Fight Fight Fight: Resisting Fascism and the Tyranny of Fear

Every time another policy is implemented or there is a rhetoric out there from America’s political right with a unique purpose to dehumanize people and strip them of their dignity, what angers me the most is that these people do it in the name of the Lord. It angers me to measures I can’t possibly describe. 

When I woke up in Nairobi on November 6, 2024, and saw this man won the election again, I was in disbelief. I was terrified. I knew of the impending danger. And yet, even I didn’t think it would be this despicable. In less than three weeks, they have unleashed terror like never before imagined. He has made himself king. He has put such cracks on the foundations of our democratic institutions that sometimes I pinch myself to ask if this is still America. All of this is done with an intention. So much so that I’ve seen people just give up. I’ve watched colleagues live with fear. I’ve seen people lose hope. Our Democratic elected leaders also took too much time to lick their wounds. Too many lives will be impacted. Too many people are confused. I didn’t understand either, why it seemed like evil was winning. Why it seemed like the wicked was prospering. Why it seemed like the wicked enjoyed a life of ease while the marginalized, the oppressed, the voiceless continued to suffer.

Book of the Month: Ask Again, Yes By Mary Beth Keane

Welcome to the Book of the Month! I asked last time about whether to talk about a few in one post or just one book per BOM post and it looks like the vote goes for a combination of both approaches. So, let's try that. I feel like knowing me there are some books I will feel so strongly about as to want to dedicate one post too, anyway. So this format works. And today's book feels like one of those books. 

Ask again, Yes starts with two NYPD cops, Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhorpe. They eventually become neighbors in the suburbs and the peculiarities of what happens in each home one night sets the stage for explosive events that will ripple through generations. 

Some Books I Read

Happy New Year, friends! Book of the Month suffered last year; not just because I didn't read as much (I really didn't) but because I didn't talk about what I did read as much. I really enjoy books and talking about them and in the spirit of finding pockets of joy everywhere and especially outside of work, hopefully I'll be better at talking about books I read this year.

Towards the end of 2024, I posted about some books I read on Instagram and I thought to share them here, where they can be more permanent. So here goes (in no particular order):

How We Spent Two Days in Brussels AKA A Two-Day (48 Hours) in Brussels Itinerary

I am determined to get this out before the end of the year because it's bad enough to be writing about this eight whole months after but to then carry it into a whole new year. Nah uh. 

Read about the other parts of the trip here: Paris here. And London here. 

This promises to be a much quicker read than the other two. 

Day 1: we arrived in Brussels and frankly, it looked a little rougher than expected. Of the three countries, this looked the least prettiest imo. Okay, so of course, we Uber to the hotel. Then we rested a little at the hotel. And went to look for food. We landed at a place called Pomodoro. Something was off here. The servings were HUGE (we had started getting used to the European decent serving size and not the humongous American sizes). The food was okay. It wasn't great but just okay. Then we headed back to the hotel. Ordered desserts from room service. Day 1 it was. 

Day 2

Day 2 started really really late. At this point, we were getting really tired and fatigued. In any case, we headed out to a place called Frank for breakfast/lunch. And the food we had there was the worst of the entire trip. The idea that anyone can ruin breakfast is insane. We ordered pancakes and it came looking sooo bizarre and tasted even worse than it looked. So did the Eggs Benedict something something. And the wait staff was incredibly impatient. Each time we asked for something, some sort of clarification from the menu, she responded with “do you need a minute?” Like ma’am I already went through the menu, I just want to know more from YOU. Anyway, we left when we finished eating, and then found another cute place for some coffee (and decaf for me). The ambience was even more beautiful. And then we left for some exploring. There was a market type place with lots and lots of shops. We did a lot of shopping here. Store to store to store. We found really nice things and for great prices too. Paris could never! We also had some Belgian waffles! It did not live up to the hype as much. But it was only one place; some others might get it better. Oh we found THREE beauty supply stores. We were soo shocked. And it was blackity black too with all the products for natural hair you can think of, wigs, weaves crochet hair, braiding hair, you name it. Anyway, we had a ton of things from shopping so we went back to our hotel to drop them. We walked all the way by the way.

Then we went to a place called  Grand-Place and it was so picturesque. The whole journey there was beautiful. I can’t imagine how gorgeous it would be at Christmas. Then we went on the hunt for Belgian chocolate. Actually no, somewhere along the way, rain started to pour so we took refuge in a chocolate store and bought some. Then we started hopping from place to place buying chocolate along the way. 

We then went to a place called The Noodle Bar for dinner. The ambience was wack but the food was great and flavorful. 

