COVID, Racism, and the American Dream

WFH. Three letters that I cannot fully embrace.

We are all "working from home" and it's not getting easier. It's messy and extremely difficult to focus. But we're trying to adhere to a schedule, which looks more like mastering a 4-D Tetrus game.

The littles are being home-schooled (by us), the older is online all day, and Ezra and I are working with time confetti. This means that we're trying to get as much done in little particles of time. Clearly, we're both extremely efficient (#fakenews). If a ball drops in a forest and no one is there to see it, does it really matter?

Luckily for professor-work, no one dies if I don't finish grading or revising a paper. And if I don't submit a grant proposal, well, that's not the end of the world. Perspective is everything. That said, I did manage to submit four grant proposals in the spring, and two were awarded. #winning I'm also working at the Children's Hospital for about 6-8 hours a week, writing more proposals, and trying to shore up my online content for next term. Is there enough time in a day to do all of this? Not really.

In good news, none of my loved ones have had COVID, we're healthy, secure, and free. We are not living in a Greek refugee camp. Our sky is not Bladerunner orange. My White partner is not going to be strangled or murdered by a policeman. My kids are not going to a building where they may be shot by a school shooter. We have food on our table, clothes aplenty, all the books we want to read, and a lot of love. I am in awe of the grace that I've been given. Whom do I thank for my privileged and precious life?

How did I get here? And yet, life for my fellow Brown and Black friends is same as it ever was... fear, mistrust, and a whole lot of racism. White supremacy has wiggled out of its dark hole and the light is shining on it. There is no institution, space, or geography that is not mired in the filth of inequity. How do I help to change this? What more can I do?

The dream that brought us to this country is an illusion. There is no meritocracy.

I would say more, but I (we) have essentially run out of time. No more talking. We know what the problems are. Let's get at it.