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“They'll want to see my reactions to their abundance: polite restraint, concealed outrage, and a base, desirous hunger beneath. I must play this part with a veneer of new-millennial-money coolness; serving up savage witticisms alongside the hors d'œuvres. It's a fictionalization of who I am, but my engagement transforms the fiction into truth. My thoughts, my ideas - even my identity - can only exist as a response to the partygoers' words and actions. Articulated along the perimeter of their form. Reinforcing both their self-hood, and its centrality to mine. How else can they be certain of who they are, and what they aren't? Delineation requires a sharp, black outline.”

“He introduces me to his political friends from across the spectrum. Conservatives who oo and ah and nod, telling me I'm just what this country is about. And so articulate! Frowning liberals who put it simply: my immoral career is counterproductive to my own community. Can I see that? My primary issue is poverty, not race. Their earnest faces tilt to assess my comprehension, my understanding of my role in this society. They conjure metaphors of boats and tides and rising waves of fairness. Not reparations -no, even socialism doesn't stretch that far. Though some do propose a rather capitalistic trickle-down from Britain to her lagging Commonwealth friends. Through economic generosity: trade and strong relations! Global leadership. The centrists nod. The son nods, too. Now that, they can all agree to.”

“La respuesta: integración. Siempre, la presión está ahí. Intégrate, intégrate... Fúndete en el crisol. Y luego, sal y viértete en el molde. Comba tus huesos hasta que se astillen y rompan y encajes al fin. Doblégate hasta tener su forma. Intégrate, dicen, animándote. Luego, con el ceño fruncido. Más tarde, una y otra vez. Y, siempre ahí, calladamente, bajo el lenguaje apremiante de tolerancia y cohesión: ¡desaparece! Dilúyete en la sopa multicultural londinense”