2008 is the only US election I was in America for. It was two months into my first semester at Vassar, a whirlwind of new – a new place, new friends, and an unfamiliar country. The sheer volume and novelty of all that was happening around me has turned the majority of those early days into a blur. But November 4, 2008 is a day I still remember distinctly.

Vassar, with its amazing open-mindedness and liberal mindset, was such a special place from which to witness the elections. I sat with a large group, first in the common room of my dorm and then in one of the larger open spaces on campus, fervently clustered around the big-screen television that had been set up for the event. A quietly tense atmosphere slowly led to audible sighs of relief as states turned blue, and finally, emphatic cheers as Obama was declared the president-elect. Celebrations continued late into the night and spilled into the next few days. more “Do we live in an echo chamber?” …

There’s a Facebook album that was doing the rounds – a compilation of social media posts of all the overtly racist statements people have either witnessed or experienced themselves in the UK after Brexit. I went through some of the extremely horrifying and heart-breaking pictures a few days back, and it got me thinking. The unfortunate reality is that while the public way in which people are now thinking it acceptable to tell other human beings to “go home, we voted for you to leave the country” was shocking, the sentiment itself is unsurprising. more “We’re all guilty of xenophobia” …

Smriti Irani strikes me as someone prone to the dramatic – one to make sweeping statements, to gesticulate with gusto, to know how to get maximum impact out of her words. That’s the persona she exudes. Whether in popular Hindi soaps or Indian politics – not too far apart in the levels of tumult they embody – or perhaps because of that exact journey from soap opera star to politician, that’s sense I get from her.

Her recent Twitter battle with Bihar Education Minister Ashok Choudhary, which started with his tweet about the National Education Policy addressing ‘Dear @smritiirani ji’ and culminated with her objecting to the ‘dear’ and a Facebook post on feminism and women’s rights, reaffirmed my initial impression of her. Growing up in a staunchly anti-BJP household, my first response to anything BJP is disagreement or dismissal, and I almost allowed that to cloud my opinion of Smiri Irani’s latest. But then, I read her post, one that talks of the importance of holding your head up and speaking your mind as a woman. And I stopped to think about it for a second. more “Twitter tirades and gender equality” …