Items

• 2021-10-17

  The Covid Disconnect

  The story and my experience are an example of the many ways in which the pandemic affected individuals in different ways. It goes without saying that each person was impacted in varied ways due to Covid-19, however, not all of them were either explicitly negative or an outcome that is easily defined as being either beneficial or harmful. During the height of the pandemic in the United States, I was employed as an Assistant Warehouse Manager in Green Bay, WI. My workload and responsibilities were already a little taxing, but once things got in full swing with Covid they became even more so. I went from working an average of 60 hours a week to over 75. This was mainly due to about a third (or more) of our employees being out of work due to quarantine-type measures or actual illness. This went on for months at the beginning. Many weeks out of that time period there were as few as about a dozen of us running three shifts in a warehouse that normally employed roughly 40 workers. Also at this time, my wife became unemployed because her place of employment shut down. Others around me were losing their jobs in droves and facing financial hardship. But due to my position and the nature of the job, I had never had more job security and we never faced any kind of financial difficulties. On the contrary, during the entire pandemic, my wife and I never went without or struggled. This gave me a surreal feeling and one that I almost felt guilty for living through. Aside from some minor changes in my daily life, I barely noticed any personal changes due to Covid. All in all, it was an extremely odd time to live through; the pandemic wasn't necessarily bad for my wife and me, but I know it was for countless others. And that made it all the more strange.
• 
  2021-10-05

  Life During a Pandemic

  This is a brief look into life during the pandemic and how society has changed as well as what I have learned about the world and myself throughout the last two years. This is important to me because history is a great way to learn more about where we are today, if I am able to contribute to giving an insight to future generations about how our lives were affected by the global pandemic, I would be happy to do so.
• 
  2021-02-21

  Laura Larson Oral History, 2021/02/21

  Self description: “My name is Laura, and I am in two bands right now. I am in a band called Scrunchies and a band called Kitten Forever. I play guitar, base, drums, and I sing in those two bands. I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota. For work, I work at a community cooperative grocery store, in an administrative position, but one that is community outreach based and have a lot to do with meeting and coordinating with our community partners, a lot of the work that I do is about mutual aid, and helping out the community with the resources that we have available to us. Besides that I am a visual artist, I like to paint, I like to draw, I like to read books, and I live in a little duplex with my partner and our cat Sissy.” Some of the things we spoke about included: - In addition to performing in the bands Scrunchies and Kitten Forever, working for a community grocer and its ties to health activism. - Income and racial disparities in Minnesota. - The fear that comes with being uninsured in the United States. - The national confusion around the values of masking and other safety precautions and the burden placed on individuals to make these decisions in the absence of clear and consistent messaging. - The significance of shutting down music events while keeping sporting events going. - Media representation of event cancelations, freezers of bodies, and overwhelmed hospitals. - Living less than a mile from where George Floyd was murdered and movements to defund the police. - How the ongoing destruction of the earth conditioned the pandemic and the enduring importance of climate change. - Grocery store workers being essential workers who still did not receive vaccination prioritization. - Collective trauma and that fear begets fear. - Making and consuming art as a form of self-care. - How new the internet still is as a technology. Cultural references: Save Our Stages, The Atlantic article “Cancel Everything”. See also: https://scrunchies.bandcamp.com/ https://kittenforever.bandcamp.com
• 
  2020-06-19

  The Dangerous Luxury of Claiming You've Rejected Society

  Early in the pandemic, a man I knew died of Covid-19 in an overwhelmed hospital. I kept thinking he might not have died if the hospital had been better funded. Then I remembered he had once insisted to me that he lived outside society. I saw a sad connection: hospitals and public health in general were underfunded because too many people felt they did not share a common society with others. More thoughts about Covid and community started flooding my mind. Eventually I pulled these thoughts together in a short essay.
• 
  2020-08-20

  'Will the COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter change science and society?'

  This piece discusses the ways the COVID-19 pandemic, which disproportionately affects black communities, intersects with the Black Lives Matter movement with potential to change the trajectories of health, science, and society.
• 
  2020-06-05

