I’m so sorry to hear that you lost someone during the sniper attacks. that was such an insane paranoid time in our lives but was also so specifically located. I forget that now that I have friends all over the world, they did not experience the hell that was that time. in many ways I think the sniper attacks affected…

I did too for awhile.

yeah I wasn’t sure why he kept showing up, but the gun instagram made me pause. I thought maybe a cruel joke was being played on Evan or something.

ugh I am sorry.

I am sorry about the people you know who lost someone. it is a trauma. and I think our country has been traumatized actually. but we can’t seem to collectively come to terms with this fact.

we had the drills too. it involved gathering in a corner and turning all the lights off. and I thought, this is idiotic. this does nothing. I hated every second. I think it was the same feeling my parents had as kids hiding under their desk incase they dropped a nuke on them. like it would have done ANY good.

I think it is.

it actually makes me sad that my mind is able to connect the dots honestly. I went to high school during Sept 11th and the sniper attacks in DC. I think I am acutely aware of this gut feeling. and it makes me sad that it didn’t shock me. it still upsets me. but surprised? nothing really surprises me after this year :(

haha that crossed my mind too. I initially was waiting for the mystery girl to be a surprise joke person or something. the minute I realized it was just a regular girl, my mind immediately jumped to something darker.

weird - I noticed the headphones, and noticed the violent image while he was scrolling through what I am assuming was instagram. I kept thinking, “why is there a guy always with white headphones on in the background?”

this reminds me somewhat of someone I knew who had had cancer, and survived - and he was a real asshole. but everyone was like - we should feel sorry for him, he had cancer.

but I think the mere fact of being questioned instead of answered forces people to approach a subject in a different way that they are not always used to. you can walk away and refuse to answer, and then the question will hang there, in the air and in their mind. they can keep dismissing it, but the more people…

maybe read up on bible studies and question them more thoroughly using the same text they turn to? I don’t think there is any shame in getting philosophical. not to mention all the issues between different factions of Christianity to begin with. maybe make them explain their god to you as compared to all the other…

I am off and on again with his comedy, but I listened to an interview with him about his new book and his childhood and couldn’t help but admire everything he has been through. he definitely has an outsider’s perspective and I think it is so vital right now.

it took me awhile too in general to engage again in media. I don’t watch tv news much but couldn’t listen to NPR for like two weeks. but comedy is my life saver. if I can laugh, I am less afraid.

I know he isn’t popular in these parts but I think Trevor Noah just did a really good segment on basically how to deal with this - especially at the end of this segment. you have to talk to these people like toddlers. not in a mean way - but in a “explain yourself” way. don’t argue, just question them into oblivion. I…

this is my fear as well. the left is famously apathetic. but it has been done. I keep telling myself - this country did not suddenly get a new population. we are in fact the same country that elected Obama twice.

there were protests. what I keep thinking is when I see student protests is “they better have voted... and they better show up to midterms”

absolutely about the press. I wish I knew exactly how to hold them accountable. letters to the editor? I stay away from tv news as much as I can as it is. do you have any other ideas how to call them out?

I hope you are right. it is also on us to put public pressure on them. and it is on us to back and support the democratic leaders we do have.