If you’re still waiting for things to go back to normal, you’re not paying attention.

A woman, Renee Nicole Good, was shot and killed in Minneapolis this week by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. What followed was an insane level of gaslighting and false narratives pushed by the highest levels of Government. Explanations that asked us to look away, to accept narratives that don’t align with what we are seeing with our own eyes, and to demonize the victim for potentially doing what we all should—refusing to stay silent on something that she believed in.

What disturbs me most isn’t only what the government is saying.
It’s what too many people are allowing.

We are being asked to ignore morality.
To detach from our emotions.
To normalize things that would have been unthinkable not that long ago.

And many of us are exhausted.

I keep hearing the same response when I ask friends if they’ve seen the news:
“I don’t watch anymore.”
“I can’t—it’s bad for my mental health.”

I understand that instinct. I’ve been there.

But the truth is that silence doesn’t change anything.
Exhaustion doesn’t pause corrupt policy.
Looking away doesn’t reduce harm.

What we are losing right now isn’t just a sense of safety, it’s our naïveté.
The belief that this couldn’t really happen here.

And even if administrations change and we return to something that resembles normalcy, I don’t believe that I will ever regain the sense of security I once had. As limited as that security already was as a Black immigrant woman in America, it existed. And now it’s gone. Something fundamental has shifted, and it cannot be unlearned. I grieve that loss.

When I created Fab at Fifty Plus, I wanted to offer women a place to breathe.
A place to step away from the noise.
A place to remember who they are.

I wanted it to be a refuge from the stresses of the world, the headlines, and the exhaustion. So during moments like this, I stayed silent.

And maybe in a time when things were truly normal, that would have worked.

But this is not that time.

Recently, I realized that staying silent felt dishonest. Because the entire point of midlife and of this brand is finding your true self.

And this is mine:

I am opinionated. I care deeply about morality, power, and people. I believe in equality, equal rights, and justice—for everyone. I don’t believe money or power make a person worthy; integrity and honesty do.

Cutting that part of myself out hasn’t brought me peace.
It’s been damaging to my soul.

Because mindset work alone is not reality.
Reality includes the funny and the joyful, but also the horrifying, the disillusioning, and the moments that permanently alter how safe we feel.

Midlife isn’t about becoming quieter.
It’s about becoming more honest.

Women over 50 are not immune to what’s happening in the world.
We are not separate from it.
We are reacting to the same realities as younger generations, often with more history, more context, and more at stake.

So yes, the format of Fab at Fifty Plus is changing. I’m here to offer one person’s perspective. Maybe it resonates. Maybe it doesn’t. But there is value in being willing to sit with viewpoints that aren’t carbon copies of our own.

This space can still be reflective.
It can still be grounding.
But it will also be real.

And sometimes, real is uncomfortable.

This isn’t a safe space. It’s an honest one.

Unfiltered & Unapologetic is one of several formats within Fab at Fifty Plus. Other editions focus on reflection, grounding, and personal growth.