the trauma of being american

The Trauma of Being an American | Trauma Queen Podcast

In this episode I kick off my new format, *The Trauma Of…*, starting with **the trauma of being an American.**

I talk about what it means to grow up Gen Z in a country where mass shootings and lockdown drills are normal, and how that shaped me during the Parkland era and beyond.

I unpack the shooting of Charlie Kirk, not just as a headline but as an example of who gets to claim victimhood in America, and why our reactions to violence are so politicized.

I get into abortion—my own experience, how the left polices the way women are “allowed” to talk about it, and the reality of living in a country where maternal mortality rates climb while access gets stripped away.

I also take on resilience culture: the way survivors are praised for “bouncing back” instead of anyone questioning why we had to survive it in the first place.All of it ties back to the American myths of freedom, denial, and polarization—how both the right and the left are failing us, and why survival in this country gets mistaken for strength.

Where to find meInstagram: @kylievincenthasrisen

TikTok: @kylievincentthefirst

Shows & Merch: Beacons.ai/kylievincentthefirst

Sources and references in this episode include:

* *The Daily* (Michael Barbaro + Robert Draper) on Charlie Kirkhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sODN9H3pgdU* *This Is Propaganda* with Amelia Bonner on abortion storytellinghttps://open.spotify.com/episode/4OHkHLm0TRmpORlT4zrT4a?si=fkSFP04QSxGYjfjubIRtMg* Amanda Montell’s *Magical Overthinker* on resilience culturehttps://open.spotify.com/episode/3xsTIrsNxir1kLIudEazyr?si=gBBrg_dnQ_qdUZzjvJPWXg