The Pandemic of Hate
The Pandemic of Hate in America continues in 2020 with no signs of mitigation. The words “pandemic” and “relief” are used with regularity to describe the Coronavirus Crisis. We can use these same words to describe the contagion of hate and fear that has consumed America and cost Ahmaud Arbery his life.
Brunswick, Georgia — a town created in the year 1738 — serves as a reminder that affairs between the white enslavers and present-day assassins are similar. In the antebellum south, white enslavers chased down Black men from the saddle of horses; today they do it from the back of pickup trucks. In the 282 years since the founding of Brunswick, Georgia, this type of behavior has not changed.
Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man, was hunted down from the back of a Georgia pickup because he fit the description. What is the description? A Black man was doing something suspicious.
Ahmaud was running, a usual activity for a jogger. However, in a country in which African-American citizens are routinely killed for doing random things like playing in the park like Tamir Rice and eating candy like Trayvon Martin. Now Ahmaud Aubery — died while jogging — fits the description of suspicion.
The pandemic that is the killing of unarmed Black People continues with a lack of any measures that will flatten the curve. Since the advent of the Black Lives Matter Movement, there appears no vaccine that will cure this affliction. Soaring numbers of deaths proceed without any mitigation. The seasons change, and yet we know more will be killed regardless of the weather.
There are the usual calls for social distancing. This appears not to be an effective strategy. Botham Jean was quarantined in his home, eating ice cream when he was gunned down. Pandemic victims fear for their lives, inside or outside of their homes, while fulfilling essential tasks.
America apparently has a timing issue in dealing with different types of pandemics. It is our responsibility as survivors to hold the government as the responsible party in the death of all — those who have lost their lives through these Pandemics, one of hate and the other health.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally posted on northdallasgazette.com.
Two days after the initial publication of this article, an unarmed Black man, George Floyd, was killed in an altercation with a Minneapolis Police Officer.
Some of his last words were, "I Can't Breathe".
