Are you doing okay?

ya, me too. 

Easton shared a video with me that showed folx who live all around the world...and their reactions to what has happened in the United States during the pandemic. 

I think the part that hit me the most was to see a beautiful girl from Korea burst into tears as she learned, for the first time, the staggering U.S. death count that just continues to grow. 

Check out the video *here*

I don't know necessarily where I'm "going" with this...all I can think is that this shit is crazy and it isn't going anywhere. 

Also, the fight for black lives will not be going anywhere. And I think it is important to recognize that without this pandemic happening right now, we would never, ever see this many people out in the streets protesting. 

If it were up to us to take off of work and do what's right, stand out in the street potentially losing our jobs and pay, would we be out there? 

I would say that we wouldn't be. And that right there is something we really, really need to look at. 

I hope that you have continued to do what you can to fight for black and brown folx. We all are a part of this system, and each move of personal action, whether speaking out, protesting, sharing organizations, etc....it all accumulates. Please, we can't stop.

I have been to the protests a few nights and I will tell you this: the feds are out of control. 

Easton and I would be in the middle of the BLM march, and everyone is wearing masks, everyone is being respectful and chanting in unison. 

Then --- BOOM. Teargas everywhere. 

Massive clouds of it. Even if you were nowhere near the area of the immediate spray...once it hit the air and caught a draft, you couldn't breathe and your eyes were on fire.

It is scary out there and I have never had such an intense distrust in the government as I do now.

And the most important thing I want to say out of all of this: I never saw any protestors damaging anything. 

What did I see? Skinny little white boys, maybe 13 years old, tagging "P Land" with spray paint all up and down downtown. 

Lol, I am not saying that 13 year old white boys are responsible for the current state of downtown. But, I want to highlight that a lot of folx downtown (who are not protesting) are taking advantage of the movement to materialize their own agendas; apparently the looting and vandalizing variety.

What I do know is this: in the middle of that protest, looking at all types of humans around me, the message was clear. We are standing up for black and brown human beings and until they are protected, we do not stop.

Simple as that. 

Here is a snapshot into my mind on this day in late July. 

We were able to get out and go out for a "date" last night to celebrate our year of being in each others' lives. 

That indeed was lovely...a shiny moment to hold onto, in between the days of whatever-we-want-to-call-what's-happening right now.

I truly hope that each of you is doing the best you can at taking care of yourselves and each other right now. Albeit virtually.

We will get through this.

xo, 

Emily