This is not a space to write about terrorism.

I just don’t feel equipped.

At the same time, it feels strange to write about the Pretty Little Liars winter premiere, or Kristen Stewart’s new “gal pal,” when everyone is talking about yesterday’s events in Paris. And it feels strange to leave a record of my life experience on the internet, with a whole part of that experience missing, simply because I don’t know how to write about certain things in a meaningful way.

My heart is with all of the families whose lives are being torn apart by these murders.

There are things I could write about. I could try to address how the sensationalism and general overuse of the word “terrorism” as a tool of fear by the news media contributes to the goals of both terrorists and our own government. (I am not arguing that the word “terrorism” should not be used in this instance, just that the word itself has become a fraught tool.)

Or I could write about my worry that a terrorist act in Europe deeply alarms my midwestern family, calling them to action against Muslims (at least on Facebook), when violence committed against LGBT children and teenagers in their own country doesn’t even make a blip on the radar.

But I’m just not sure that I feel comfortable utilizing yesterday’s murders as a conversational or political catalyst (at least any more than I inadvertently have in what I wrote above). Maybe I should be. Maybe that’s how our world works. It could even be how we heal and grow and connect. But not today.

Today, I am just so sorry. I am sorry that our world is still like this. I am sorry there is so much violence. I am sorry that we still haven’t found ways to effectively coexist. I feel like we should be doing better, by now.

I think that the only way we will be able to do better is to try to find ways to meet the basic needs of everyone around the world. It’s a basic idea (very Star Trek: TNG), but I honestly think that if we keep our focus on systemic poverty, inequalities, and oppression, and try to right those wrongs one by one for the people we are sharing this world with, things will start to look different with regards to terrorism, war, and endemic violence. We focus a lot on how difficult a goal it is to achieve, but we can’t let that stop us from trying.

Anyway. I guess that’s it from here. Love to all.

❤ Queer Girl