BLM v COVID

Amidst the chaos created by the COVID-19 pandemic and America’s failed federal response to it, we’ve had another major, culture-shifting series of events that has changed how the nation deals with issues of race.  I’ll reference to it as the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

BLM has been around for years, in response to over-aggressive and often fatal police interactions with black men and women.  More recently, a series of these avoidable, deadly interactions has been captured on video by either security cameras or individuals, the most notable being the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

The BLM movement is now everywhere, manifested in large protests across the country.  White people are now beginning to understand the systemic, often unseen and unrecognized racism that pervades in the U.S.  There’s been a renewed effort to eliminate not only the racism, but the symbols of it, including things like the confederate flag and confederate statues.

Of course, ‘fixing’ 300 years of systemic racism isn’t going to happen overnight.  There’s still BLM resistance from the overt and covert white supremacy folks, and from the president, although saying that is redundant.  The current federal government, along with some states, would still much prefer to maintain the status quo privileges of the white Christian male.

What's equally infuriating about it is the simpleton argument from the opposition that 'all lives matter' as if that negates the BLM cause.  Here's the best analogy I've seen to counter this:  If your house is on fire, should the fire department come and pour water on all the houses on your street?  Because all houses matter, right?  Of course all houses matter, but the one to focus on is the one that's on fire.  How hard is this for people to understand? 

Private businesses will have to lead on this for now, as individuals are drawn to those showing more action, especially with their dollars.  Following the money – it’s the American Way.

When we look back on 2020, we’ll primarily consider the pandemic and how it changed society.  However, the longer lasting impact of 2020 will be how the BLM changed the way people view racism.

A Tale Of Two Viruses

As I write this, we are in the midst of a global pandemic, brought about by a novel virus with no existing vaccine or treatment.  This virus sickens virtually everyone who comes into contact with it.  It does not care about race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, financial class, political affiliation, or nationality.  It is not a hoax.  All of this has led to an economic meltdown of historic proportions, as worldwide people are asked to abide the directives of governments that cannot be trusted to provide proper information or materials.

Also as I write this, we are in the midst of a domestic crisis, brought about by a narcissistic virus with no existing vaccine or treatment.  This virus sickens virtually everyone who comes into contact with it.  It only cares if you are white, Christian, male, straight, upper class, Republican, and American.  It is a total hoax.  All of this has led to a political meltdown of historic proportions, as American citizens are asked to abide the directives of a government that cannot be trusted to provide proper information or materials.

The virus I refer to in the first paragraph is COVID-19.  The virus I refer to in the second paragraph is Donald Trump.

Let's hope one of these viruses overcomes the other as soon as possible.

Beyond The Evolutionary Lottery

There are all kinds of built-in advantages to being a natural 1) Caucasian-born 2) American 3) male.  Any one of these three gives a person a head start in life; being all three is like winning the evolutionary lottery, especially economically and socially.  I realize this, although most do not.

However, there is one thing I believe no one is naturally born with that, if attained through effort and some luck, creates a big advantage in life.  Intelligence.  (I say luck is involved because although it isn't natural, intelligence is still more likely to be attained by those advantaged, white American males who are far more likely to be educated through college.)

Smarter people are capable of doing more things in life, and doing them effectively and efficiently, and therefore they gain advantages over others.  There are tons of examples, some obvious (understanding technology) and some not so obvious (critical thinking).

Knowledge is power, whether it's at the office, at the bar, or at the neighborhood block party.  Just being able to carry on a conversation with the person standing next to you, whomever that is, can be a big plus in a variety of situations.

There is one major downside for some of the smarties out there:  Their frequent inability to grasp that they aren't always the smartest person in the room.  This brings them well-earned disregard from those they would seek to impress.  Let's just say the positive correlation between knowledge and power is sometimes offset by the negative correlation between intelligence and self-awareness.

Regardless, knowing things other people don't know is a huge advantage in a world that relies less and less on physical talent.  The best part of this is, almost anyone can do it.  (I say almost because again, it helps a lot to be born in America, home of taxpayer-funded public education and the public library.)

If only it mattered more in politics, where intelligence apparently provides no advantage whatsoever.

It's Not A Choice

Last week, the latest social culture conflict hit the Catholic high school my kids attended.  Specifically, a gay teacher/coach was fired when the school poo-bahs suddenly(?) discovered that he lived an "openly" gay lifestyle.

This firing is legal for private institutions in Iowa.  Which is beside the point.  The point is, somehow our society still tolerates discrimination based on sexual orientation.

It took a very long time, but America finally figured out that it was wrong to discriminate based on gender and race.  Of course, it still occurs, but it isn't socially acceptable.  And as we go through future generations, that discrimination will occur less and less.

While great strides have been made to stop discrimination against gays, there is a very long way to go.  This is evidenced not only by this high school's action, but by some of the support they got for it.  I consider some of these supporters to be level-headed people.  What do I see that they don't?

Here it is:  They, like so many others, do not understand or accept that being gay is not a choice.  That's really all there is to it.  If you accept that people's sexual orientation is who they are, in the same way that gender or race are a given, then the discrimination becomes obvious -- and embarrassing, and infuriating, etc.

One day soon, society will not tolerate what went on at this high school and elsewhere.  We won't consider protections for sexual orientation to be 'special rights' or otherwise.  We'll look back and ask how any of this could have happened as late as 2015.

In the meantime, let's hope people figure out that it's wrong to be unfair to others who are born a certain way.