revolution |

The COVID-19 crisis was unconsciously in the course of teaching us how to prioritize what’s important in our lives. It made us assess our value systems, reprioritize them if necessary, while also making us value our loved ones a bit more, and moments shared with them. For the first time, families were eating home cooked meals at the dinner table every night. Parents had more time to help their children with their homework, and many homes even became classrooms. Platforms such as Skype, Zoom, and even FaceTime helped to maintain relationships, and even strengthen some. I personally spoke to more of my friends during the last 3 months than I have in the past 3 years. Bonds, whether romantic or platonic, were growing stronger, as most people had more leisure time to devote to nurture those relationships. COVID-19 pushed us forward in terms of bond building.

From the pandemic to the death of George Floyd, this is a reflection of this year's trials and tribulations in the words of Brittani Brisker. — On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest for allegedly using a counterfeit bill.

However, the bonding we gained socially, as a people, through COVID-19, was shattered due to the horrific events that took place in the evening hours of May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. GEORGE FLOYD, a beautiful black man, was taken from us in such a heinous, unspeakable, unthinkable, and unjust way. I intentionally capitalized his name, as I’m rebutting the dehumanizing treatment that he endured & am shouting his name to be heard all the way from the Detroit to a terrace in Paris.

Now, there’s bonding only within ones’ identifying community. Black communities have thankfully unified and started many positive initiatives together. On the opposing end of the spectrum, we witnessed the unity within the Minneapolis department, mostly negative obviously, but we are starting to witness some positive efforts as more authority figures try to seek justice for GEORGE FLOYD. Nonetheless, certain groups of people have started to build extremely prejudicial attitudes toward other groups dissimilar from themselves, mainly from hurt or fear. For that reason, rioters and protesters are out all over the world fighting for their voices to be heard.

Moreover, Maya Angelou has been one of my biggest inspirations, as a writer. I’ve studied her since I was a young girl, and it’s safe to say I’m obsessed with her. My favorite quote of hers:

“I am a human being, nothing human can be alien to me”.
Maya Angelou

It simply translates, in layman terms, we’re all capable of the same acts, whether they’re for the greater good or not. We’re all equipped the same. We all have the same makeup, come from the same maker. Every day we are all faced with choices, the right & wrong ones, and we can distinguish which is which with little effort. Some people choose to do things for the greater good, while others don’t. While we may never understand or agree with some of the actions of others, we must still acknowledge the fact that we’re capable of the same things, BUT we choose to do the right thing. Good people choose to do the right things over & over again. I admittedly struggle with this concept, as I still have a hard time identifying with certain brutes, like GEORGE FLOYD’S murder, however, I offer these wise words from my hero Miss Maya, as I hope it can serve as insight for some.

I encourage every reader to continue to make the right decisions. Don’t be influenced by negative forces, hateful people, with prejudice beliefs. Continue to spread love, and be light in the world. Right now is the perfect time to reflect & reminisce on the bond building enabled by the recent health pandemic, as well. COVID-19 helped us to focus on those we love & the things we love. It may seem unfathomable right now, as we mourn GEORGE FLOYD, but we must ‘try’ to focus on love.

I am GEORGE FLOYD.