And it was time to head back to our hotel.

Day two it was.

Day 3

We started the day by heading to a place for brunch. I always had this sort of fantasy that an European country like Belgium would do breakfast so well; especially things like waffles, pancakes etc. But it was just a colossal waste. The pancakes were bad. We barely ate it and left. Then we found a Haagen Dazs store! Haagen dazs is one of my favorite dessert places in America. Their Belgian chocolate milkshake is normally stuff dreams are mad of. So we were excited when we found one while explore and were all  yesss, ready to dive in. This guy gave us a watery substance that was more like emptying sachets of Milo into cold water. It DID NOT pass the vibe check. Anyway, we headed back to our hotel, checked out of the hotel and waited in the Lobby for a while.Then we headed to the train station. And it was time to head back to London. Here, there was security, passport check and all. Note than when leaving London for Paris, there was. But getting into Paris there wasn’t any passport check and then going from Paris to Brussels, there wasn't any check points at all, and it was pretty much like heading from NewYork to Philly via Amtrak or something. Only you actually see more armed men on the New York - Philly route Lol.

Back in London, and luckily the timezone changed again so we gained an hour. We headed to dinner with my sister’s friend: Fish and Chips. My sister had been wanting this so bad. I know fish and chips is wack (sorry!) but I obliged because of her. It was just too bland and lacking in any flavor for me to enjoy. The spring rolls were DOPE though so that was that. 

Then we headed to our last (Praise God!) hotel for this stay –minutes from the airport. At this point, I was so tired, I promised myself to not do anything like this again. It was too much in too little time. But also simultaneously too much time away. We were soo drained, so tired from all the moving up and down, I think we might have lost weight. I think that took a lot away from the “vacation” so that it became a trip. Like a school excursion or even a work trip. 

Final thoughts:

By the third country, I was drained and tired. It’s hard to then enjoy it. It also was expensive. No matter how much you budget, double it. That said, my sister is an amazing travel buddy. We packed a lot into such little time, had some of the best foods of our lives, and explored till we couldn't anymore. One for the books. I know I will definitely head back to London and Paris. Maybe not Brussels except for work or something haha.

This has been a long time coming. I hope you enjoyed this!

Love,

I

 

How We Spent Three Days in Paris AKA A Three-Day (72 Hours) in Paris Itinerary

 This has been a LONG time coming. Read the first part of this, focused on London, here. 

This is now EIGHT months ago. But better late than never, eh? As I said in that last post, this is part of a three-city/country trip, with Paris, France being the second part of the journey. 

Friday Reflections...

 1.) ...on a Monday. It's been a while we did this. Let's go!

2.) There is the elephant in the room: the elections. I've processed personally and of course, I have thoughts but for now, let's all pretend. Let's collectively be in denial.  Let's pretend like this country did not vote in a convicted felon to lead this country. Shall we? We shall. Below are things that will cause you to think, maybe scare you a bit, and teach you how to be better. 

In Which I Convince You That Kamala Harris Is The Right Choice

I voted today (It's a Sunday as I begin to write this) and I joked on Instagram that there is a wild part to this. 

We voted for who could be the FIRST (Black, Indian) FEMALE PRESIDENT of this democratic experiment called America. In which case, history will be made. OR this may very well be the last "elections" of this democratic experiment, which renders it over. So, history.  Either way, history.

I don't know who specifically this post is targeted towards but listen/read up, please. I can't make a pitch to a Trump voter. I'm good but I'm not THAT good.  I will attempt to make a pitch (I made an earlier one here) to so-called undecided voters or to those who have decided to abstain or who have chosen apathy or worse, those who want to vote for the fraud called Jill Stein. I know you are angry and frustrated and maybe change is not moving fast enough for you. But progress is SLOW.  Real progress is not speedy...it builds incrementally. So of course, there is more work to do. This is not a perfect union, and it will never be. This is a simple reminder that needs to be said.

There will also never be a perfect candidate. But to the extent that one can be qualified, Kamala Harris is. She was the Attorney General of California, a Senator, and is now the sitting Vice President.  With all these qualifications, they still call her a DEI hire. It's the lines misogynoir colors. It's the way it flattens you into your identity while decrying you for embracing that same identity. Throughout this entire campaign I have not heard Kamala Harris ONCE say, "vote for me because I'm Black or because I'm Indian or because I'm a woman or because I'm all of those things". She has instead touted her experience, qualifications, and skills. She has promised to be president for ALL. So here is what I will say to anyone calling her a DEI hire: I dare you to take the California bar exam and pass. DARE.