The other day, a young man tried to rage-bait me on the bus. He failed to get a reaction from me, and I thought the incident was over. But as he was getting off, he pounded on the window where I was sitting and flipped me the bird.

I was bamboozled. What did I do wrong? The youth was Black, so my first thoughts were, had I accidentally committed some microaggression that he felt he had to avenge? How can I do better next time? What do I need to learn?

Or was he just a kid with a chip on his shoulder due to his experiences of racism mixed with universal adolescent angst, and I just happened to be there?

My conservative brother lives with me because he can't afford his own place. It takes a lot of Prozac and prayer to tolerate him, but I don't have the heart to put him out on the street. I discussed the incident with him but I didn't expect much in the way of insight or support. It's just that I don't have anyone else to talk to,

He pointed to the pride pin on my hat.

"You need to take that thing off," he said. "People hate that and they will hate you for wearing it. This is only the beginning. That guy was a jerk, but at least you lived to tell about it. Maybe next time you won't."

"I wear that pin for solidarity.," I replied. "I can hide what I am, but some people can't. When they start rounding us up, I want my people to know which side I'm on."

"Don't be ridiculous," he said. "Nobody's rounding anybody up. That's just a lie that the mainstream media is telling to make president trump look bad."

I quoted Trump's statements that threatened immigrants, LGBT+ folks, and anyone else who opposed him -- from high-profile critics to the ordinary D-voter on the street. He said I needed to stop listening to mainstream media because it was all fake news. He watches "alternative news" and said he hadn't heard any of the threats and hate speech that I was discussing.

This morning I saw in the news that Little Donnie is planning a massive crackdown on immigrants starting in Chicago on the day after his inauguration.

And so it begins.