Masala My Life is a deliberately upbeat brand. I created it to celebrate the joy of being proudly and truly South Asian American. We emphasize the “American” intentionally – part of our mission is to cement the South Asian American identity as an American identity. We focus on the positives – on the fun of #livetheblend.
As a brand, we don’t dwell on the negatives of being brown in America or the difficulties we face practicing different religions and customs. We leave that aside and glorify all the great things we see as Americans of South Asian descent.
That’s why it hurts today. That’s why it’s so hard to step away from that joy and explain the feeling of horror I’ve had since being glued to the TV and twitter since 1:30 p.m. on January 6. I want to do anything but write this.
Everything about the insurrection was a stark reminder that the institutions I trust and respect as an American failed — they failed because they have effectively been taken over by a white supremacist mission that starts with Donald Trump. Trump is so devoted to “his people” that he deliberately placed his own vice president and the entire United States Congress in grave danger.
What’s the point of our #livetheblend optimism when we all know that had the violent mob been filled with people who look like us, everything would have been completely different.
There’s no reassurance right now. If anything, it only gets worse as the whitewashing begins and insurrectionists relax in DC hotel lobbies free from arrest. We know there are white supremacists; what we hoped was that our government would always hold against their threat.
The only path forward, the only way to respond to this is by removing the president immediately, whether by impeachment or 25th Amendment.
We have to rebuild faith in our democratic institutions and see them overcome the damage Trump has wrought. Lawfully removing the president is the first step. Then we can heal and try to recapture the joy.
— Anu Mannar