“It doesn’t matter if we win or lose, it’s how we play the game.”
An old cliche that finally made complete, visceral sense to me this past week.
Covid has kept family and friends apart for so long that simple occasions that we once took for granted now feel like an historic achievement.
I got a bunch of family and friends together to play a simple kickball game. There were people present I hadn’t seen in a few years, some for a decade.
With heat, mosquitos, and small children (I had 2 toddlers to corral), I didn’t give us great odds to get though an inning let alone an entire game.
But everyone there seemed to understand the ever rarer ability for occasions like this to happen in these Covid times. Even the young ones, 7 to 14, hustled to their field positions or stepped up to the plate in pro timing with a sense of importance and urgency.
We got through 7 full innings with a very productive game of 3 outs or 5 runs per inning: double plays, home runs, peg outs, force outs, and more.
The young ones weren’t given special treatment so when they got on base or forced an out, there was a real sense of achievement and not a cheap pandering feeling.
I happened to be the final out of the game (I got pegged out representing the tying run). And when we lost, I had perhaps a brief sigh of failure before turning to the overriding sentiment we all shared: SUCCESS! WE HAD COMPLETED A GAME!
I had participated in one of humanity’s longest standing art forms: Sport. Whether to stay physically fit, for enjoyment, or to practice necessary survival skills like hunting or combat, Sport is an all time great achievement of our species.
Knowing I had been part of a successful execution of a single game of kickball was so satisfying, I did not care at all that we had lost.
This is why the Olympics are so important. Sport is happening. Peace is happening.
So much value is placed in winning and that is well and good (it is PART of Sport: to win), but if we do not value the ability to even execute sports, if there is no greater society to functionally host, or if cheating destroys the entire foundation and spirit of a game… then winning means nothing.
The real victory is having any games at all and completing them properly.
This goes for politics as well: the real victory is having a system that allows for fair elections and functioning government at all.
My biggest takeaway from this simple, kickball game is that I will teach my children to play hard, compete with everything they are capable of, and give every last ounce of life to their pursuits – Sport or otherwise; but to value the higher morality most of all: that we even get to play the game – Sport or otherwise.
Here we are again. In the midst of a COVID outbreak. I was hoping we had learned something the first time around; however, that turned out to be just a hope. I’m especially disgusted with the way Governor Gretchen Whitmer, or should I say “Big Gretch” hasn’t stepped in to do more for MDOC (Michigan Depart of Corrections). I should also express my utter disdain, disgust, and outright fury at how Heidi Washington, Director of MDOC, is handling this. The men and women housed in these facilities are human and still have rights. The state of Michigan and MDOC have an obligation to keep these men and women safe, and right now they are doing the opposite. They are intentionally exposing inmates, staff, and surrounding communities to COVID-19 by continuing to ignore the deplorable conditions at many facilities that allow for rapid growth of the virus.
Let’s go to Central Michigan Correctional Facility in Saint Louis, MI.
There are approximately 2560 men housed at this Level 1 Facility and as of November 21, 2020, 1566 inmates have tested positive and 806 inmates have been identified as close contact. Testing ceased until December 3, 2020. 94% of the inmates in the facility are COVID positive. What does that mean for the inmates? What does that mean for the staff, who leaves and goes home every day? The counselors are calling off left and right because they are either COVID positive or close contact. What does this mean for the greater community who come in contact with the staff on a daily basis? Why hasn’t Big Gretch and Heidi responded? What are they waiting on?
There is more, Shall I continue?
Just two weeks ago, they gave these adult men hot dogs and carrots as a meal and for dinner a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, only to turn around and give them peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with cereal for breakfast. These meals are nowhere near the required calorie count for a healthy person, yet with 94% of the inmates COVID positive, this is the meal they were given. How are these men expected to have any shot at recovery with an imposed unhealthy diet, limited access to nutrient-rich food and vitamins?
Additionally, the men are not being given time outside, which is limiting their access to fresh, clean air. This takes minimal effort from the staff. Recall, this is a Level 1 facility where many men are on their way home. In fact, many are incarcerated for non-violent offenses and have less than 5 years remaining on their sentence. Where is the humanity? 94% of the population is COVID positive and close contact, this number doesn’t include staff. The inmates aren’t being given nutritious food so the least MDOC could do is ensure they have time outside for movement and access to fresh air.
There’s more, Shall I go on?
