I can’t believe it’s January 17th because it feels like it should be later in the year and also earlier in the year at the same time. The first week of January was exceptionally tough for me personally, and the second week went by so quickly it all feels like a blur.

Here we are in week 3 of the new year and still experiencing the pandemic in new and devastating ways. With record numbers being announced almost every day and continual pleas from our government and the media to “do your part” in protecting yourself and others but providing conflicting ways in doing so, the entirety of the covid response gets even more disappointing and morbid everyday.

The idea right now seems to be that everyone will eventually get the virus but it might be okay as long as you’re vaccinated, but it also might not be okay if you’re immunocompromised or have other existing conditions, but oh well them’s the breaks. It is a heartless stance and it sounds dangerously like eugenics. What is eugenics? As defined in trusty Merriam-Webster, eugenics is the practice or advocacy of controlled selective breeding of human populations (as by sterilization) to improve the population's genetic composition. No, the CDC hasn’t outright said anything like this, oh wait, yes, they have. In an interview on Good Morning America that aired a few weeks ago, the CDC Direct said: The overwhelming number of deaths — over 75 percent — occurred in people who had at least four comorbidities, so really these are people who were unwell to begin with — and, yes, really encouraging news in the context of Omicron. While I don’t think her intention was to upset the communities she described as being “unwell” her words are not surprising when you think about how this country has (not) been dealing with Covid for the past few years. In 2020, older citizens were told they were the most vulnerable and some government leaders felt they were expendable. This was also when there was rhetoric around children somehow being immune or it not affecting them as intensely. In 2021, folks with “existing conditions” were told even with the vaccinations the virus could still be fatal. Now in 2022, we’re told everyone will get it eventually, so let’s just throw our hands up in the air and power through this thing instead of protecting all of the vulnerable people and creating comprehensive plans to save everyone we possibly can. Whenever I hear anyone say something like, well only x% have died, it blows my mind. That percent isn’t just a number on a page. That percent represents people and families affected by this virus. It’s families and friends being ravaged by grief and loss. It’s a number of human beings who are no longer able to laugh with their loved ones. It’s not “just” or “only” or any form of that language because they were people with whole lives, so when I hear everyone will get the virus I also hear, many people are going to die and there’s nothing the government is willing to do to prevent it.

What we need right now is an international response to Covid. Everyone on this planet should have access to vaccines, tests, housing, funds, basic necessities as we lock down and actually stop the spread. The virus has been mutating. Omicron is the most infectious, but what if the next one is more deadly? Operating like this last wave is the final one and that this will eventually be like the regular flu is dismissive and misleading and will be our downfall . We know a lot about the flu because it’s been around for a while, we are still learning about this virus, so it’s irresponsible to treat it the same until we simply know more. Health care professionals and scientists know this, but for some reason they’re the bad guys and instead we should listen to leaders who just want the pandemic to end but have no comprehensive ideas on how to end it.

President Joe Biden was supposed to be our beacon of light in this expansive darkness. I voted for him with the expectation that he was willing to be unconventional in his response and actually put people before anything else. I voted for him thinking he would be firm in creating a serious plan to combat a serious virus. I voted for him thinking he would be the change we all craved. I was naive. I put faith in a campaign that is still functioning under the cruelty of capitalism and is unwilling to step out of those confines. The whole nation is still reeling from the lack of response to the pandemic.

Students are walking out of their classrooms, because they are being forced to go into environments where they will be exposed. There is a hunger strike at Rikers (which needs to be shut down but that’s another story) to call attention to the inhumane conditions giving way to high infection rates. People are refusing to work in unsafe conditions. A staggering number of people quit their jobs last year and services are being affected because their workforce is being ravaged by the virus. This virus isn’t just going to go away and it’s affects aren’t going to dissipate after the pandemic ends. There are some very crucial conversations and organizing efforts that have been brewing this whole time. More and more people are realizing a return to normal isn’t as desirable as it seems and that there are some fundamental changes necessary. Discontentment has been percolating and it feels like change is coming.

In other news, there have been good things happening during this time of turmoil. People are realizing their dreams, spending more time with family, resting, and learning. The pandemic has done a number on us all, but we’re all figuring out ways to cope, heal, and/or grow in our own ways. New communities have emerged, online connections being made, pandemic babies being had. With all that’s going on in the world, humanity is still continuing to function and in some circumstances flourish.

The reason I write about all this stuff isn’t just to help me process the constant onslaught of thoughts swirling around in this old noggin’, but also because I firmly believe there could be another way in which our society operates. My frustrations are so great because I can see a world where people are living peacefully and not suffering under the heel of capitalism/racism/greed. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had a message that’s been coopted, chopped and screwed, and boiled down, but his original, unfettered message addressed white supremacy and gave hope to a world that could exist without it. What inspires me most about Dr. King was his ability to mobilize and uplift communities. His speeches weren’t just words spoken but fiery, impassioned calls for change. The idea of a different society permeated nations and it seemed the whole globe was standing by for ways to change, but his voice was too loud, his demands too much for white supremacy. So, now we have this day every year to commemorate him where people who could care less about civil liberties, equality, and especially condemning racism, hold tightly to their unjust systems and dare to quote his speeches, pretending to want the dream he had us all imagine. It’s awful.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr spoke about his dream almost 60 years ago. We’re still working towards it, but one of the first steps is admitting there’s a problem, and this admission has been a brunt of the process for several years. Now it’s time to think big about that change and what it looks like. We are ready to actualize your dream, Dr. King. We’ve been ready for a while.