Day 82

I am not alone in feeling angry and upset about recent events. I do not often rant about my opinions – maybe this is fear of reprisal or that I worry I haven’t got my facts straight – but I have to get this off my (ample) chest:

To all the people who are not socially distancing,

You are basically disregarding everybody else’s safety and you are essentially saying “fuck you” to all the sacrifices that frontline NHS and care workers have made. Have you seen the news? Do you know the death rate is over 40,000? Do you realise people are grieving for loved ones they didn’t even get to say goodbye to? People are DYING EVERY DAY, alone and scared. Your behaviour is ignorant, selfish and you are contributing to our rates of Coronavirus.

Cease your dickishness immediately,

Danii

*****

It pains me to see that racism is still rampant in this day and age. It doesn’t help that certain world leaders (who shall remain nameless) spew out bigoted and xenophobic bullshit on a regular basis**.

Racism can be driven by fear, personal experience and ignorance and I understand it is hard to break the cycle. Children are a product of their families and culture. They learn to hate.

I grew up in the eighties where the words “paki” “chink” and “wog” were regularly used to describe the colour of someone’s skin (I find it very uncomfortable to even type these words, but if we don’t face the reality, how can we change it). Although these phrases were not used by my parents or myself, they were used by peers and older members of our community. I do not think these terms were always used in an intentionally derogatory way, but that is worrying in itself. At some point I realised they were hurtful and would not engage with them, or with people who used them.   Was I able to do this because I was loved, resilient and growing up in an era of change?

Children are taught right and wrong by the people who care for them. Obviously the terms “right and wrong” are subjective. Do they actually tackle things like life skills, sexism, healthy relationships, racism and mental health in schools these days?

Furthermore, how in God’s name are these so-called professionals getting through the system and working to protect us?  ** oh yeah…

I pray that my stepdaughter and my nieces and nephews (blood-related or not) grow up in a world where racism is stopped in its tracks. I think this generation have more power and gumption than previous ones, my own included, and are using their intelligence and solidarity as a weapon against injustice.

*****

Last week I briefly discussed my sadness and anger at the beach litterbugs. There is still a LOT of work to save the ecology of our planet, but there is a glimpse of hope. People are pulling together to clean up the mess – literally – and there have even been sightings of new wildlife in our local waters. I will leave you with these beautiful images of a rare spiny seahorse, a dolphin and a seal, all of whom have recently visited our Dorset coastline.

Peace out x