The facility is NOT being cleaned. Period. The inmates are given non-germicidal bleach to clean; however, the directions state the bleach has to sit for 15 minutes before it’s deemed effective. Let’s be clear, it is NOT sitting for 15 minutes before it’s being wiped up. Why not purchase the cleaning supplies suggested by the CDC, unless of course, you don’t care.
For one unit in particular, there are currently ONLY 3 porters assigned when there should be 12. You have 25% of the manpower needed to adequately clean the unit.
Governor Whitmer and Heidi Washington do NOT care about these men and their actions support this claim. Let’s be clear, the information I’ve shared is only a snippet of what the inmates and the staff are experiencing. These men are already physically incarcerated behind bars, now they have to finish out their sentence with a virus running rampant, no access to adequate cleaning supplies, subpar food, and no time to go outside. This is a death sentence imposed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer, “Big Gretch”, Heidi Washington, and MDOC.
Why aren’t more people talking about this??
This article was originally published on 3 December 2020.
We made it! We’re in our third week of 2021, and 2020 has not come back to life yet. 2020 was special and given I’m a sports fan, I could not wrap up 2020 without using a sports analogy. 2020 was a lot, and dozens upon dozens of events, people, and places made it special. And just like in professional sports, there are countless great players who turned in a great season, but there’s always one player who can stand out for a particular reason, that person being the most valuable person of the year.
Before giving my MVP award for 2020, I wanted to give a backdrop to the thought process.
We all know Peyton Manning, before Papa Johns and Nationwide Insurance commercials, was once a very good NFL Quarterback. Such a great Quarterback, that he was considered by some to be the 2011 MVP, which was not surprising for an eventual winner of five NFL Most Valuable Player awards. However, in 2011, Peyton Manning DID NOT play a single game. In the 2010 season, Peyton led his Indianapolis Colts to a 10-6 record clinching a then NFL record ninth consecutive postseason appearance. Coming into the 2011 NFL season, the Indianapolis Colts were usual favorites to compete for a Super Bowl, mainly because of the reliant greatness of Manning. In the Spring of 2011, Peyton underwent a series of possible career-ending neck surgeries, given he was 35… the Colts released him. The Colts went 2 -14 without him. A record that gave the Colts the number one pick in which they drafted Andrew Luck. Peyton, he made out okay going to Denver and winning another Super Bowl.
So it wasn’t Peyton Manning’s actual gameplay in 2011 that made him so valuable, it was what he DIDN’T DO (keep that in mind for later) that made him so great. If Peyton doesn’t get cut by the Colts, the Andrew Luck pick is now for my beloved Washington Football team to pick, and instead of Robert Griffen III, we get Andrew Luck. Denver doesn’t get Peyton and has to seek other QB options, meaning they don’t face the Panthers a few years later in the Super Bowl. And so on and so on.
Get it??? So now for the actual 2020 part of the 2020 wrap up.
Like it or not, Donald Trump was a major part of your life in 2020. Yes, Trump literally trumped every person, place, or thing that took place in 2020.
Like the fly that landed on Mike Pence’s head during the Vice Presidential debate, it took me a while to write a 2020 wrap-up. Just as never in history had a fly and a human-made contact and neither reacted to it, 2020 was simply that, a year in which events unfolded unlike never seen before. The lion share of those events centered around Covid-19 and only one person bears the most responsibility for the United States’ response to the virus…
Trump.
He’s the MVP of 2020, and here’s why.
Time magazine got it all wrong. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris should not have been selected as “person of the year.”This is not a slight against them, I voted for them. To be candid, it’s because the Biden/Harris ticket won primarily off the disastrous handling of the COVID-19 pandemic by Trump.
No way, Joe Biden… if “the safe government job you got out of college as opposed to taking that internship at MTV” were a person… even wins the Democrat nomination. The Democratic nomination seemed to be going the way of Progressives like Sanders and Warren; however, once COVID-19 and the dangers of both the virus and lack of leadership from Trump hit, most saw the only goal in 2020 was to vote out Trump. Whoever was most “fit” to make that happen, all who didn’t storm the US Capitol Building… really didn’t care who that was.
As early as Feb 2020, Trump was made aware of the dangers of Covid-19 and decided, for political purposes, to ignore it. Granted, Trump has ignored any and all relevant issues since becoming POTUS, but 2020 was his Jay-Z’s Blueprint album. He went all out in a classic way… Trump ignored to address the problems of the nation in the areas of health, science, race relations, police brutality, the environment, immigration, energy… the list is too exhausting to continue. All of these elements led to a historic turnout amongst voters, Georgia going blue… twice! Sports arenas and courts dotted with “VOTE” and “BLM” messaging, just to name a few. Trump’s actions of 2020 have seemed to spawn a sense of activism and political awareness not seen since the 1960s.
