Life in the Age of Corona

A Daily Diary

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2020

Antichrist

Maryland weather continues to be bi-polar, woke up to grey skies this morning, but far less fresh air than yesterday. The fact that I had closed all the downstairs windows the night before probably helped. It warmed up considerably during the day and now the evening is pleasantly warm. As a result we had our lunch outside and enjoyed a nice stroll around the neighborhood afterwards.

The Hood has changed with recent events. We see a lot of signs up “Black Lives Matter” is the most frequent sign we see. The best I think is “Silence = Violence”. There are also posts on lamppost and such like asking to text to #55156 to demand justice for recent victims of violence not just Floyde and Arbery. There is a frightening long list of names. Other posts provide information for donations.

The past two nights even our little center in Friendship Heights saw protests (with some windows damaged as a result) and today there were protests planed on Arlington Road. In the wake of these our Listserv had a very lively discussion about establishing a neighborhood watch. This was very quickly brought to an end by some of our residents of color who made it clear it would make them feel threatened. Everyone initially supportive of the idea became super apologetic and the issue is now of the table. I did not even know what a neighborhood watch was. In Germany a neighborhood watch simply means we look out for each other’s safety. Here it also involves procuring private security. I can see how that would not go down well. I can also understand how a person of color in a predominantly white neighborhood could feel terrified at the idea that “watchful citizens” may act the same way as those two white men in Georgia who shot Ahmaud Arbery. Just the idea that people have to think about this, cannot feel safe in their own neighborhood because no one but their direct neighbors knows them and may feel suspicious of any person with color illustrates the underlying problem and is terrible. It also makes the issue very personal.

News on this cover’s riots, protests and damages but is also increasingly critical of the police making the case that rather than calming protestors down they actually engage in counter protests. Given the powers of the US police and their immunity no matter how they behave this is not entirely surprising. I never knew police officers could not be prosecuted in civil courts, but it does explain some of what is going on and why so few have ever even been indicted never mind convicted.

Not at all unexpected is the involvement of right wing groups pretending to be antifa, a leftist group which the Orange Cheeto has termed as terrorists behind the current riots.  Pretending to do so as an antifa group right wing supports are calling people to be violent. Not only does this make matters worse, it also an act of extreme cowardice. If these right wing clowns want a fight in the streets, than at they should at least have the guts to stand up for it and own it. If there was any doubt about the role the instigator in chief has been playing, wait no more. As every day Heather Cox Richardson provides an excellent summary of the daily events through the political lens in her Letters from an Amercian Blog. 

Lastly, I am deeply troubled by pictures a colleague of mine posted on our WhatsApp Group for the team at work. It was meant as an emergency calling tree. From time to time people will post a picture of a dish they have prepared or a flower. Today however someone posted 23 pictures of boarded up entrances and windows, one of them our office building. I note how his troubles me. What is he trying to say, that he condemns the protests? Or the violence that comes with the protests? Somehow that is how I read it and think to myself what an idiot. This discussion is so much bigger than a few pictures, no? What point are you trying to make by posting them? Why not share pictures of police officers beating up teenagers? Tear gassing people assembled in prayer as a form of protest? These 23 uncommented photos make me angry beyond believe. I want to scream that this is a work group for emergency calls, not some platform to express political views. All the photos show are destruction. What is this post trying to say? Oh and yes, one is depicting the entrance to our office building boarded up. As far as I am aware it has not come under attack, so why share? Is this not insinuating the building was vandalized?

In the meantime, of course, all news of the Virus has left the public space while of course the virus continues to spread. The world today has 6.33 million known cases. Given the virus has been superseded the by violence in the public domain, the current administration does not have to own the 107k dead and almost 1.8 million infected or the economic fallout resulting from COVID-19. This is very much in the interest of the Instigator in Chief and is cronies. No one is discussing unemployment or the governments dismal performance on the Corona response. Everybody is enraged – rightfully so - by the audacity the so called president of this nation had. He had a square of praying protestors cleared with tear gas and rubber bullets so he could walk over to the church and have his picture taken in front of it bible in hand. Comments on this behavior I have seen on that have included  a picture of agent orange titled “the antichrist” !