“It’s. Just. Too. Much!”
Those words dominated my mind
ever since the coronavirus struck America.
Suddenly, death was in the air,
thousands were dying (blacks disproportionately), businesses and schools were
forced to close, people were ordered to stay home, the economy tanked, a psychopathic,
unqualified president was on TV every day lying, denying and giving bizarre,
dangerous medical advice. Then, we watched live, via video, a black man shot
and killed by a white father and son while jogging and another black man dying
with a cop’s knee on his neck while crying out for his mother.
It was all just too much. Too much
to take, too much to understand, too much to reconcile…too much to breath.
It was (and perhaps still is) an apocalyptic
period straight out of the Book of Revelations or any end-of-the-world cinematic narrative.
And then, the unexpected: The
killing of George Floyd was universally condemned by politicians, policemen, the
public at large and even some FOX News commentators. White people started
kneeling and showing up en masse to protest the unwarranted murder of unarmed
black people. Most didn’t allow “rioting” to be a convenient excuse to condemn all
protesters, deter their participation or remain stagnant and silent about racial
injustice.
It was an apocalyptic period straight out of the Book of Revelations or any end-of-the-world cinematic narrative.
Something changed in 2020 America
and, now, dare I say, I recognize the upside of a worldwide pandemic. Covid 19 cut across all the bullshit lines of racism,
capitalism, and exceptionalism. Suddenly, everyone was vulnerable. Money
or status had no sway over an indiscriminate, deadly virus. Mass unemployment cast
the comfortable and secure into the same lot as those dependent on government sustenance. Lives were lost due to a president’s hesitancy and
inability to respond accordingly.
Covid 19, with all its death and
destruction, served as the great social, political and economic equalizer. Because
of the pandemic, priorities changed. People measured their time on this planet,
their lives and those of their loved ones through a new prism of survival. Many analyzed their
values, principles, and political loyalties and some realized they may have
been out of line with humanity.
I wonder if Covid
19 was too much or just enough to wake up a country steeped in comfortable,
collective slumber. The strict, religious upbringing of my youth is still
carved into my DNA. Therefore, I wonder if the universe, in its omnipotent
wisdom, sent us a life-altering warning. I’m psychologically programmed to believe
that all the sickness, death, brutality and chaos is really a celestial warning to
get our collective houses in order.
I wonder if Covid 19 was too much or just enough to wake up a country steeped in comfortable, collective slumber.
So, the question is: Where do we go from here? Do we return
to divisive partisan politics? Will we continue to support a president who’s
proven that he’s dangerous, incompetent and solely dedicated to his reelection?
Do we, as black people, finally start the
process of reclaiming our communities, lives, the well-being and
futures of our children? Or, will we continue to beg or softly demand that politicians come up with our survival plan?
For what it’s worth, Covid 19 has provided a new slate, a new
platform for constructive dialogue and immediate social reform. It exposed the dangers and fallacies behind
white privilege, the “Blue Wall of Silence,” the “trickle down economics” theory and
presidential immunity.
Will we finally hold our president accountable for his deeds
and misdeeds? Will “justice” have meaning no matter how much money or power one
has? Will we repair a drastically broken health care system where skin color or
the lack of health insurance determines life or death? Will we dismantle a centuries-long
system that has codified and enabled men with badges to wrongly kill without reprisal? Will black
lives finally matter?
Covid 19 has provided a new slate, a new platform for constructive dialogue and immediate social reform.
The mood, the sentiment, the moment, the momentum to tackle
these issues seems to be before us. My
cynical side cautions me, though. Although some police have spoken out against
brutality, others are still wilding amid protesters. I am also aware of the unlimited
and invincible power of racism and ignorance. With someone in the White House proficient
and ready to use fear and propaganda to divide and conquer, we Americans can easily
revert to our divisive baser instincts.
Yet, the optimist inside tells me it’s a new day. I want to
believe we have new opportunities under a new sense of awareness and empathy. I want to believe we can steer this country back on the road to some form of normalcy.
Yes, the pandemic has unleashed great pain, heartbreak, death,
and disaster amongst us. But it has also given us new perspective, a new outlook and, hopefully, a new
way to explore our inherent commonalities.
This, I believe, is the gift of Covid 19.
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Sylvester Brown, Jr. is a former columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, founder of the Sweet Potato Project, an entrepreneurial program for urban youth and author of “When We Listen: Recognizing the Potential of Urban Youth.”
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