REAL TALK: The Not-so-United States of America

By the time most of you read this, we will have begun our journey into Mexico! We spent our last night in the US at a Marriott in Laredo, TX about a mile away from the border. It was filled with last-minute preparations, a gluten-free margarita pizza, and (surprise surprise) a tsunami of emotions.

There were the obvious feelings - anxiety about bidding farewell to certain creature comforts (like the English language) and nostalgia for Ashwin's and my almost 4-year journey as a couple. But they were overshadowed by rage in my muscles and sadness deep in the core of my heart about what is happening in our country right now.

In Chicago, another black teenager has died from the bullets of a white police officer's gun. Video footage of 17 year-old Laquan McDonald being fatally and unnecessarily shot 16 TIMES was released yesterday. (The footage had been held by the court for 400 days before the officer was charged with first-degree murder.) 

Meanwhile in Minneapolis, 5 people were shot, non-fatally, by white supremacists at a Black Lives Matter protest. What were they protesting? The fatal shooting of another black male, 24 year-old Jamar Clark, by a white police officer.

And if that wasn't enough to enrage each and every one of us, our disgusting treatment of innocent Syrians, mostly women and children, seeking refuge within our borders should be. 

I'm sorry you're so scared, America, but your fear is killing innocent people. I think it's time you and I take a break.