A rumble and shatter of the windowpane jolted me awake. I leapt out of bed confused as to what had just occurred. Lighting and the unambiguous sound of thunder roared.
Half-delirious, I rushed to close my windows. I reached for my phone to check the time. 8:30 p.m. Why did I fall asleep so early? I texted my friends: “Are you seeing this monsoon!?” After a few replies later, I was back to bed, ready for the day to be over.
A monsoon is created when air moves in the form of wind from an area of high pressure to low in the summer, often resulting in a downpour of rainfall. Much like a monsoon, sometimes the earth needs to cry to heal from all that occurs between the relationship of the planet and humankind.
In the United States, we are at a dangerous turn. Like a monsoon, the swift change of climate is reflected in our daily lives. The racial climate of this nation is at an all-time high and in the past few months filled with mass shootings, inhumane battles on immigration, suicides, deaths of social justice advocates, protests to resist government corruption and so much more.
It was not a coincidence that I had fallen asleep so early on that day. Five of the eight survivors of the El Paso, Texas mass shooting had declined to meet with 45 (the president). The shooter, a White male in his early 20s, left 22 dead and more than a dozen injured after opening fire at a Walmart in El Paso.
It was reported that the perpetrator had written a manifesto claiming that he was tired of the “Hispanic invasion.” I was emotionally and physically exhausted from all the pain and terror inflicted on the Latinx/a/o community. A community I am a part of and with the remorse of “that could have been me” or “that could have been my mom, brother, dad or cousin.”
Even worse, 45 and his administration consistently perpetuate a racially hostile climate in the nation through language, by erratic social media behavior and presidential addresses. In July, 45 tweeted that four Democratic congresswomen of color “[should] go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came from.” Representatives Omar of Minnesota, Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Tlaib of Michigan and Pressley of Massachusetts have since responded in a powerful redress to address the assaultive speech.
