2020 has been quite the eventful year and we’re only getting half way through it. I am not entirely sure how I feel about the most atrocious things this year has thrown at us so far, and what else it has in store for us.
Racism: It’s been around for way too long
Moving to the more recent issue at hand, and the biggest one over the centuries, George Floyd. I recently watched the video that woke up the whole world to racism and oppression, and the video is beyond disturbing. I just cannot believe that such acts of blatant racism still exist in today’s world. My ignorance to the situation is also something I regret deeply.
Having been brought up in Zambia, I never once stopped to question or think that my skin colour is different from my peers. I never once thought I need to treat them differently, or they me. And you know why? Because they have the biggest and kindest hearts I have ever come across. Yes, I was different and they have asked me about it. But never once was that asked with a derogatory tone, or with ignorance. They all treated me as an equal, and I like to think I did too.
With the current situation at hand, I am not entirely sure as to how I should react or respond. A society that has been oppressed and silenced for centuries cannot protest silently. An issue that has been present in the world for centuries cannot be solved in a day. Stubborn mindsets that have been formed since childhood cannot be changed in a day. We can only hope that with time, this will not be an issue ever again. I can only hope that 50 years from now, I don’t have to watch similar videos again. Ever.
I would also like to reiterate (for those with whom I’ve had this discussion) that Black Lives matter. Don’t twist the story and start your narrative of how all lives matter. Yes. All lives matter. BUT, right now, and for a long time to come, and for the longest time since the history of slavery, Black Lives matter. If my house is burning down, and the firemen came to clear it up, you can’t stand in front of the firetruck and say your house needs to be taken care of when it doesn’t have a fire.
You would think and hope that with a pandemic that forced us all to stay at home, take things slow, reflect and find time to read more, we would have introspected more, thought about where we stand on different issues around the world, including racism. But no, it took the death of yet another innocent black man to wake up the entire world and remind us that racism was never eradicated. We just never had every instance recorded or reported. This is one of the many cases being brought to the limelight.
2020 has not been a year of atrocious things as I mentioned in the beginning. It’s been the year of waking humans up to the atrocious things we’ve been ignoring for years and decades, and forcing us to face these issues with no excuses. We were just at the tip of the iceberg at the beginning of 2020, and the year broke through it. Let’s open all the other issues and face those too.
How can you help?
- Research and read about racism, and figure out your stance on it
- Discuss with other people, to make sure you are heading in the right direction
- Spread the right information
- Support your local and global black community – restaurants, businesses, artists, writers, musicians
- Donate to the cause
Other things we’ve been dealing with in 2020
A Pandemic & Death
I feel like the pandemic is “old news”, as any number that is reported is either extremely downplayed, or treated like the apocalypse is now. I mean, I get it. It’s all new and we are all learning as time goes by, but some people seriously need to calm down, whereas others need to calmly start taking things a bit more seriously.
Death is something that all of us have thought about, experienced with the loss of loved ones, pets, or read about in the news. I think personally the most reflective thing I’ve had to do is fathom how many people die a day. It’s not that I haven’t thought about it before, I have. I think it hit me harder when I started to see the stories behind these people.
The first one hit me when Kobe Bryant and his daughter died. Just like that, a legend is gone. The impact he had on his fans was very evident. And before we could even come to terms with this, coronavirus hit. The death toll worldwide may not seem like a significant number for some. In fact, scrolling through various forums, I noticed how lower deaths were a form of relief (with empathy, of course).
But, after reading this article by the New York Times – “100,000: The Names Behind A Grim Toll“, it definitely added gravitas to the situation at hand. Adding names to the death toll brings a whole new perspective of reality to the whole situation, and you don’t know how to deal with it. What if you see a name you know? Death is difficult to deal with on its own, but having to deal with death and not being able to have a funeral or some sort of act of grievance to get closure, takes a toll on you mentally.
That article made me reflect on how easy it is for someone to say “Let’s open the economy” or “It’s just old people” but once you see a name you know, the entire perspective of the situation could change.
The Unsettling State of the Economy
Which brings me to the other side. With no job in hand, paying a huge amount of rent, and surviving on government funds, it’s definitely not easy. What happens when you can’t pay rent? Or your landlord evicts you? We’re looking at around 30 million jobs lost alone in North America. With the government looking out for its people by giving them monthly funds, how is that going to impact the economy in the future? Loans, bills, etc. have been put on hold for later. Mortgage rates have gone down. How is all this going to affect the economy as a whole?
“Yeah but what is money anyway? You know, it’s just paper that some King on the mountains said was worth something…you know? Gold I understand – it’s shiny, you can make jewelry out of it. Silver? Put a werewolf in front of me – he’s dead. Brass creates the bells that make sound throughout the land. But we kill each other for paper. I gotta tell you man, that’s sad.”
-Nick Miller, New Girl
When the lock down was implemented in India, a majority of the people were left stranded and hungry. Lots of local workers wanted to go back to their home towns and since everything was closed, they started walking home, resulting in deaths as it was too hot and no places were open for food, water or shelter. People were attempting to walk as far as 200km.
It’s not just different socioeconomic groups being impacted, along with the global GDP. Various industries are also being severely hit such as travel, tourism, retail, and entertainment. “The global revenue for the travel and tourism industry alone, has led to a a decrease of around 34.7 percent from the previous year.” As of March 2020, “the aviation industry estimated a 33 percent decline in the number of air passengers in Europe. Besides this, passenger revenue in the Asia Pacific region is expected to decline by approximately 57.3 billion U.S. dollars.”(source: statista)
So what matters? Lives, or economy? How can we make both meet a middle ground? I know many nations are already achieving this but with all the uncertainty in the air, and 2020’s attitude so far, we don’t know how it’s going to play out. All we can do is hope for the best.
How can you help?
- Work from home
- Help your neighbors and/or older people by running errands for them or grocery shopping for them
- Support your local businesses and restaurants
- When you go out, ensure you maintain social distance. When you can’t, wear a mask
- Wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds
- Canada:
- Volunteer (with virtual-volunteer options available)
- Donate to front-line workers for PPE, support and research
- Donate food, PPE, goods, accommodation, services, and/or space to the City of Toronto (this is my local area, but do look up your local towns and cities to do the same)
- Donate to Red Cross
- Global:
- Africa: Help slow the spread of COVID-19 in Africa
- India: Donate money for food, PPE, affected households, and hygiene kits
- World Health Organization Response Fund
Note: I understand a number of things in this article could be misunderstood or misrepresented, and I apologize in advance if I have hurt anyone’s feelings. It is definitely not intentional, and if I am in the wrong, please reach out. I am happy to have a discussion and reroute my perspective in the right direction.
THE IDLE MIND 