My Brother at the Canadian Border by Sholeh Wolpe

Borderlands.

My Brother at the Canadian Border by Sholeh Wolpe comes across more like a prose poem than a short-story, especially the narrative structure and syntax. It’s pure satire, poking fun at white privilege through comical absurdity. The piece highlights how ignorance and entitlement often travel together, especially when whiteness is along for the ride (literally and figuratively).

The speaker’s brother and his friend are described as having “PhDs and little sense,” which is funny on its own, but the real joke is that their lack of sense is completely cushioned by their whiteness. As the brother, his friend, and the speaker cross into Canada, there’s a hazy sense that they might be a little too high for their own good. So when border patrol asks where they are headed and they answer “Mexico,” the response they get isn’t anger or punishment, just mild confusion. Whiteness, here, allows for stupidity, arrogance, and even suspicion without real consequences. If these guys were Black and tried pulling something like this at the border, the situation would almost certainly turn dangerous, fast.

What makes the satire especially sharp is the brother’s in-between status. His olive skin and hazel eyes mark him as technically white, but not automatically so. When the officer finally declares, “You are white,” the moment reads like unexpected affirmation. It’s an official stamp of safety, mobility, and forgiveness. The joke lands hardest at the end, when the brother has his over-the-top revelation: “I am white I can go anywhere / Do anything.” The repetition feels almost religious, like a conversion or awakening.

Or maybe I’m reading way too much into it and Wolpe just wanted to poetically capture a group of young men getting extremely high while crossing the Canadian border. Either way, it's quite funny.

You can read this story HERE.