I’ve been taking a break from posting regularly, from writing and reading, to take in what’s happening. Until today, I even forgot this month is National Poetry Month. It seems so trivial compared to the events that are propelling us into another tumultuous year.
When the trial of Derek Chauvin began, tensions were starting to build. Then, on Sunday, Daunte Wright was shot and killed by a police officer less than a year since George Floyd’s killing and only miles away. Protests broke out the same day in multiple cities.
Dealing with the frustration and the sadness of this event while processing the trial’s updates is nerve-wracking. Hoping for true justice for George Floyd’s killing, and then only to have another Black man killed. These events are the kindling for a raging fire primed to spread across the nation.
To me, it feels like this is the start of another summer of protests. The same emotions and tensions are there, but now a compound interest of the events of the past year have the ability to birth events that will make last year appear tame in comparison (—add the growing frustration about the hate crimes directed toward the AAPI community. The nation will continue to ride these waves of unrest until real change happens. We cannot step back into the past; we have to move forward.
I feel a gnawing sadness mixed with irritation. This country is on the cusp of change, but it’s not safe to say if the change will be for the good of the people or reinforce the plague of systemic racism and economic oppression that have killed people for generations.
The poor are getting poorer while the rich are benefiting from the pandemic. The gaps are growing among social classes, which adds to the tension from the murdering of Black people by police, hate crimes, and the pandemic.
The pandemic is an infectious thread weaving it all together. With many places opening up, loosening restrictions, and ending mask mandates without the recommended minimum of 70-90% of the population fully vaccinated for herd immunity to work, there could very likely be another deadly wave like what we saw during winter.
We’ve already lost approximately 562,000 people. How many more will die? I think it is very likely with the low percentages of people either partially or fully vaccinated, this premature reopening could result in states shutting down again this year.
How will it be six months from now? Three months? Who knows, but this year isn’t going to be a quiet one from what I’ve observed.
I wrote this at the beginning of the week. Yesterday, there was another mass shooting, this time in Indianapolis. A 19-year-old man killed eight people, injured seven, and then killed himself. I wonder how many people have to die before we take responsibility for these killings, enact stricter gun laws, and provide more resources for those in need of help. We need to seriously consider why men are capable of these horrific acts of mass murder. How do these acts reflect on the condition of our society? Our country?
What do these killings say about us? It’s not just the actions of one person that resulted in the murder of innocent people, it’s our inability to take action to prevent this that resulted in their deaths. These deaths, from racism, hatred, pain, from the pandemic, these are on us. We have to take responsibility for what we’ve done.