The world erupted in anger when an American black man George Floyd had the life squeezed out of him by a white cop who knelt on his neck for 8 minutes while the world watched and listened to the words, "I cant breathe"!! Every black, brown, colored person who has ever been the subject of racism, prejudice and inequality by white systemic bias and bigotry, reacted to it. Worldwide protests took place with European sympathizers and other disenfranchised human rights groups joining in. It was a wakeup call for the USA that Australia and New Zealand multi-cultural populations recognized…racism was alive and well and COVID19 amplified and exposed it for what it was!!. This was played out on the world stage via social media but it also happens at the most basic local level and my daughter experienced it first hand in so called "God's zone" Aotearoa, in her own backyard, while in lockdown!! The neighbors juvenile son, who turned up at the start of COVID, attacked her with a tirade of racist and verbal abuse yelling out "shut the f... up you black c... !!". She was only calling out to her kids playing in the back yard. Just like the cop, this filthy mouth white boy's exposure to COVID19 restrictions brought out the worst of human nature in him. And the eyes of the world are watching and waiting to see. Did? has? will? anything change for the better? Have we actually learnt anything from the impact of COVID19 on all our lives? "We're all in this together" - "be kind" - messages of hope or just sentimental delusional propaganda? Jacinda Adern just won a second term as New Zealand's Prime Minister. I for one am optimistic that she can make a difference and build a society that is more inclusive, not a privileged one for some sectors of society, but for all, at least in Aotearoa. A woman and role model with a higher consciousness, now that's a true legend!
"Black lives matter" "We're watching"