Post-election, Trump has acted like a true disgruntled employee. First, by making constant outlandish attempts to overturn the election. Trump and his Four Seasons Total Landscaping Rewards Member friend, lawyer, and hair color expert, Rudy Giuliani, made every attempt to overturn the election claiming fraud. Fraud in which no one on the Trump team could ever produce any sort of evidence proving there was fraud in the 2020 Presidential Election.
Back to the Peyton and the 2011 Indianapolis Colts… Trump’s 2020 magnum opus year was a year like Peyton’s in 2011. Similar to Peyton never taking a snap in 2011 and it having ripple effects throughout the entire league for seasons to follow, Trump’s inability to lead has effected the entire country… particularly his inability to immediately respond to COVID-19 has led to more than 300,000 Americans dying and counting, not to mention a host of failed policies and procedures in which the ramifications will be felt for years to come. Who knows how different 2020 and the years to follow would have been if the dangers of COVID-19 were immediately addressed by Trump when he was first told.
And then there’s January 6, 2021. An event in which the 2020 MVP became the most dangerous hype man for. An event, at the most, was an outright Coup d’etat, and at minimum, a terrorist mob. An event that shows the 2020 MVP, may not play many games in 2021, but please believe he’s still got some sacks to deliver to the American people.
Brooklyn Hospital was under siege during the first wave of the coronavirus outbreak in April. I live one block away from the Civil War era hospital. As ambulances raced through the empty streets, I could hear the echo of the sirens reverberate off of the buildings nearby.
The sirens wailed for weeks. To keep my mind occupied I had thrown myself into my work to preserve my sanity. From my brown upholstered chair in the corner of my apartment, I could hear every ambulance that passed by. At the sound of every siren, I could envision the darkness that was about to overtake the nation.
A tsunami of past traumas crashed into my mind as I recalled the lasting impacts of 9/11 on New York City, the country’s abysmal public healthcare system, and America’s world-renown legacy as one of the most viscously racist nations in the history of mankind.
I was defiant in my refusal to be mentally waterboarded by the sensationalism of the American media. Having already experienced NYC during 9/11, I already knew that the city was in dire straits in the years ahead. With the hourly increase in ambulance sirens and the death tally rising on my television screen, I clicked off the news media and turned up the volume of my soulful music collection.
In the weeks ahead, I dove into the business deals that I was working on and leaned heavily on my depression coping mechanisms. I was successfully navigating my way through murky mental waters until May when the recorded murders of two separate unarmed black men were released for the world to consume.
I sat there staring into the nothingness that I was feeling inside. Wondering yet again how America first contracted this disease of ruthless systemic racism. For a moment of relief, I imagined the scene from the television series Game of Thrones where the fictional character, Jorah Mormont, was inflicted with the disfiguring Grayscale skin disease by the exiled Stone Men. The disease of American systematic racism would reveal its hardened gray, scaly, scarred skin to us all in the midst of this devastating public health crisis.
(Silverbacks Note: Greetings from Amsterdam North! Frankly, it’s been difficult for me to write over the last several months. I began to find my stride in beginning to share my personal narrative with you in Music Is Life and Power of Love. I still have more to share on that basketball journey but it’s been tough to write from a negative headspace. As I attempt to find my roar again, I have been busy growing other aspects of the Soulful Silverback brand.
Since I last published a piece, we released the Silverback’s first reading mixtape on American racism titled “Chaining Day” (check out the fire album cover art here), we launched our first paid advertising marketing campaign (Oy! the comment section was divisive), we replenished the t-shirt inventory on the Silverbacks Shop (go cop some merch!) and registered the business as a company in the Netherlands (pretty dope, right?). More on this in the coming months.
It’s often been said that the pen is mightier than the sword. And y’all know I’m damn nice with my pen. This vignette is one of those occasions where I felt that I had to pick up my sword. Warning: parental advisory, colorful language in the words ahead.
Cheers,
P.S. – Click on the section hyperlinks to listen to the tunes.)
I sank deeper into the padding on the chair, deeper into thought, and was stunned by the intersectionality of this mounting crisis. I could taste the bitterness of America’s racist bitches brew hit the bumps on my palate.
It’s all of these nauseating miasmic ills mixing together: this nation’s continued bloodthirsty investment in the military-industrial complex; the amoral marriage of corporate profits to citizens’ healthcare; and the nation’s savage legacy of importing humans and legally classifying them and their offspring as non-persons.
