It’s been a tough week. For everyone.
Ah, fuck it.
It’s not just the week.
Things have been tough for a long time.
The news.
Oh, the news.
It has gotten to a point where you just don’t want to read it, see it, hear it.
But you gotta.
You have to stay informed.
You have to know what other people are going through.
See the pain.
The white flags have been thrown up on Facebook statuses.
“The world is too much; I’m getting offline for awhile.”
The heaviness of our hearts is making us sad.
We want to close our eyes.
I watched a comic book blockbuster last weekend, and I started crying afterwards.
I felt physically pummeled by the never-ending action and violence.
The sound of gunfire blanketed my ears.
When I’d look down, images of Gaza projected on the back of my hands.
And it made me think why.
Why do we watch these films of violence? Or in other cases, rape and torture?
With so much hatred festering in the world, why do escape to fictionalized hate?
Hate against your religion.
Hate against your skin.
Hate against your sex.
On the TV screen.
On the clickbait you’re reading.
On your social media profile.
Every day.
And if it isn’t hate, it’s shallowness.
Vapidness.
Watch woman pooping into her hand!
What type of shark are you?
Look how ugly these celebrities are without their makeup on!
Join us in shaming others while we dumb you down in the process.
And I’ve put some dumb shit out into the world.
Through this blog and through other outlets.
We have too much debris out there now.
I don’t want to contribute much more.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed right now, you’re not alone.
But you can’t turn away.
Be strong.
Hang in there.
Because we’re all in this fight together.
We can’t turn on each other now.
Listen.
6 Comments
My granddaughter dragged me to see the movie “Begin Again.” I bought the soundtrack right away. It was quite the unexpected delight and antidote to the above.
Then I read about “Once” (2007) by the same director. Similar film, but like “Love’s Her Gun” was shot on a shoe string budget. In Dublin. It was also quite the unexpected delight and antidote to the above…and another great soundtrack about to be added to my collection.
Good read,
I have been bummed out by the ferguson stuff in the news. I don’t like seeing the police looking like an army.
The news feels like waves of dirty, muddy water, washing over us again and again. I start to feel like I’m drowning sometimes. And yet, you’re right.
I know how you feel.
Gaza, Robin Williams, Ferguson, planes crashing at an alarming rate, Ukraine, Ebola, Iraq (again)…
Tell me something good about the world!
When I feel overwhelmed by the news I remind myself how lucky I am to have a roof over my head, food and people who care about me. I try to use it as a reminder to not take life for granted.
Feeling all of these things, and I really liked the poetic format of this post.