So since my mentions are full of people telling me all about the freedom I should be grateful for I wanna tell you about living in Spain

#FvckTheFourth

Spain has a fvcked up history in so many ways; in fact, Spain was openly Fascist until the 1970s so like, within living memory of a large portion of its population. Today, Spain has a plethora of political problems including police brutality & oppressing independence movements

Yet, YET, I am freer in Spain than I have ever been in the US and of the Spanish people I know, none of them feel like the US would provide them with more freedoms than they have right now

In Spain, I am free from the fear of gun violence. Since Spain restricts gun ownership, I am free from fearing my daughter will be shot at school, or the road rage-y dude in the highway has a gun in his car, or someone will decide to take out their anger in a mall or theater

In Spain, I am free from the fearing the government handling the current COVID-19 pandemic. While Spain's response hasn't been perfect, spread of the virus in most regions has been severely halted and reported cases are going down every day

In Spain, people are free from fearing a trip to the hospital will bankrupt them. Spain's healthcare system isn't perfect but it's a hell of a lot better than the US. Spanish people ask me all the time if I have medical debt. It's what they believe about most Americans

The Europeans I have come to know look at Americans with pity. They're not jealous of our freedoms; they're confused by how we exist day-to-day. They don't understand how we can live in a country overrun by gun violence, where healthcare is a luxury

They don't see us as free, they see us as citizens of a failed state led by a madman; no one is jealous of Americans here. No one is telling us we ought to be grateful for America and its freedoms.

Spain has so many problems, as do most European countries.

But their citizens can say with complete sincerity "at least we're not in America"