So I wasn’t planning on writing anything today, but after spending just 20 minutes looking through the news and my social media, I felt like I needed to say something. I’m so concerned about the world we are living in right now. Have we always had such violence and hatred in our lives? Has it been there, just not as visible? What is going on? How do we stop it? How do we live at peace with each other when horrible things are happening?
The first thing I saw when I logged into Facebook were images of a woman who had gotten hit by some sort of grenade. Her arm was basically destroyed, and from the images shown, I’m guessing it had to be amputated. This women was protesting the DAPL pipeline and is just one of too many that have been seriously harmed during these protests. I am by no means an expert, but I do not think that anyone deserves to by physically harmed for standing up for our earth.
Next I watched a video and read an article about men reading ‘mean tweats’ outloud to two women news reporters. The messages to these women varied from mean to violent and outright disgusting. I will not type any of the things said, as they are extremely offensive and horrible, but I just wanted to say that what people say to other people on the internet is horrible and it should not be happening. Click here is you are interested in the article. I think it is important to read about, because even though it is sad and disturbing, it is important to be aware that this is happening in our society so we can try and stop it.
The last thing I saw before deciding to write this post was a video of Richard Spencer giving a speech at a conference in Washington D.C. Spencer spoke using rhetoric which could be found in Donald Trump’s campaign, but he also used rhetoric reminiscent of Nazi Germany. There were screams of ‘Hail Trump!’ and people doing Nazi salutes. To me, this is horrifying. How could anyone think it is alright to portray our future president as Hitler? How can people be supporting this kind of rhetoric and action? I am deeply concerned…
I don’t know where to go from here, but I needed to get those feelings out and into the world. I do not think it is important or necessary to share all of my feelings, but I feel that at this moment in time our country is going through something strange and scary. I see so many people struggling with what has happened this year in our country and around the world, and I’m hoping that something good will happen to end all of the bad in the world. I know this is naive thinking, but I also think it is hopeful thinking, and maybe that’s what we all need right now.
Unlikely Places 