To Our Friends in Las Vegas

To everyone in Las Vegas, still reeling from last night’s attack…

To the 22,000 people attending what should have been a night of music and celebration…

To first responders and ordinary citizens who put their lives at risk to save others while bullets were still flying…

We love you. We stand with you. We mourn with you.

To everyone who is struggling to comprehend yet another senseless act of violence, yet another “most fatal mass shooting in US history,” please… take care of yourself today. News outlets are playing footage from last night’s attack on an endless loop, the sound of rapid gunfire like some grim, terrifying soundtrack.

It’s OK to look away. It’s OK to turn the sound off. Be sad. Pull your kids a little closer. Practice self-care.

There are days when we don’t know how our hearts can hold all this grief from so much violence and devastation. Puerto Rico. Catalan. Marseille. Las Vegas. There are days when it feels like the world is being unmade before our eyes.

To all those who have been traumatized by violence, whose lives have been unmade, who feel forgotten: you matter. We see you. Your world is worth remaking.