These ingredients are America’s handcrafted recipe, her lasting legacy on the world stage, and her most lethal weapon; her bitches brew if you will. This concoction is so potent that Adolf Hitler was inspired by America’s centuries-long systemic performance that he commissioned the formula to be the foundation for his own deadly race laws.
During the last week in May, my phone began to vibrate as text messages from family, friends, and acquaintances from all over the world.
Big Nev! Just checking in on you. I wanted to make sure you’re good.
Hi my love, I wanted you to know that Mom is praying for you always.
Mate, how are you going? Crazy what’s happening in the States.
My initial feelings of being cared for were quickly switched to dread as I scrolled past a notification that Minneapolis law enforcement had killed an unarmed black man while in police custody. Given the flood of text messages, I instantaneously knew the visuals of the murder were likely to be devastating.
Just weeks before in early May, a cell phone recording was released of armed white men hunting and shooting a Black runner, Ahmuad Arbery, in the southern State of Georgia. In the chilling video, you can see Ahmad fleeing his attackers only to be cornered and shot dead in the street. His lifeless Black body lying facedown on the pavement in the southern breeze was an all too familiar image of the antebellum south.
Weeks later in late May, as more concerned text messages poured in, it only fortified my resolve to avoid the video of George Floyd’s execution until I was mentally prepared for the visuals. I continued reading the text messages.
How are you holding up Neville?
I can’t believe that this is happening. I am so sorry bro.
Hey Nev, be safe out there big fella! We’re worried about you.
As more and more concerned text messages from mostly white friends and acquaintances arrived, the more bewildered and enraged I became. The cushion beneath me was morphing a launchpad and I was beginning to rumble in anger. I wanted to lift off and explode in response to the text messages.
WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN AM I OK?! I LIVE MY LIFE WITH THIS EXISTENTIAL FEAR!! I EXPECT THIS BEHAVIOR FROM WHITE FOLKS. THE REAL QUESTION IS: ARE YOU FUCKING OK WITH WHAT YOU SAW?
Delete, delete, delete, you can’t respond with that I thought. These folks are concerned about you.
But it was too late, I had already been poisoned by the news of the day.
I needed to calm down and quiet the war going on inside. I put my phone down and went back to working on a large technology partnership with Jay-Z’s entertainment company, Roc Nation.
Eight months prior, I had delivered one of the most riveting and personal business pitches to the leadership team at Roc Nation. Jay-Z had once compared the technology industry and its lack of diversity, inclusion, and retention to Major League Baseball prior to integration on his song Legacy.
“We gon’ start a society within a society
That’s major, just like the Negro League
There was a time America wouldn’t let us ball
Those times are now back, just now called Afro-tech”
With rhymes like that, it wasn’t lost on me that I was a Black man selling technology to the company he founded. It was a proud moment in my career to stand at the plate in the sleek Roc Nation conference room and deliver a homerun presentation to win their technology business. Just like Jackie Robinson stealing home plate decades prior, I was able to exemplify that diversity, inclusion, and retention can benefit corporate profits when our talents are unshackled and enabled to flourish.
When I brought the deal to my company I was again confronted with the taste of America’s racist bitches brew. I scheduled a conference call to discuss the details of the pricing negotiation. Two of my white bosses were on the conference call and when I joined the call I overheard their conversation.
“This is why I don’t do business deals with any Roc Nation type of companies,” one White boss scoffed to the other.
“Oh no, the guy we are working with is a White guy,” the other white boss replied to his off-color comment. “He’s not Black.”
It’s tough to describe the complexity of my feelings on that conference call but you know that bathroom scene from the movie Trading Places?
There’s an important scene near the end of the movie.
During the scene, Billy Ray Valentine, the main character, is hiding in a nearby stall and overhears the details of brothers Randolph and Mortimer Duke’s nefarious experiment as they settle their infamous $1 wager in the bathroom.
I guess you could say that I felt like Billy Ray overhearing the Duke brothers’ conversation except these two knew I was present on the call. But it was too late, they had already exposed their diseased mindset about Black people.
I remained silent on the call as that all too familiar taste of casual cultural racism filled my throat like vomit. I wrestled internally as to whether I should have made a witty remark or let the exchange slide entirely.
I didn’t address the offensive exchange and focused on the task at hand. This was not the time for activism, so I brushed off the comments and forged ahead with the internal conversation.
