trying to breathe ...
I'll never forget the first time tear gas singed my lungs. I was up in NY, covering the protests, and watching cops approach with a fear that my white, privileged self has never had to really process. I've reported on protests, but this was different. This is different.
The next time it happened, I was in the crowd that was cleared away so Dear Leader could get his damn photo op.
My lungs are still rattling.
I've had good friends be arrested on camera. Colleagues been injured in the line of reporting. Reporters have been actively targeted, actively hunted. My mom's been reporting from the studio, Peter has been in the streets with me.
Mom's talked to me about Kent State. She's talked to me about 68 Democratic Convention. She said she's never seen anything like this - and that it's just getting started. But she's also talking openly about how the attacks on reporters are new.
We're not going anywhere. Like the protesters, we have a duty. We have an obligation. And if we can do something ... god ... let's get personal here.
If I can do something. If one thing I mention on camera or something I say helps get the word out, then it's been worth it for me. I can put my body in the way ...
I'll be out there again tomorrow.
But tonight, it's curry and a deadline. I could use a drink, but that's for when Mom isn't in the house. She's looking a little shaky right now. Tonight, I'm just reflecting. Don't mind me.
The next time it happened, I was in the crowd that was cleared away so Dear Leader could get his damn photo op.
My lungs are still rattling.
I've had good friends be arrested on camera. Colleagues been injured in the line of reporting. Reporters have been actively targeted, actively hunted. My mom's been reporting from the studio, Peter has been in the streets with me.
Mom's talked to me about Kent State. She's talked to me about 68 Democratic Convention. She said she's never seen anything like this - and that it's just getting started. But she's also talking openly about how the attacks on reporters are new.
We're not going anywhere. Like the protesters, we have a duty. We have an obligation. And if we can do something ... god ... let's get personal here.
If I can do something. If one thing I mention on camera or something I say helps get the word out, then it's been worth it for me. I can put my body in the way ...
I'll be out there again tomorrow.
But tonight, it's curry and a deadline. I could use a drink, but that's for when Mom isn't in the house. She's looking a little shaky right now. Tonight, I'm just reflecting. Don't mind me.