America's Two Viruses: COVID-19 and RACISM

I can't believe that in 2020, racism is still very much an issue that black people (in particular) are facing every. single. day. I also can't comprehend how Donald Trump and Boris Johnson are in charge of two of the most powerful countries, the USA and the UK. How have people actually let these disgusting men get into power? It is wild.

Living life as a white and privileged girl, I guess I thought that racism was more of a thing of the past. Obviously I have been aware that slurs are still used, and injustice is still common, however, I have never realised quite how awful and apparent racism still is in current times.

I believe a large reason as to why I held these narrow-minded views was due to

growing up in North Wales. It is a very strange place in itself. It's ultimately extremely white washed, with next to no diversity of different races and religions.

Since moving away from the small town life, to a diverse and multicultural city (Nottingham), it only confirmed beliefs I already had surrounding my home area. My high school was the biggest in all of North Wales, yet there were only two black families in my whole six years there. There was one Indian family, one Japanese, one Thai.. and that was about it. We were never educated or made aware (apart from the odd history lesson) about the injustice and struggles in which people of colour face across the world, each and every day.

On Wednesday I saw the tweet (pictured right) on my timeline and I have never felt so ashamed. I have recently had conversations with my friends from uni (located across the UK: London, Merseyside, Yorkshire), and my group from college about how uncomfortable I would feel if I were a POC, living where I do. It is ridiculous because why should anyone be looked at and treated differently just because of the colour of their skin?

I understand that the male and female who had this conversation must have felt totally isolated, and I want to make a change to this, to make people in my area understand their privilege as a white person and how they can make North Wales welcoming to EVERYONE.

I'd say I started addressing these issues around the age of 17, when I began travelling to cities across the UK for nights out etc, and noticed how much more diverse other areas are. I was also introduced through Twitter and Instagram, to privilege, police brutality, and discrimination (as well as lots of other problems) through BLM - Black Lives Matter - accounts. Again, these accounts shouldn't even have to exist. Globally, people should be accepting of everyone, no matter what race, gender religion, and it is just crazy to me to know millions of people don't hold this view. Educating myself through reading and watching news, travelling to understand different cultures and ways of life, and getting out of my home town, completely changed and opened up my outlook on the world, politics and society. It did take a short while to fully understand what privilege was, but when I did, the way I looked at the world completely shifted, and I feel I must help in someway or other.

The prompt for this post came from a horrendous act which happened on Monday evening in Minneapolis, USA. The 46-year-old, father, friend, and coworker GEORGE FLOYD was killed by the white police officer Derek Chauvin, as three other officers watched. Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes long, after he was handcuffed, whilst he was heard stating “I can't breathe”. Floyd was detained due to being wrongfully accused of fraud by a local shop owner, something which isn't new to black American people. The whole arrest and murder was caught on camera and swiftly began circulating global media in order to get justice for this poor, innocent man, who's family lost him purely due to racism. People have become adamant to exploit the issue of police brutality in America, with many extra videos popping up and going viral, to show the world what really is going on.

Following this, riots began in Minneapolis and across other American states. People have protested, and some gathered around Chauvin’s house, where he was hiding. 75 (!!!) police officers began guarding his house, essentially drefending his utterly racism-fuelled murder. This shows that the law is ready to stand by Chauvin instead of taking action against him. Luckily enough, social media has enabled us to see all of this for what it truly is. It has given people a platform to speak and call out against these inexcusable crimes. Both Twitter and Instagram have become united, with #BLM posts, art and activism. Many petitions have arisen to seek justice for George Floyd, and to make these officers accountable for his murder. Here is a link to one in particular (Justice for Big Floyd) - https://www.justiceforbigfloyd.com - which you should go and sign immediately.

The point is, white people, there is a lot of work to do, but we can help. Rachel Cargle tweeted that it is no longer enough for white people to say “I’m shocked”, “I can’t believe this”, “I had no idea”. To her it is "offensive to that our pain is so far off your radar that the mention of it shocks you”, as I can imagine. She says that we should instead be talking to friends, family, and colleagues about this injustice, about which organisations are helping, discussing and donating money, and about what you’ve learnt about race issues in America. Sign petitions, educate yourself and others, be vocal. Just do your part and do not be complacent.

Below is a screenshot of my own twitter feed from the past three days...

This morning my twitter feed was full of horror regarding five CNN reporters being detained, LIVE ON TV. I still cannot believe what I witnessed, they did nothing wrong yet officers still formally arrested them. They were simply doing their job reporting on the riots happening in Minneapolis, in a VERY peaceful manner, stood exactly where authorities had said they could.

... and then today, 20/05/2020, Trump utterly out-did himself with the following tweets:

His second one even led to Twitter hiding it, due to its promotion of violence with the use of GUNS. Crazy. The world really has gone mad - and for as long as Trump is in charge of the US, I can't see anything progressing.

Let's come together and make a difference, even if it is simply making family and friends aware of white privilege and how we will never face the issues which POC do.

#BlackLivesMatter.

I'm not black, but I see you.

I'm not black, but I hear you.

I'm not black, but I mourn with you.

Mia

xo