“Now?” I shook my head. “Now the world feels too raw. Too dangerous. I can’t pretend that hate is just another opinion. I can’t shrug it off when someone makes a joke about race, or gender, or pronouns. It’s not funny anymore. It never really was, but I used to act like it was. I can’t do that now.”
I glanced out the window, searching for words.
“It’s like… the stakes feel higher. Everything feels heavier. Maybe it’s because of Sophia. Maybe it’s because I’m finally letting myself feel all of this. But I can’t unsee the harm anymore. I can’t keep pretending people’s lives are just punchlines.”