You are not alone

One is the Covid pandemic, ignored for months by lack of presidential leadership and ultimately left to the governors to handle, some extremely competent and others not. This pandemic has had a secondary effect as it has ripped the scab off the skin of racism in all forms in our country. And it has exposed the harsh reality of poverty in this country. Food desert is now a common term. Our country’s inability to effectively mobilize our pandemic response is disheartening at the very least. We are lagging behind most other countries who have met the crisis with assiduous and mandatory testing and tracing. Our failure to meet these standards is a humiliation for a country that used to be the first to conquer and eliminate diseases such as smallpox, polio, Ebola and have found effective treatments for HIV.

No matter how successful you are, if you are black, brown, Indian, Muslim, Jewish, Asian LGTBQ (and so many more it is hard to list all the groups that are persecuted including women) you must tell your children how to avoid encounters with the police, racists, rapists, Neo Nazis, pedophiles, and the list goes on.

Hate is poison, it is toxic for your body.

Love heals.

Art heals.

Laughter heals.

Fear, frustration and desperation are normal responses to horrific events. The cold, callous, non-caring way the police officer who nonchalantly had his knee on the neck of George Floyd, with his hands in his pocket, while taking a man’s life exhibits a lack of a human soul so deep it boggles the mind.

Within days artists have expressed themselves by painting murals and portraits honoring George Floyd. Please look at them, they are a click away.