What has been really turning over in the ol’ noggin these last few weeks is how we as a nation continue to reconcile the failings of the US Government and our many institutions, specifically as it pertains to the pandemic. It hasn’t been said nearly enough: Our Government failed its duty to protect its citizens during a global pandemic and nobody is taking responsibility. It’s beyond the president.
Forgive Yourself, Keep Going
Imagining I’m here.
This is advice I am constantly trying to give myself in moments like this where I’m feeling incredibly unmotivated and hopelessly petrified when it comes to completing any sort of task. It’s been a week of not updating the ol’ blog and it takes everything in me not to chalk it up to a complete failure of my mind or some kind of other lacking area on my part. I have to constantly remind myself that I am allowed to have good and bad days, productive and unproductive weeks, calm and tumultuous months. Not to mention that I am- we all are still experiencing a global pandemic that has completely upended our way of life and has resurfaced inequality in a way that is not only necessary but painfully devastating. It always helps me to read I’m not alone spiraling into oblivion, so I thought I‘d write out here how I’ve been handling things in case anyone else is feeling equally BLAH.
Thanksgiving: A Day to Be Thankful, A Day to Mourn
Indigenous people of this country are mourning all across the country today while lies continue be told in our school system that downplay the vile mistreatment of the original proprietors of this land. There are any different origin stories of how Thanksgiving came into being. One of them is the meal that the pilgrims were indulging in was not in celebration of their newfound kinship, it was in celebration of a strike against the native people resulting in the deaths of 700 people from the Pequot tribe after a man was found dead in his boat. It was in retaliation for his death because the Pilgrims thought that tribe was behind it. So they crept into their land and burned their houses down while they were asleep. Another story is that when the settlers first arrived they did have a meal and after hearing gunshots the Massasoit people came to check it out. They were invited to eat with them but there wasn’t enough food, so the Massasoit sent out hunters and they returned with 5 deer, but this was in March. While it might be nice to cling onto that latter account to attribute this holiday to something less iniquitous, it’s in this country’s best interest to, how do I put this mildly, pull its head out of its rear.
Staying Home for Thanksgiving: A Fowl Reality
Don’t worry lone pumpkin you’ll be reunited soon!
First and foremost this sucks. Thanksgiving is by far the best holiday because I love food (duh), and I get to see my extended family. This year I will not be taking my normal sojourn to the south to bask in the warm Miami air and post pics of the beach on my social media channels. No, I will be staying put this year, because the thought of getting on a plane and potentially bringing the virus to my family terrifies me. I know I’m not the only one making this sad decision, but I also see petulant pea-brains who are vehemently opposed to shuttering their hapless plans. It’s this unbridled selfishness being exhibited across the nation that truly worries me.
The Election Aftermath
It’s taken me a while to sit down and write out everything I’ve been thinking/feeling over the last few weeks because there’s just been SO MUCH. For some crazy reason I figured once the election was called yes, there would be some pouting and dramatic Twitter meltdowns, but that he would begrudgingly concede. HA HA LOL YEAH RIGHT. We’re going on week 2 post-election and he’s still filing cases in multiple courts to overturn the results. Goodness and Giuliani is leading the charge. It would be comical if the egregious delay to the transition of power wasn’t directly impacting the handling of the pandemic. It feels like we’re all just in this forced limbo right now bracing for heaven or hell. Doomed. Waiting. Forever.