Months later when the deal closed in June, one of those white bosses had the audacity to attempt to tie my success with Roc Nation to the timing of George Floyd’s murder.
“Seems like George Floyd’s death really helped us close this deal,” he said in a pleasurable tone.
“Don’t tie that man’s tragic execution to my success in this deal,” I bristled. “The two events are not correlated.”
I was confronted with the casual nature of cultural racism at every turn. The reality of Jay-Z’s sharp lyrics from The Story of O.J. came to mind and my mood was dampened.
“Light nigga, dark nigga, faux nigga, real nigga
Rich nigga, poor nigga, house nigga, field nigga
Still nigga, still nigga”
The Grayscale skin disease was spreading and taking its toll on my mental health.
It took me weeks but I finally mustered up the courage to watch the full 8:46 minutes of George Floyd’s execution.
Late one night around the midnight hour in early June, I turned off all of the lights and closed the shades to be in total darkness. I slipped into my bed and curled up under the covers for what I was about to see and experience. I took a deep inhale and pressed play on the YouTube video.
There had been so much talk of the recording that I was not surprised by the images on my screen. It was just as devastating as I had feared.
I had been conditioned to expect white Americans to treat Black bodies with excessive force. However, what struck me the most about this video was the defiant entitlement, comfort, and smugness on the face of the white officer as he pressed his knees deeper into the skin on George Floyd’s neck. You could see from the expression on the officer’s face that he was relishing every moment of the execution.
I COULD NOT BELIEVE THAT THIS WAS STILL HAPPENING WHILE THE PLANET IS BATTING A FUCKING DEADLY PANDEMIC AT A SCALE THAT WE HAVE NOT SEEN IN OVER 100-YEARS! HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN WITH PEOPLE STANDING RIGHT THERE?
American racism was crafted so that the enslavement was intellectual, moral, and legal. American racism is the real Grayscale skin disease from fictitious television series – except its white folks that are the asymptomatic carriers and they have infected us all with this highly contagious disease that has been slowly destroying the nation.
This strain of racism may be as infectious as “Grayscale” but its impact is excruciatingly more real. Black folks in this nation have been suffering from our daily engagement with this disease-riddled system for centuries.
American racism and white supremacy rob white people of the experience of being fully human. This particularly evil brand of racism is a disease that white people need to be cured of. Throughout history, the experience of attaining an elevated or supreme position within one’s community is earned through the content of one’s character and not by the birthright of their skin color.
I could go on and on about this topic but I refuse. I’m so tired of this shit. I fucking hate writing about racism.
The reality is plain and simple for the world to now see: America is not a healthy environment for the overall wellbeing of Black Americans across all socioeconomic backgrounds.
Sadly, unlike the television series, there is no healing ointment or witches brew to cure us of this disease either. Not Samwell Tarley, not Joe Biden, or even Jesus Christ can apply a balm to our skin to heal us from this affliction. We are irrevocably disfigured as People because racism is codified into the nation’s governing documents, cultural norms, and workplaces.
Sipping on America’s piping hot brew is slowly killing me and I have to protect my future generations from grappling with these feelings of worthlessness and despair.
America’s demons will never release this nation from its clutches and I refuse to fight against the federal and cultural racism that will likely result in my dead body being tossed onto the already mountain-high pile of young, gifted, and Black bodies that have spoken out against injustice before me.
I had to finally give up on America and flee her borders for my physical safety, my mental sanity, and my future legacy.
It was time to put down the sword and apply a healing balm to my hardened gray skin before it was too late.
2020… over 300,000 deaths and over 19 million cases of COVID-19. A year has been taken away from millions of Americans because of poor leadership. Trump and the GOP’s bad leadership is not the cause of COVID-19, but there is no doubt that bad leadership (and the lack of good leadership) has been the cause of the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Businesses have shut down, hotels, tourism, and restaurants have lost revenue. A stimulus relief bill was passed by the Democratic House of Representatives… in May 2020, but GOP refused to help American families. Late spring, Congress passed a one-time $1,200 stimulus and never released another stimulus. I’m honestly not sure if the GOP cares about people’s long-term finances, and their mental and physical health as well. Americans (who needed it) quickly went through that $1200. There is no way $1200 would have survived the remaining of the year. You do not need an Economic Class to know that the longer the debt, the bigger the debt, and Americans are hurting.
