All must see that like Covid-19,
racism is treated with the same alacrity….
Another pandemic of baronial proportions currently grips Canada.
Millions are unemployed, and millions more remain sheltered in the confines of their domiciles,
as Covid-19 metamorphoses into an economic crisis.
However, on a note of profound dolefulness many Canadians have failed to be cognizant of the fact that there has been another pandemic raging in Canada since its founding so many centuries ago. Thousands of Canadians have contracted the highly contagious virus, however in similarity akin to Covid -19 only some experience symptoms.
While we struggle to find and accept the origin of Covid-19 and whether it is really spread through the SARS –CoV2 virus, we already know the origin of the other pandemic. Unquestionably it is human made: the virus is called racism.
This other pandemic has also led to economic, health issues and even loss of lives for many Canadians. Many are infected, and those who suffer symptoms are people of color. Testing and treatment for the virus is non-existent, and the judicial system which should at minimum offer redress has proven totally unfit of helping at worst and averse to helping at best.
Over the past years anti-discrimination rules and regulations have been passed, but have done little to halt the spread of the virus. The death toll has been equally devastating. Victims have been killed for trying to escape, uttering the wrong words or just existing in the wrong space in the wrong color.
In addition the virus has other severe effects. The truth be told, what makes this unrecognized pandemic so harmful and succinctly fatal is that thousands of Canadians refuse to believe it exists.
They blatantly refuse to acknowledge statistics, facts and history, and that discrimination dwells in the mind and is not easily visible.
However, similar to Covid-19, the inability to see it does not negate the fact that there are existing resultant manifestations. Undoubtedly, there will be some who say that this is not the time to whine about racial issues, but instead it is the time for us to come together.
To those people, I say “yes we are going through a terrible crisis, where social distancing and other measures need to be observed. However, there is never a convenient time nor place to bring attention to racial issues in Canada.”
Covid-19 has already feasted on our already existing racial disparities in the health and housing sector with deleterious consequences. Finding a cure will be difficult, as it requires a significant investment, and a prolonged commitment, that thus far Canada, has been reluctant to undertake. The concept of colorblindness and racial neutral laws have been tried and failed.
All must see that like Covid-19, racism is treated with the same alacrity. Immediate measures should be put in place, especially for the identified victims of a specific race. The death of George Floyd left many gasping in its wake, all struggling to breathe like fish in an oxygen-starved lake.
A nationwide review of policing, police technique and those who are seeking careers in policing need to be carried out immediately. This is of extreme importance, for you cannot stop a pandemic by only going after those who have already succumbed to the virus.
We must address those who are silent carriers, and those who deny the existence of the virus.
Conclusively, individuals who believe that they are judge, jury, and executioner need to be tried expeditiously.
Many want the economy to reopen, and they have every right to want that. We have all seen how hard it is to fight a pandemic, but imagine how hard it is to fight two at the same time, one of which has been raging for over 200+ years.
At some point there will be a vaccine or treatment for Covid-19, but what about Canada’s first pandemic?
The other pandemic will not just go away. The task lies in changing what’s behind the mask. Masks are only capable of doing so much. They protect by covering but the virus may still be hovering.
We are in this together when it comes to Covid19, but what about the other pandemic?
That’s certainly left to be seen.
Aleuta—The struggle continues.
