foe, he told me about his real son in New York, and I could see he was worried for him.
Some taxi drivers in Paris were silent. A few shared their love of America, and one who discovered I was from California, immediately changed the track to the Eagles’ ‘Hotel California’. We began singing the lyrics.
He only listens to American music.
Paris is in mourning for America. I feel it everywhere I go.
The country that gave us the Statue of Liberty as a celebration of our achievement of accelerating human freedom has watched us fall behind enemy lines.
And there has not yet been time to grieve.
So stories are told in taxis about remembrances of things past, of a cherished visit to Las Vegas or the glory of the Southwest.
London Calling
On a misty low-sky day on the way back from the Tower of London in late January, a cab driver from South London told me he had never been to the ancient castle.
Although he had lived in London his entire life, he said he had never been to the London Eye, the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, or the aforementioned dungeon, all of which I thought was quite the achievement.
London is filled with incredible statues, and when we drove past the Statue of Boadicea and Her Daughters near the Westminster Bridge, he felt the need to point it out.
When I asked who she was, he shrugged as if he knew nothing, and that’s when I realized he’d been punking me. He then told the story of Boadicea, who he said is treasured by the British as a symbol of Resistance, having crafted herself into a warrior, raised an army, and fought Roman occupation.
“I been to the Eye,” he also admitted.
He had the news playing in the background, and he turned to look me dead in the eye and said: “How could you vote that clown in twice…”
It was my turn to shrug.
“Wasn’t me,” I said.
He seemed satisfied.
DC on the Verge
In early January, I flew to Washington, DC, to celebrate the swearing in of a legislator.
The fear in the cabs was palpable.
The drivers opened up easily, as if they needed a witness…
A driver from Turkey said his plan was to keep his head down and “just go along.”
I didn’t say anything, but I heard the Leon Trotsky quote in my head: “You might not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.”
Paris at Dawn
I asked the driver if he missed Ghana, and he shook his head no.
“I would never go back to Ghana,” he said. “It is so corrupt.”
And then he looked at me in the rearview mirror. I could see a sadness in his eyes, for he was talking about America, too.
The above is an excerpt from my Hot Type column. As always, I ask those who can afford to support a small global team of investigative reporters to please take out a subscription to Byline Supplement.
I also understand that if you are not able to do so at this moment, the good chaps at Byline allow me to send the column to Bette members upon request, as I noted above. Just zip a request to bettedangerous/gmail. New members will also find they are invited to unlock one report at the Byline site.
To my Bette members who support both publications, please forward the column to your allies.
As the former foreign minister from Lithuania, Gabrielius Landsbergis, wrote today in his newsletter:
Trump the self-appointed peacemaker is increasing the likelihood of war, not decreasing it. Putin is being given a licence to kill, not a one-way ticket to The Hague. It’s even more than a licence to kill, it’s an invitation…
It is far too late for further discussion on this. We know what needs to be done, we have talked ourselves almost to death. Now the only thing left to do is to back up the words with actions.
I often hear that we need realism, not idealism. But realism never brought anyone peace and never liberated any oppressed nations. Only the dogged determination to defend our values ever achieved the victories we cherish. Only dreams and hard work can make us great again..
He was talking about his country, but it applies to oppressed and occupied countries everywhere.
He wrote that the only hope for Europe is Europe itself.
We will talk more about this on Tuesday.
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More info about Bette Dangerous - This magazine is written by Heidi Siegmund Cuda, an Emmy-award winning investigative reporter/producer, author, and veteran music and nightlife columnist. She is the cohost of RADICALIZED Truth Survives, an investigative show about disinformation and is part of the Byline Media team. Thank you for your support of independent investigative journalism.
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Begin each day with a grateful heart.
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