GOP math seems to believe that if you give people a one-time $1200 or $600 stimulus, despite most American’s living check to check, it’ll be enough to make ends meet. The President ironically put a halt on the relief bill, claiming all of sudden he is for a $2000 stimulus relief payment instead of $600. Meanwhile, millions are unemployed and that number increases by nearly 1 million jobless Americans a month. Americans are still being told to stay indoors and socially distance if or when they leave the house, avoid non-immediate family, and be safe. Some are nervous about becoming homeless, losing their cars, and how they’ll eat every day. But on Christmas Day, South Carolina’s Republican Senator Lindsey Graham was golfing with President Trump. Meanwhile, by the end of the day on Saturday, December 26, 2020, millions were faced with losing their unemployment benefits, and on Dec 31, millions will lose eviction protection and the Government shuts down if not funded.
Over 26 friends of President Trump were pardoned by the President. Many who have pleaded guilty and even murders were pardoned and the GOP is silent. Russia hacked in the government departments and GOP is silent. Trump used Georgia’s Run-Off election for personal financial gain with zero amount going to Georgia Republican candidates… and GOP is silent. In December 2020, the GOP voted to defund the state Police Departments after they campaign just the opposite. We’re constantly seeing that the GOP never has the interest of the everyday American at heart, instead, their personal benefits, which includes the wealthy. GOP has failed the American people in almost every area… healthcare, wages, infrastructure, funding for schools, hospitals, small businesses, homes, immigration, Civil Rights, and more, and as a result, this Holiday Season has probably been more stressful and tense for Americans than ever before. A time of the year usually meant for peace, celebration and cheer, has been literally stolen by the GOP. The Grinch that stole Christmas… that’s the GOP.
With nearly 100 million people casting their votes early, this 2020 election has not only become a free for all for our democracy, but a fight for our humanity. 2020 has been, without a doubt, a complete shit show.
Our President’s lack of preparation and response to COVID-19, his response to the ongoing systemic racism highlighted by the shootings of unarmed Black men and women by police, his slow refusal to denounce White Supremacists, and his personal attacks on members of Congress, the media and other individuals, has sent Americans further down the proverbial rabbit hole desperate for a way out from when we entered back in 2017.
The protests from his 2017 inauguration should have been an indication that our nation was going to be in for one hell of a term. If you weren’t convinced during his 2016 presidential campaign that maybe just maybe he was not the man for the job, Hurricanes Harvey, Maria, and Irma made that clear. It was evident by the slow response of the government during this time of crisis that our now President simply did not care; no empathy. How would you feel if a hurricane literally took away everything you had in seconds? I doubt you’d find comfort from our Commander in Chief, tossing you paper towels as a way to help alleviate the pain and suffering that you’d be experiencing.
His constant lies and disregard for basic human compassion leaves us to question: What kind of person is running our country?
A 74-year-old man who never discovered that path to maturity and has remained an egocentric megalomaniac; a man that lives at the intersection of self-centeredness and limited judgment. A racist.
Racial tensions in this country have been felt for more than 400 years. Despite attempts to be subtle by our counterparts (White people… you’re not), we can see that shit plain as day. The death of George Floyd served as the tipping point for everyone. The deep-seated pain of the past 400 years erupted overnight across America plunging us back in history as if were the 1960s. So what happens when the president exacerbates the racial tensions arising from the deaths of several unarmed Black men and women by police? We have the perfect recipe to incite a race war.
Further down the rabbit hole we go. Here is where dissension among friends and family happen. Discord and dissension breed mistrust and where there is mistrust among people, there lies division. We cannot afford division. I have faith that as a nation, we care enough collectively to help impact change.
I have faith that this nation collectively gives a damn enough to impart change. Joe Biden is now President-Elect, and all of humanity depends on his presidency.
Biden wins, but it’s really close and we have a contested election.
If you’re a Democrat or supporting Biden, you’re hoping #2 plays out and we can begin to heal and get back to normal. Many would argue that normal wasn’t working for African-Americas and other minorities pre-COVID or pre-Trump, but the revolutionary crowd has been overshadowed by historic all-out voting efforts to rid the nation of Trump.
If Trump wins, COVID-19 cases and deaths will continue to rise until a vaccine is passed… who knows when that’ll be. If Biden wins by a landslide, I think most common sense people believe his administration will begin to take the necessary steps to reduce COVID-19 cases and ultimately deaths, prior to the arrival of a vaccine.
But if it appears that Biden has won by the narrowest of margins, expected a contested election. Hence why Trump and Republicans fought so hard to get Amy Coney Barrett confirmed prior to the election. You can argue that they actually didn’t have to fight that hard… soundbites from congressional hearings today are nothing but political theatre with no real influence to sway a nomination. We know that from watching the emotional testimony of Christine Blasey Ford at the Brett Kavanaugh hearings. As damning as it was, he was confirmed as if it never happened.
