On the state of the world:
I know this blog isn't really much of a “platform”, but I want to speak from my heart and show support however I can, both on my personal blog and here.
I recently read a quote here on Tumblr that sums up the situation pretty well:
“We're all in this storm together, but we're all in different boats.”
Things are not the same for everyone. They never have been, least of all during a crisis. Working class, marginalized, and indigenous communities are getting hit harder by this pandemic than anyone else. Blue collar and minimum wage workers are at constant risk. Black people have been fighting for the right to live their lives without fear for over 400 years yet their demands are still being ignored by the powers that be. There is still no justice for those who have been wrongfully killed by the police. Indigenous people are still fighting to keep their homelands clean and safe to live in, and for their sacred places to stop being defiled. Families are fleeing their countries to escape from war and violence, and instead of compassion they're being met with imprisonment and unspeakable cruelty. These are only a few examples of the hurt humanity is facing right now; I can't even begin to describe all of them.
In times like these, no matter how big or how small our own boats are, when we see someone in a worse boat than our own, we should give a little bit of whatever we can. If you can't fit them aboard your vessel or if you don't have a lifeboat, toss them a lifesaver or a life jacket. Send out an SOS, or shoot off a flare gun. Share some food and provisions. Give them something to help keep them dry. Even if you just choose to stay by their boat until help arrives, that will make a difference. We might not be in the same boat, but we can keep our boats together and help make it so all of us can get through this storm. In other words, do what you personally can to help, whether it be through political activism, donating money and resources, or even just giving your time and support to those who are fighting a different battle than yourself.
That's what it means to be a community, and, in my opinion, that's what it really means to be human.
Be good to each other, and be good to yourselves.
