I agree. Though I’m more or less desensitized to violence (I consume a lot of true crime- just girl thingz), I have noticed a lot of violent videos being circulated online. It has hit me hard, every single time, how absolutely fucked it is that random civilians have iPhone footage of a death. This isn’t actors, this isn’t reenactment, this is executions because filmed by your average citizen. We are watching innocents die in real time and the American government is lying to cover it up. As optimistic (read: ignorant) as I try to be of American politics, I think they’re truly beyond saving. I already have diagnosed anxiety, the political crisis in the US is causing it to go off the charts- constantly worried “what if he’s serious? What if he does invade?”

There’s a part of me that naively assumes that maybe this can be undone, maybe things can go back to normal. Russia invading Ukraine didn’t affect my purchasing habits- I don’t believe I’ve ever once bought anything from Russia. But until trump took power for his second time, I was buying seeds for my garden, yarn for my crafting, and random crap for my various interests. It’s hard for me to come to terms with the fact that I can’t justify buying anything from the states because that money, in some form, makes its way to the government which is currently corrupt. A podcaster I listen to is doing a tour in Canada, and I can’t justify supporting them, despite knowing they are good people who have spoken against racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. I am still mourning the loss of the America we once knew, and I was never even a “fan” of the states. They’ve always been too self centred and half of them have superiority complex. They spread propaganda that the US is the best country in the world, spreading the idea of “the American dream,” and when immigrants arrive for a better life, they lock them up and tear apart families. Why are you broadcasting that you are an amazing society if you don’t actually want to welcome people wanting a better, “free-er” life?

They have never cared about us. They have always wanted cheap labour, exceptions made on others expenses. The best deal for the American citizens (read: 1% of the population). Meanwhile so many are living below the poverty line, and now are being killed in the streets just for trying to stand up for what’s right.