More than 350 lawsuits have already been filed throughout the country regarding votes and mail-in ballots. When there is an election dispute, which several already exist in multiple states, that dispute will go to a state court. However, if or when someone charges that a federal constitutional right has been violated, then it goes to the Supreme Court as it did with Bush v. Gore in the 2000 election. And to add context, that was just in one state, Florida. It could very well happen in several states this year.
With the unfortunate and untimely passing of RBG, and the overnight confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett, the Supreme Court now leans 6 – 3 in favor of Republicans. Voters should decide elections, not courts… especially when 3 of the deciding judges have been nominated by the sitting President who’s very fate lies in the balance.
“A hot mess… inside a dumpster fire… inside a train wreck.”
Jake Tapper’s initial response to the debate was about as accurate as you’re going to get in short summary of the shit we witnessed last night.
What we watched last night was a disgrace. A total embarrassment, and probably reason #985 why the rest of the world either laughs or shakes their head when you ask them about “America.”
Trump is a compulsive liar. He tried his best to lure Biden into a dog fight filled with personal insults, name-calling, and bravado only two old privileged White men could display. And Biden took the bait. (Not sure we can blame him.) The moderator Chris Wallace was terrible. Trump walked over him all night, literally all night. There was no decorum. No civil debate or dialogue. No substantive debate on the issues that really matter.
For many, the biggest moment came Trump refused to disavow White Supremacists. Not sure why this would surprise anyone. Nothing about his presidency or life frankly has “disavowed” White Supremacy. In fact, you can say he’s embraced it. Many would say he is one. Whether it’s “good people on both sides,” tax cuts for the wealthy, or just recently his attempt to end racial sensitivity training in federal agencies ‘because it’s racist’, we have to ask ourselves, what have people been paying attention to if that truly surprised them last night? Maybe it was his call for the Proud Boys to “Stand back and stand by.”
Either way, Trump has shown us who he is time and time again. After last night, they should probably cancel the remaining two debates. Our country is at an all-time low. Our democracy is at risk of failing, 200,000+ in the US are dead from a virus that literally every other country has under control, and we’re likely on the verge of a civil war. What a fucking embarrassment.
I am privileged to say that this pandemic did not change my life much at all. The quarantine didn’t either. I was and still am employed. When the curfew was instituted in the Spring, I didn’t have to abide by it because I was deemed an “essential worker.” I lost maybe five hours a week while conversely, others lost several hours or was put on furlough.
Because of my job, I was still able to go outside and go about my life. On my days off I immediately got cabin fever, and so I can’t possibly begin to understand how people who had completely locked themselves indoors might feel.
Unlike most of my peers, I was able to have my graduation. I was able to walk across the stage at Temple‘s Performing Arts Center, one I’ve performed on during my undergraduate study. I was able to walk across the stage in front of my peers, my family, and shake my dean’s hand. This is an opportunity that was snatched away from my peers who are more than deserving of this glorious time. It was snatched away from graduating students at every academic level.
The pandemic had finally gotten to me though a few months ago. Listening to the body count on the news. Delivering to people’s homes and they aren’t wearing masks. Being afraid to handle cash transactions. Thinking about my weakened immune system. Thinking about my family and the strain that it’s put on us.
I was looking for a second job right before the quarantine was placed in effect. It was difficult then because I was being picky about what I wanted to do. However, it is difficult now because employers are being extremely picky about who they hire. Retail stores and grocery stores alike, gave me the “you don’t have the experience we’re looking for” spiel. Meanwhile, these are entry-level positions that claim applicants don’t need any prior experience.
I was able to get an interview a month ago and it was very disorienting to not begin with the all-telling handshake. The mask made me realize how much I relied on my face to convey my charisma and I think I overcompensated with confident words that probably sounded more cocky instead.
I am blessed to not need another job right now. The job market post-quarantine is treacherous. So many people are without jobs altogether or without jobs that completely cover their costs of living. All positions of all kinds are now highly competitive.
I believe that once social distancing is no longer in effect, more job opportunities will appear and thus give way for more people to join or rejoin the workforce.
