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  2020-03-18

  How Will COVID-19 Change the World? Historian Frank Snowden on Epidemics From the Black Death to Now

  This video is an interview the Democracy Now did with Frank Snowden, Professor Emeritus at Yale University early on in the pandemic (March 18, 2020). Dr. Snowden specializes in the history of epidemic diseases and the history of modern Italy. His father was the first African American ambassador to Italy. At the time of the interview, Dr. Snowden was in lockdown in Rome, Italy. He had gone there to research another project when the pandemic hit, so he changed his focus to studying covid-19. He contracted the disease himself, but was lucky enough to live through it. I was particularly interested in Dr. Snowden's views on the pandemic since I had watched his Yale lecture series on epidemics available on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3AE7B3B6917DE8E6) which was incredible in its thorough exploration of some of the worlds worst outbreaks. In the interview he states that an early modern Florentine would recognize a lot of governments' actions to combat covid-19 as very similar to those used by the Italian city-states and elsewhere in Europe to combat bubonic plague, especially the concept of quarantine. He also addresses the startling commonality between anti-Semitism during the first several plague outbreaks to the Sinophobia and xenophobia seen during our current pandemic. The interviewer also brings up a great question about the possibility of fascism arising out of strict government measures to combat disease. I was particularly curious to hear Dr. Snowden's response in light of the protests in the United States against quarantine and mask-wearing. He acknowledged that while it could be one outcome, it is not the only nor the most probable possibility. Many governments have voluntarily ended their strict measures during pandemics without devolving into fascist states. Now that the pandemic is, it seems, waning I believe it is abundantly clear that those Americans who feared that their freedoms were threatened by historically proven practices were both selfish and foolish. They and our ineffective and dangerous leadership cause the United States to become a hotbed for Covid-19, while other countries who swiftly enacted and enforced lockdown measures and mask mandates, such as New Zealand and Italy, recovered much more quickly. I contend that Donald Trump and his sheep are responsible for thousands of unnecessary deaths.
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  2021-02-03

  The Proud Boys have been listed as a terrorist organization, now what?

  Earlier this week, the Proud Boys were successfully listed as a terrorist organization by parliament thanks to the tireless efforts of Jagmeet Singh, the NDP, and Canadians who voiced their concerns regarding the fascistic proud boys, following their role in the January 6th coup attempt in Washington D.C. This news article was written in the wake of the ruling, that while the listing of the Proud Boys as a terrorist organization is undoubtedly a good thing, there have been questions raised in regards to effectively combating white supremacy and subsequently the amount of work that went into resisting expanding Canada’s description of ‘terrorist organizations.’ Essentially, by listing the Proud Boys as a Terrorist organization, we have been confronted with a possibility that future, more repressive or Conservative governments could easily utilize these legal systems against BIPOC community organizations, indigenous sovereignty and anti-fascists across the country. That essentially, we are relying too overly on the state itself to counter harmful movements which are fermenting across our country. That in order for lasting, and efficient change – we must be able to break from relying on state security and secret intelligence and tackle the problem at its core; mainly, what is causing the spread and radicalization processes of white supremacists. Essentially, we are only kicking the can down the road – that while this development is undoubtedly good for all Canadians, we are failing to address why white supremacy is so prevalent, and violent in our country, as the article concludes, “I understand why it feels good to call this organization a terrorist organization and why it might send the right signal but I think it also sends a false signal,” he said. ”Are we actually dealing with the underlying ideology of white supremacy by doing this? No we’re not.” I’m uploading this document to highlight the ongoing debate and conflict with white supremacy in Canada, providing how Canadians are now being confronted with the question of “what now?” following the ruling. For me, we will not defeat white supremacy in Canada until we address the influence of the institutions which are entrenched in our colonial history, and the subsequent ideology of white supremacy, such as the RCMP. The RCMP were a rural police force created solely to facilitate the Westward expansion of white Canadian settlers, effectively a state tool of genocide towards Indigenous peoples; to this day they still carry on the torch of eroding and combating Indigenous sovereignty, they are often the tool of the state and private business interests on unceded Indigenous land.
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  2020-04-20

  A Conflicting Agenda

  This image portrays two women in downtown Sacramento in protest of the shelter-in-place lockdown that Governor Gavin Newsom implemented. One women is seen holding a sign that portrays Governor Gavin Newsom as part of the Nazi regime or compared with Adolf Hitler. Another woman is seen in the foreground carrying a child on her back with another sign declaring that “All Businesses Are Essential”. Both women are protesting against business closures, unemployment, and being unable to return to the workforce. While with some jobs work is almost guaranteed like those who work for the state, other private and small businesses are suffering. On the other hand, while having the freedom to assemble and speak openly comes with its benefits, the sign depicting Gavin Newsom as a Nazi is quite extreme. The level of ignorance present in this photograph equates its offensive demeanor and deeply undermines the experiences of Holocaust survivors and the other millions of lives lost. For me fellow Sacramentans, seeing signs and descriptions such as these make me feel less proud of the town I live in. I thought the pandemic would help us realize our insensitive words and unnecessary slurs but it’s only reminded many people of a troubled past. The pandemic has truly brought a side of the American people that I have never seen and as a young student seeing adults act with rational thought makes me wonder where our world will be in the next few decades. If the world changes, so do we. Some people have a hard time overcoming adversity and the pandemic has exposed triggers amongst the American people. One of them being economic downfall. The image clearly represents what some individuals believe to be most important and valued in life. It seems that we have reached a point through this pandemic that we no longer prioritize the lives of each other but rather how much money is in the bank. In many ways, this is a reflection of what America was built off of.