I’m Here Reacting | #OurLondonFamily

Trigger Warning: This post contains discussion of the recent terrorist attack in London, Ontario and documents my experience of hearing the news.

I was sitting in a warehouse in Halifax, waiting to be called to set, when I found out about the terrorist attack in London, Ontario. I heard the news from my dad, in a text message, “Are you hearing about what happened here on Hyde Park Road last night? It is horrific.”

I went to Twitter and searched “Hyde Park.” I came across posts about a stabbing in London, England and wondered, briefly, if my dad had the story wrong. I’m not sure how I stumbled upon the news, but in the end, I got my information from Craig Needles as he listened to the press conference with London Police Chief Stephen Williams.

I scrolled through Twitter and looked at the profiles of Muslim friends, colleagues, and community organizations. Each time that I came back to my feed I read another comment from an acquaintance or politician expressing solidarity, naming feelings, or explaining something.

The background noise in the warehouse turned into a fuzzy vacuum of not-quite-sound and I started to get hot.

I started to like posts: Craig Needles, Sherine Fahmy, Selma Tobah, London West NDP, Mariam Hamou, Dr. Muna Saleh, and Ali Chahbar, and retweeted one: Dr. Ingrid…