We already knew that Black people were more likely to die from so many diseases so that it was no surprise that more Black people would die from COVID-19. We knew that the reason for the higher death rate was based on lack of availability to affordable healthcare, having to convince doctors that we were really sick or in pain, and a distrust of the medical system from years of abuses and neglect.
We already knew that racism was a serious problem that had been around since before our ancestors landed on this continent. We could see the inequities in the schools, as well as in the treatment of Blacks and whites arrested and/or convicted for the same crime.
We already knew that many of us did low paying jobs providing goods and services to all. But we may not have realized how many of these underpaid with no benefits 'essential' workers were not only critical to the economy but to our way of life. And we already knew that most non Black people could neither see or care about any of this.
So, in some ways 2020 was an eyeopening year for many white people. They finally got to see close up and in person some of the everyday struggles of Black people and people of color. We were shocked, but not surprised, by the deaths George Floyd, Breanna Taylor and so many more of our Black brothers and sisters murdered by those who believed that they could do so without any repercussions.
But 2021 has taken on a whole new level of crazy. As if all of the stuff from 2020 wasn't enough, this week we have had a sitting president, attempt an insurrection to take over the government. Now you may disagree with this statement but any way you look at it, Trump stirred up a crowd and told them to march on the Capitol. January 6, 2021 will go down in history as the day the President called for mob rule. I, like so many people watched in horror as armed men and women with Trump and Confederate flags took over the Capitol building and trashed offices. But the part that I couldn't believe is the the behavior of the police officers.
We have heard so many stories about how the police have felt threatened by Black men and women and have shot and killed them or restrained them in such a matter as to cause death. But with these predominately white Trump supporters. They fought with them and in some cases stepped back to let them enter. And when the building was finally cleared hours later, most were simply allowed to walk out of the building without being detained or arrested. It's only now, days later that any attempt has been bade to arrest these traitors to the United States of America and democracy. In the end five people died, one of those illegally entering the building was shot and killed, three suffered health emergencies and one police officer was beaten to death. I firmly believe that if the majority of the 'protestors' were Black, there would have been a very different outcome with a massive loss of life.
Instead, we have a sitting president who still believes that he won the election and continues to spread lies about a fraud, even though fifty court cases, including two to the Supreme Court have proven otherwise. But no matter what proof has been given 74,000,000 people stand with Trump. The United States of America is more divided now than any time in history since the Civil War. We thought 2020 was a doozy. Well, this isn't Cinderella and we don't have a fairy godmother to change this pumpkin into a carriage. We are still in the pumpkin with no fairy godmother in sight. Buckle up and keep your eyes open. I'm pretty sure that there are more revelations to come.