  Waking Up to White Privilege

  As a white person I have struggled with how to express myself in this difficult, historic time. Ultimately what I say doesn't matter as much as any Person of Color in this moment, because when I think I understand, i can't possibly. The only thing I think I can contribute that is my place to say, is to express some thoughts to other white people in this moment about what this moment means. It's no longer enough to not be racist. A lot of us have hung our hats on "not seeing color" or treating people equally regardless of their race. Weve been making those steps for 60 years as a nation, and the slow March of forward progress has only made actual racists hide behind more obscure symbolism and made white people feel better about themselves. Every white person who wants to consider themselves "good" in this moment, now has a responsibility to attack and drive out racism. And every white person who tries to say racism isnt that bad or isnt the real problem now, needs to be confronted with the fact they are making it worse. You cant compare police killing statistics to black on black crime. Doing so ignores the fact that a deep distrust of the police born from centuries of abuse and persecution has made minority communities vulnerable to criminal influence as good people are afraid to call the cops because the cops might be worse than criminals they need protecting from. You cant say all lives matter. Because, 1) no shit. And 2) people are trying to lift up the most abused segment of our population, and doing so will raise the tide for all people. Sure there is that incident where a white person was beaten or killed by cops. That's why BLM and other movements are asking for things like independent review of all complaints and incidents not just those affecting minorities. There are a million reasons why AllLivesMatter is not appropriate and diminishes the moment. Feel free to PM me if you want to discuss this, but that conversation distracts the conversation from constructive discourse to have to have in public. You can't say protesting is causing division in this country. Black people are asking to be seen and heard, they are asking you to better understand their experience, their fear and their pain. If you are refusing to acknowledge that experience, or somehow invalidate it because you have never seen it, you are the one causing division. Citing the looting or rioting as causing this "division" is a whole separate issue. For this point I will just say, you can't equate protesting with the looting and rioting, they are different things. You can condemn looting. But instead of just using it as a reason to dismiss or act against protestors, you have to look at what is actually going on. There are multiple different types of looting and rioting going on. Some is a response to police meeting peaceful protest with more violence and oppression. This is the anger and the burning. Like when one child hits another and the second child bites in response. Neither is ok, you don't excuse the first child hitting because the response may have been worse. Violence begets violence, and places where curfews have been rolled back and protestors have not been met with police, protests have remained peaceful and people have danced in the streets. The other type of looting is what happened in Fairfield and Vallejo, with looting without protest, the stealing. This is horrible, and criminal, but also a clear sign the system has been ineffective at improving or protecting our communities and has created safe spaces for criminal elements created by their community fearing Police brutality more than the criminal elements also terrorizing them. Protestors arent saying that looting is ok, and looting shouldn't in any way diminish their message. Looting should be condemned, but also think about what the looting means and how it serves as proof the protestors are right. People loot when teams and cities win or lose sports championships every year, there are unsavory elements that will take advantage every chance they get. If anything protestors want to improve their communities so looting doesnt happen again. Looting is horrible and absolutely should be condemned, but it a symptom of the underlying problem far more than a product of protests, and is being used as an excuse to set curfews in place to justify breaking up protests unlawfully. You cant joke about Covid. People protesting during a pandemic doesnt mean they dont take it seriously or it isnt a problem. It means the moment is so big, people are willing to take on another layer of danger in unrest because they dont know when they will have this moment again. You need to demand more of your police. A good cop is no longer one that doesnt beat or abuse people, it's one who reports or acts against the abuses by others. Sadly cops who do that are driven out of forces and departments. If we want to talk about places like Camden, NJ, where they disbanded their Police department and rebuilt it with all local officers, officer involvement in the community, and they are actually seeing reductions in crime as well as Public approval of the police department, thats a good conversation to have, and something worth praising and commending. Dont post pictures of officers kneeling, 2 days ago Buffalo, NY officers kneeled, and 24 hours later in the same location, the same officers nearly killed a peaceful 75 year old man. Officers kneeling with protestors has been compared to an abusive boyfriend apologizing before beating you again 2 weeks later. We need change not gestures. A reform of our police system benefits the good cops as much as the victims of the bad cops, as they will be able to protect and serve their community the way they wanted to when they became cops, instead of fearing reprisal for speaking up or stopping abusive officers. You need to educate yourself on what protestors are facing. The police brutality in these times in coming in overwhelming waves. This brutally is causing protests to escalate into panic or riots, which then creates the safe space for the criminal element to loot. I suggest if you can stomach unsettling images you check out the Twitter thread I'm going to link. It started with a lawyer documenting 10 instances of unjustified police brutality or abuses of rights in the first day and a half of protests, 6 days in it's over 300 videos. https://twitter.com/greg_doucette/status/1266751520055459847?s=19 You need to understand the basics of what is being asked for. There is so much hurt and anger,and a lot of people only see hashtags like #defundthepolice or #abolishthepolice and think it's ridiculous we need cops. Some of it is exaggeration, some of it is just more nuanced. The basic things people want come down to. 1) Independent review. Instances of police brutality and killings are investigated and determined lawful or not by District Attorneys who work with the same officers on a daily basis and are dependent on their cooperation to do their job, as well as seek re election. This is the definition of conflict of interest, an independent office of some sort needs to do this work. 2) police funding needs to change. Police budgets are insanely large portions of local government spending, with ridiculous amounts spent on military grade equipment and way too little spent on things like social workers and drug counseling. Our communities are better served trying to better them than to punish them. Both in efficiency and quality of life. 3) elimination of qualified immunity. When a cop violates someone's civil rights and isnt even charged, the city often still loses a civil lawsuit (because civil rights were violated) the city or municipality ends up liable for the damages, not the police department or the offending officer. This further depletes resources for the community at large and is a further part of the plea to "hold police accountable". If doctors are liable for their own mistakes, why arent police departments? Why does seeking restitution for crimes against you make your community's schools, social programs or arts suffer, and not the actual entity that committed the crime? You need to see how it's working. The state of Colorado, the city of Portland, and the city of Minneapolis are making massive changes to their police programs. The LAPD budget is under review with hundreds of millions of dollars potentially being diverted to other community improvement. The officers were all arrested and charged, that happened because people werent satisfied each step along the way. And that doesnt mean the final goal is accomplished, there are hundreds of other civil rights violations and abuses new and old that have not seen justice. These protests will get stronger and stronger until that wave of change spreads, and as certain government parties respond with more force, more people will be outraged and join the protests. There is a lot there, and so much more I havent even touched. If anyone wants to discuss these points privately, without judgement, feel free to message me. My biggest regret right now is all my life I have tried to be a good friend to the people of color in my life, but I have failed because I have not done enough to be a good Ally, what they actually deserved. But this moment isn't about me or any other white persons guilt, it is about what we will do now to step up and fix an obviously broken system.
• 
  2020-06-03

