I was working in a cafe when an older white man sat at the table next to me and after the initial small talk he said, “I want you to know you are welcome here!” To which I smiled and replied, “You’re welcome here too!”And he was confused because he didn’t seem to understand that as kind as he was trying to be, his words implied an ownership over being a host to his country, to a person whom he assumed was a guest to his country.I appreciated his attempt at kindness in his own way. It can be daunting to know what to say and I recognize and deeply appreciate his initiation.At the same time, what he didn’t realize - and what I didn’t tell him overtly because I appreciated his kind intent in the way he knew how - is that this micro aggression is one that perpetuates a systemic racism which implies that any person who isn’t white or maybe sometimes who is but may have an identifying marker that includes them in a minority community doesn’t have as much ownership in the concept of belonging.I asked him where he’s from and how long he’s been here. He seemed to be taken aback and replied, “Oh, I’m from Colorado!” I pressed further and asked, “But what about your family?” And he eventually told me his grandparents immigrated to this country.To which I replied, “Oh! Just like my grandparents!”If you were born here or you immigrated later and this is your home- this is your home. And while this post isn’t addressing the horrifying ramifications of racism, sexism and islamophobia amplified by an oppressive, unjust individual who has the privileges and power dynamics of being a rich white man holding the highest level of power to Congresswomen of color, this has been triggering for many of us because of our lived experiences.Unless you’re Native American, you are not a native American. And if some are going to make it seem like their European roots are worth more than those who were either kidnapped and enslaved and ripped away from their families and physically forced to build this nation, or others who were forced to seek asylum often because of our own country’s oppressive policies to their nations, or all of the myriad of reasons why a person or their ancestors have come to our country, let’s consider what often our religious similarities teach us:We come from Adam and Eve. We have the same grreeeatttt grandparents. We are siblings in humanity. And when someone yells out, “Go back to where you came from!” I’m ready to reply, “Adam and Eve came here from Paradise. That’s where I’m from. That’s where you’re from. Let’s focus on working together to make sure the justice, peace, security and prosperity in our country resemble what our mutual homeland looks like.