What are people REALLY protesting about?
The murder of George Floyd and the subsequent protests are in vogue right now and rightfully so. I think the reason why this particular incident, which is anything but unique or uncommon in the States, is being made out to be more of a big deal than all the other injustices before it is simply the numbers of disgruntled people that are feeling polarised by the government, it's agencies, the people on the "other" side supporting, and their tendencies to selectively choose what issues to take seriously, whilst haemorrhaging swaths of the population.
That said, I do not wish to go further about Floyd because this incident while awful, is not an isolated or one off incident. It is frankly happening all the time, and I feel that all the people that scream and shout #blacklivesmatter are just using this incident as an opportunity to unload their pent up anger on a lot of other stupid decisions the government and it's institutions have made in the last few months. Why didn't they make this kind of noise each and every time it happened before?
"Masking" political agenda.
But I do have an issue I want to address. And a way to illustrate that is with the whole mask thing. I am amazed how much people have posted about masks. I wear a mask when I am with people and not working out, and the only reason I don't wear one whilst working out is that I simply cannot breathe. The research on how the mask protects others seems pretty strong and I am a better safe than sorry type of person. So if I have to pick a side then I am on the wear mask side.
But more than wearing the mask I am concerned about how there is so much fighting over it. It is as if the mask symbolizes which side you are on. If you are on the progressive side then the mask is about being woke and caring. If you are on the conservative side, wearing the mask is about giving away your freedom. Truly madness.
If I am right then whether people wear a mask or not is due to their social identity for what “team” they are on. It is not for me. I am doing it because that is what the data says I should do. And before you make the stupid mistake of saying that I am trying to placate progressives let me remind you that I have been preaching against the shutdown strategy given that research is showing that shutdowns are not working. This is not about being on the right team for me.
Making the other side look bad overrides the importance of finding good solutions.
Here is the point. We are in the middle of a pandemic that is killing people. Yet we cannot fashion a strategy because we cannot overcome the polarization in our society. We cannot find answers. We have to find answers that make our side look good and their side look bad. If Trump has a good answer then let’s go with that. If Pelosi has a good idea then let’s go with that. But no we cannot do that because making them look bad is more important than finding solutions to the pandemic.
I think the best way forward is to lessen the shutdowns but wear the masks. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe data will come out and show that there is a better solution. I wish I could see our leaders and population struggling with trying to find real answers rather than playing identity games with something like masks. But evidently that seems too much to ask for.
If we cannot figure ways out of our polarization in the middle of a pandemic then when can we figure how to work together. I am pessimistic that we can solve any serious problem that requires cooperation if we cannot do it now. Maybe it has always been this way in our society and I am just really noticing it now.