  White Privilege

  This article compares protest signs from white people protesting for a haircut, to black people asking, "Am I Next?"
• 
  2020-05-01

  During These Troubled Times, Remember to Be Grateful.

  Some of us are so lucky to have homes--even beautiful homes, have enough money to afford not just food, but computers, Netflix, pets, doctors' care, cars, and more. So many others are not so fortunate. It's hard to forget that many of our concerns are petty.
• 
  2020-05-12

  Mixed feelings

  Biography
• 
  2020-05-01

  "6 Feet Apart" Song from Luke Combs

  This music video of the song “6 Feet Apart” from Luke Combs serves as a message for gratitude during the pandemic crisis. With our constantly busy lives, we often take certain things like family time or going to a restaurant for granted. In times like this, we are reminded that all the little things are privileges and we should cherish them the most.
• 
  2020-04-24

  Service Learning with Suffolk University Madrid Campus

  [Giana worked as a volunteer in Haven for Hunger food pantry]“By exposing myself to people who were affected the most by the spread of COVID-19 I was able to recognize my privilege in a pandemic that affects everyone. This has made me immensely more aware of the resources I have access to day-to-day. Similarly to what is said by Dylan Santos on page 169 of Harkins, “it is one thing to theoretically learn about the struggles that others face; it’s another to hear from the people who are struggling and see what that looks like for each individual person”. With both of my service-learning experiences, I was able to interact with the people who are discarded, and especially in regard to COVID-19, so many of these people are viewed as a number or a statistic. Through this experience, I was able to humanize and finally see who was being affected the most. I have already signed up for future volunteer opportunities and I fully intend to continue expanding what I already know.”
• 
  2020-04-25

  "The romanticization of the quarantine is a class privilege" Social Media Post

  Part political cartoon turned social justice post, this artwork has been reposted on social media forums to draw attention to the way in which class privilege shapes experience during the pandemic.
• 
  2020-04-18

  Green Spaces

  I live in a city. I have lived in this city for about seven years, but I did not grow up here. I grew up in a place with space and trees and green, green grass. Birds and deer and foxes in the backyard. Sometimes I would forget how much I missed that room to breathe. When things started shutting down, when I got sent home, removed from my day-to-day of work and grad school and working out, I started taking walks again. I got a bike and began roaming around the threads of city park sewn together from patterns of a previous century. The trees there are so tall, and the lawns so wide, the paths are empty and the remains of stone foundations and concrete ponds are hidden under the grip of viney tendrils. Things feel slower now, they feel more like when I was a kid on long days outside, sitting on the grass with the four o'clock sun and no responsibilities. It feels strange, it feels a little guilty, to admit that right now I am more relaxed that I have been in years, but the streets are empty and silent at night and I can hear the crickets. For the first time in my life here, I walk down the street without catcalls, without fear of strangers. I am more confident in this new world where we are all afraid of each other. There is reason to keep away from me and from me to keep away from you. And this is privilege too. I still work, I still have school, I have a car and I have good health. I wear my mask and wash my hands after going to the store, I volunteer, I leave groceries on my neighbor's porches. I donated my $1,200. But in some ways these actions feel like penance for my guilt at being okay. Being calm and centered. It hasn't hit me yet. Maybe this is shock, maybe when it comes and I get it or my partner gets it or my parents get it everything will change. The world has changed so much already, I see both good things and bad at work. I have no ability to think about when it will end, I don't think it ever will. We are fundamentally different now and deep wounds will remain in us forever, but if men no longer yelled at me on the street, if I felt safe in my own city, if I knew the green spaces to retreat to in the worst moments, at least one small good thing would happen.
• 
  2020-03-06

  The Privilege of Food and Resource Availability

  In this pandemic many families have to stock up on groceries, cleaning supplies, etc. to feed and keep their family safe and nurtured throughout the quarantine. But not a lot of people are able to afford their kids coming home from college, stocking up for a week in advance, or replacing the school provided breakfasts and lunches. My mom and dad aren't rich, but they work very hard to provide for me, their parents, my four other siblings, and others in need. This picture shows much of America's privilege and makes you think of Americans inability to provide for their family, especially when people may be getting laid off right now. I hope everyone is able to get all the things they need to survive during this pandemic.