At least we have each other

It’s been a while and I’ve been a little hesitant to hop back on here and speak about really anything at all. In part, because we are witnessing probably one of the most disheartening political landscapes of our lives thus far, and in part because there is nothing that I can say to bring light or gentleness to these violences, or the violences that will come as a result of these recent developments.

I’ve spent the better part of two weeks escaping from my life, exploring the mountains of the west coast and connecting with family and friends there. I took a moment away, where these realities felt a little smaller, but it also reminded me of the privilege it is to step back. This isn’t something everyone can do, and I was lucky to have a planned family gathering take place at a time where we could collectively grieve. 

I didn’t entirely isolate, as I was with trusted loved ones and these conversations around current events and the demise of all that we hold dearly still managed to confront us. It must be said that this confrontation will always be less for me than it will for many folks, and more recent than it has been for large groups who have long welcomed the momentum of the modern age only to be hit with larger and more blatantly violent roadblocks than the covert oppressions of previous generations (this is not to say it hasn’t also been overt though).

The Trump Administration has granted a symbolic, though in many ways quite literal, permission to the open expression of hatred for visible minorities, immigrants, women, LGTBQ+ particularly trans folk or really anyone that isn’t an able-bodied white cisgender man. Shit sucks, and I think it is still a gross understatement to say that.

I don’t think it would be right for me to return to a space of sharing or intimate conversation without expressing honesty around these subjects, this is a deeply concerning time politically, and my fear around the rising hate only pales in comparison to those at the frontlines of racism, xenophobia, transphobia, homophobia etc. The fear I hold for myself as a woman is deep, and the concern I hold for my communities (including those folks who chose hate at the ballots), is one that feels heavy and discouraging. I will not extend my personal respect to these folks, but I will forever encourage the rights of all people, the access to autonomy and the nurturing of human and non-human wellbeing. 

As we witness the American empire, alongside its peers in head of state positions in the Western World, engage in imperialist and colonial interests, fund and encourage disgusting atrocities against humankind and the planet, and we witness the media culturally bankroll the devastation we have committed as a society, I am sorry. I am simply sorry.

I have no answer for why we do what we do. I have no explanation for the minds of those in power, and the goals of the nations which were built in blood to continue this legacy. I am writing this to say that this is not something light, and still it is not something we can put off or say it doesn’t affect us.

We have watched the eradication and extermination of the Palestinian people for over a year live and on our phone screens. Alongside the genocides in DRC, Sudan, Nicaragua, there has been the ignorance of humanity, and the justification of the maltreatment of folks through Western need for innovation, which is just a fancy word we use for continuous profit and trend-making.

We have witnessed the rise of fascism, the building momentum of the far-right and the violent choices made by those who feel threatened by the autonomy of the people. We watch the justification of hyper-investigation; the rise in the police state to the point where we have further policed ourselves, and our peers.

We have seen helpful tools such as therapy jargon come to weaponize the individual, to turn the will of the individual against the community. We have watched a rise in anti-community rhetoric, where we deem disagreement as boundary-crossing, and where we opt for isolation over conversation and conflict resolution. I’m not saying this is all the time. The problem here is that there is nuance, and the individual must use careful examination in these circumstances. But where language has spread, the skill of analysis has fallen behind. I’m not sure how accidental that is.

Communities have become polarized, mainly because some hateful few have influenced the vulnerable and uneducated. The cult-like behaviour of the folks of the far-right has saturated news sources, aimed to justify the robbery of the people financially, academically, socially, and constitutionally. With the Canadian federal elections taking place in 2025, I am scared, I worry about what this means for the children of the future, I worry what this means for everyone.

I’m not writing this to bum anyone out, nor am I writing this to speak endlessly into the ether about what I deem wrong. Instead, I’m writing this to say that our grief is justified, our fear is too. We can unite under this; we can have conversations, we can join, build, and nurture community. We must, despite our tiredness, continue to bring power to the voices that fight and have fought against the tyranny of colonial will, and stand beside our neighbours. 

In my years of studying global affairs, I have come to the conclusion that people, despite the worst of what we have to offer, are good. We care, we love. At the root of it all, the same principles are there, they have been muddied by bigotry and greed (though even these words feel like they are not strong enough to describe what I mean).

We know peaceful resistance has a greater long-term impact, we know the anger we feel can bring change. But we must feel it, and we must make something of it. It can’t sit inside us, we can share it if needed, allow our peers to cradle it and help us transmute it when we have the strength. We can be that strength for others.

Again, I’m not writing this to say we’re fucked, because we will always have the advantage of community if we decide to send our love there. Individualism will not save us, community, conversation, and kindness will. If that doesn’t work, at least we’ll have each other.

With love,

Sami