Rubenerd

Reading the news coming out of the US about the protests fills me with dismay, not only for the senseless death and repression, but for how helpless I feel to assist.

It’s tempting to think we’re isolated from this sort of thing over here, but our society’s treatment of our Aboriginal Australian sisters and brothers is equally reprehensible. As too is Singapore and Malaysia’s attitudes to their foreign workers, many of whom risk and lose their lives to send remittances home to their families.

Earlier this year Australia was on fire for months due to climate change people are too stubborn to accept, stingy to address, or lazy to act upon. The COVID situation demands respect and directions from medical staff, social distancing, and responsible testing, which some have openly defied. The deplorable actions being protested about by those American patriots are borne of the same selfishness, willful ignorance, and small-minded callousness that even the word racist can’t fully encompass.

The message we should take from 2020: treat everyone like human beings with needs, hopes, and potential. If you disagree, you’re part of the problem. Few things are as black and white.