We are now halfway through 2020. What started out as a sad political exercise in obfuscation and obstruction (known nostalgically now as impeachment), has devolved into a global pandemic that has sickened millions, killed hundreds of thousands, and isn’t showing any signs of magically disappearing, no matter how hot the weather gets.
Then there’s the other health crisis, highlighted by the fact that with so many people stuck in their domiciles, those videos on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, et al, are in your face all day, every day. And that’s the pandemic of police brutality and systemic racism against Black and Brown people. It’s not just here — as the demonstrations all over the world have shown — it’s a worldwide acknowledgement of people who have colonized and pillaged throughout history. Those confederate statues aren’t the only ones being toppled. Celebrated brutes of the past are being thrown out everywhere.
Clearly this year could use a do-over. But since we can’t set the time machine for mulligan, maybe we can work on salvaging the second half.
However, we have to first face our fears — the ones that have formed our myths of the past, guide the current climate, and relegate us to clinging to the familiar that doesn’t work, instead of trying something new — that just might.
Note, none of the following acronyms are originally mine.
FEAR: False evidence assumed real.
The coronavirus isn’t going away like magic. Social distancing and mask wearing is real evidence that it can slow the spread of COVID-19, which scientists say is not only mutating, but showing up in younger adults. Even children have seen the ravages of this disease with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome, which isn’t just debilitating — it can be fatal.
Science isn’t political, or partisan, or oppressing your civil rights to make the current administration look bad. COVID-19 was falsely called a Democratic hoax. Now that people are dropping like flies, isn’t it time to stop giving in to this false evidence? If you refuse to follow the guidelines of scientists because you personally don’t know anyone who has gotten sick and/or died from the coronavirus, just wait. The sequel is already starting, even before the closing credits to this first act have begun scrolling.
FEAR: Forget everything and run.
This is what people feel like they’ve been doing when asked to stay home to stem the tide. It didn’t take long for the backlash to this recommendation. The ones who were doing the most belly-aching weren’t the people who were most affected, the “essential” workers who went out to work every day, some of them working for minimum wage, and without the personal protective equipment that should have been provided by the government. The whole point of the shutdown was for the powers that be to figure out the next steps, how many tests to order, how to implement contact tracing, how to slow down the spread, and safely allow people to come back to work. Well, none of that happened. So after sitting home for two months, some people working, some not, wanted their old lives back. They were willing to risk the death of their elderly relatives, who were hit particularly hard by this virus, so they could get their hair cut and their nails done.
I have nothing but empathy with those, particularly in the service and retail industries, who lost their jobs, some permanently, because while we waited, no plan was put in place and the pittance the government gave was not nearly enough (especially in comparison to other “first world” countries). Their anxiety is real. Those who were on the margins, barely making it when the economy was purported to be good, were further marginalized when this crisis hit. But that wasn’t the AR-15 crowd, maskless and furious, that stormed buildings, demanding to be able to ignore the plague so they could go sit in their favorite bar or restaurant. These were the fearful ones who want to run away from science, because if you ignore it, it will eventually go away. Like magic.
FEAR: Face everything and rise.
In the middle of this pandemic, what Black and Brown people and other people of color have always known, was discovered by many white people — that the justice system isn’t fair, police have a different relationship with communities of color, and that if anything is ever going to get better, white people can’t ignore or wish away the problem. They are going to have to get uncomfortable, get on board, or get left behind. The world is changing, the status quo is finished, and not talking about racism and racial injustice doesn’t make it disappear. Remember when you were first taught about venereal disease, and that the chancre sore from syphilis would go away? Just as you were told that didn’t mean the disease went away, the chancre of systemic racism and the brutality borne of this disease has been festering and killing for generations. The postcards depicting white people with their families celebrating lynched and burned Black bodies from last century weren’t an anomaly. When just a few days ago the current occupant of the White House retweeted a video of someone yelling “White Power” and left it up for days until the criticism got too loud (not from the GOP however), you know this is a pivotal time for you to either stand up and work to end the oppression, or join those who espouse white supremacist ideologies and are looking to take down this multicultural, multilingual, multicolored country. You will have to pick a side, staying neutral and silent is siding with the oppressors.
You may say that slavery was a long time ago, so we shouldn’t talk about it and just move on. Have you ever felt resentment because someone wronged you, refused to acknowledge your pain, or apologize, and told you to just get over it, even as they continued to hurt you? Multiply that by 400 years.
Truth and reconciliation are long overdue in these United States. We can handle the truth, painful as it is. Without truth there is no reconciliation. Without remorse there is no forgiveness. Without reparations for the past injustice, there is no hope of coming together. No more ignoring, what-abouting, defensiveness, or fear.
Activist and author extraordinaire James Baldwin said: “Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
