Ryan Zatechka

For those who don’t want to read all of this. I’ll post a shorter version for my next tweet: Being a Canadian, every time I’ve travelled to the US, not even just recently, but ever since I was a kid. There’s always been an underlying feeling that something could potentially happen to me or those around me simply by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. That being said, I don’t only get this feeling when I’m in the US. Of course, anything can happen anywhere, even in Canada. But now more than ever, the US truly feels like a country on the verge. With everything and everyone so divided, that feeling is definitely amplified. When I do make trips to the US, I fully recognize my privilege as a white person. Painfully aware that I will likely be treated better than someone who doesn’t look like me even if all their documentation is in order just the same as mine. But now, the lines are being blurred with new ones being drawn in the sand just to be stepped over instantaneously with no consequence. Each time it happens a finger gets pointed at the other and nothing gets resolved. The leaders of the world are failing us. I have so many friends and family in the US and hope their safety is never at risk. It’s heartbreaking to see a country I’ve grown up next to and have truly loved all the time I’ve spent there get to this point. The senseless violence is infuriating to watch unfold.