For 5 weeks I’ve been living life in the WNBA bubble, also known as the wubble, in Bradenton, Florida at the prestigious IMG Academy.Players and team staff are quarantined, tested daily, and holding social distancing practices as much as possible. We practiced, ate, and gave medical care while getting used to our new normal without being allowed to leave the premises. Well, as much as possible around teens who were on campus for various sports camps and Academy staff who were going home to their families everyday. I guess you could say that we were separated from them as much as we possibly could, although I did find out that Academy staff were being tested every 2-3 days as well.
I’d be foolish if I said that everything was well-planned and that the logistics were perfect from day one, but through some trial and error, and constant communication, we seem to have hit a bit of a sweet spot. For instance, every person on each team’s travel party had to take 3 coronavirus tests prior to flying out to prove that he/she had not been exposed to the virus. The testing did expose several players prior to leaving and even caused one team to delay departure due to multiple positive results. However, once given the “all clear” we were placed on a commercial flight which, from our city, happened to be a full flight that allowed for no social distancing at all. Thankfully, as a healthcare provider, I was well prepared with an N95 mask, face shield, gloves and enough wipes to sanitize the entire plane. Upon arrival, we then mixed in with the rest of the people in the airport- although by no means full- Florida had just been rated a growing coronavirus hot spot, so even a handful of people warranted suspicion.
Once we arrived as a team at the IMG premises, we picked up our room or house keys and set out to find our dwellings for the next 4 days where we would be quarantined again. Meals were delivered 3 times a day, and grocery delivery services became fast favorites of everyone. The only time of day that we were allowed to leave was for the daily testing procedure that was scheduled by team so that we did not potentially cross-contaminate one another. After the initial quarantine period practices began for 2 weeks until the season finally kicked off on July 25.
While there have been a small number of true positive tests, most teams have stayed to themselves still, with the occasional moments of mingling at meals or the pool. When a positive result is returned, all team leads are notified, with care to protect the identity of the person to decrease the stigma. The athlete or staff member is immediately isolated in a designated off-campus hotel and tested again for the next 2 days to determine whether or not the result is true or false. In some cases, if there is a roommate or family member present, appropriate care is taken to retest and isolate them if necessary as well.
The elephant in the room was the noticeable differences between what was shown and exposed about the NBA bubble compared to the wubble. For instance, our testing seemed to be administered using a different procedure almost daily, by different people- some getting good samples and some barely seeming to scratch the surface. The problem is that an insufficient sample is listed as “positive,” causing the individual to be isolated at a remote site and having to wait at least 2 days to obtain consecutive negative results. This has lead to missed games and practices. Instead, the NBA has access to rapid tests to be used in similar cases which can turnaround results within hours and avoid an unnecessary isolation and missed games. Let’s not even talk about how it’s taken the entire 5 weeks to get someone (2 people to be exact) into the wubble to staff the hair salon for a limited 2 week period to do hair for a couple hundred women and the male staff, while the NBA has had multiple barbers on site from the beginning, and they rotate them out every 2 weeks. The WNBA doesn’t know if/when the hairstylists will return after this initial 2 week period. NBA players can also have family members visit and go in and out on designated days, while WNBA players cannot unless they came in on the first day as a caregiver for an accompanying child.
The disparities in services and accommodations are present and the topic of some conversations, but overall everyone recognizes the real reason we are here- to cut the risk of exposure to, and spread of the coronavirus. It is my opinion and has been for a few months now, that it will be difficult to play any sport without the use of a “bubble” experience. This takes a lot of time and effort to plan and raises multiple medical and logistical challenges. I applaud the medical professionals and team and league representatives who have labored tirelessly to make a season possible, and I believe that the NBA and WNBA have been successful because of it. Is it realistic to put all football (college or professional) or major league baseball teams into the same bubble where they only interact with one another, are tested daily, and don’t have to travel for games? Probably not. For this reason, I side with the college conferences that have decided to forgo all Fall sports.
I also applaud the NCAA for beginning to look at possible bubble situations for men’s basketball already, and hope that they can identify locations that can adequately support the unique needs of athletic medicine, performance and education of college athletes. I’d be lying if I said that I was 100% confident that the NFL season would start without a hitch. We have seen the challenges that MLB has faced when each team has been allowed to “create” it’s own bubble at the facility. However, trusting athletes to go straight home, not have outside company or even family visit, and the many other scenarios make it very difficult to predict outcomes from day to day. The truth is that America still has way too many people who don’t take the virus and it’s spread seriously, thus the decisions made away from the facility are often based solely on self.
I’m not sure what it will take for us to change our behavior collectively so that we can eradicate this virus, but hopefully, sports can help us unify in ways nothing else has been able to do.
