The Coronavirus Pandemic Should Be the Jumpstart to a Revolution?

The Coronavirus pandemic has become the #1 issue worldwide, causing widespread panic, anxiety, and isolation. I’ll admit, I originally thought the virus would be a fleeting issue; but as the death toll rises and countries lockdown, the seriousness of the situation can no longer be underestimated. I’m concerned for those who are most vulnerable to the virus, and the emotion that I find myself feeling the most is anger. The United States government has failed to properly respond to the Coronavirus outbreak, and this failure has shone a major light on the fact that the U.S. is horrifically flawed down to its’ very core, and has spent years devaluing, mistreating and oppressing anyone who doesn’t belong to the 1%. Most of us have already been aware of the many social inequities going on in this country, but this virus is now waking others up to how bad things truly are.

On March 7th, ABC News tweeted about a man with Coronavirus that worked several shifts at Hobart’s Grand Chancellor Hotel instead of self-quarantining. This is dangerous because his actions will more than likely cause harm to those who came in contact with him. However, his actions point to the larger issue of poverty in the U.S., as he is just one of many workers that have long been forced to put their health & the health of others in jeopardy because being fired or missing a paycheck could lead to their downfall. In addition to this, people are afraid to even get tested because of the expensive medical bills, another example of just how rampant poverty is in the supposed “best country in the world.”

Moving on to the closure of K-12 schools and universities, the Mayor of New York confirmed that NYC public schools are closed until April 20th; however, it was originally reported that the schools wouldn’t close since 114,000 homeless students depend on school meals to eat. Numerous colleges across the country have sent students home and will have classes online. But, this immediately raised concerns about the number of homeless students who depend on their college for housing and food, who were basically being thrown to the wolves. None of this is okay and it’s shameful that this country acts as if it is.

The fact that so many people are being forced to choose between their health or losing their job, and that tons of students are living in extreme poverty with no access to food or shelter outside of the schools they attend is not an individual issue, but a structural one. The United States is a rich country with enough money to guarantee things like healthcare, paid sick leave, and food/housing for its’ residents, but those who have the power to do this simply choose not to. Billions of dollars are poured into things like the military budget—so imagine what this country would be like if the money were put towards things that are actually needed, like healthcare or canceling student loan debt?

Furthermore, Coronavirus has shown that progressive policies that have been shut down for years are doable. The NYC Council Speaker, Corey Johnson, announced on March 15th that eviction proceedings would be suspended statewide until further notice (Miami Dade will be doing the same). In Bexar County, arrests for minor offenses have been suspended to prevent crowding in prisons. In Detroit, residents who’ve had their water shutoff will have their service turned back on. My question is, why did it take a pandemic for these things to be done? People have spent years calling for these actions to take place! Many of us are aware that evictions, mass incarceration, water shutoffs, etc. are backward, cruel and unnecessary, and should have ended a long time ago. But we were repeatedly told that this was impossible and that these things somehow needed to happen for society to function. Now that we’ve seen firsthand that that’s bullshit, and that our government has always had the power to make decisions that actually make life easier/better for us, we cannot allow things to go back to the way they were. Once the pandemic is over, those in power will attempt to go back to business as usual, but we can’t let them do that.

I urge everyone to let this moment radicalize them, and to demand that the rights being given to us during the pandemic remain. Greed and selfishness have been the heartbeat of this country for too long. People have stood up and fought back in the past, and this pandemic has been a breaking point for so many of us. It’s my hope that from this point on, people will stand up and fight back in a way that has never been seen before. In the words of Assata Shakur…

“It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.” 

Similar Read: Spreading Consideration: How the Coronavirus Pandemic Can Teach Us to Care

Trump’s “New” Cuba Policy

During a speech given in Miami’s Little Havana” on Friday, June 16th, 2017, President Donald Trump criticized his predecessor’s Cuba policy, saying it allowed the Castro regime to benefit from increased tourism. “Effectively immediately,” Trump said, “I am canceling the last administration’s completely one-sided deal with Cuba.”

Technically, this is not the case. The real policy changes Trump is going to implement are less significant than he led everyone to believe they would be. Many of the Obama administration’s policy will remain in place. Under the new policy – Americans will no longer have the ability to plan their own private, individual “educational” trips to Cuba, and those who go as part of authorized educational group tours will be subject to stricter rules and guidelines. American companies and citizens will also be banned from doing business with companies controlled by the Cuban military or its intelligence or security services. But the relaxed rules that made it easier for US companies to do business in Cuba will stay in place. Cruises and direct flights between the US and Cuba will still be allowed, and Cuban Americans will still be able to travel freely to the island and send money to relatives there.  

These actions come at an inopportune time because, towards the end of his tenure, President Obama directed his attention on the thawing of relations between the two cold war enemies. Using his executive authority, Obama relaxed some of the trade and travel restrictions in the longstanding US economic embargo on the Cuban nation. In July 2016 – The U.S. officially restored diplomatic relations with Cuba and reopened its embassy in Havana. All of which makes Trump new initiative frustrating for growing businesses in Cuba, and travelers alike. In November, then-president-elect Trump tweeted that he would “terminate” the deal unless Cuba agreed to “make a better” one, but instead of terminating the deal, it seems that Trump is content with leaving most of the important policies in place.

So why do all this?

The main reason Trump cites for opposing the Obama Administration’s deal is that it didn’t go far enough in the right direction — Trump has so far shown little commitment to promoting such values elsewhere, especially if doing so comes at the expense of US economic interests. Part of the reason Trump’s new policy doesn’t go far enough as his rhetoric suggests is that it has to do with US economic interests. Consider the direct flights between the US and Cuba, as John Kavulich, the president of the US-Cuba trade and economic council mentioned back in November 2016. The administration would face major opposition, which would include lawsuits from the airline industry if Trump were to do terminate the deal. Why, because airlines have already made large financial investments in “good faith” based on the new regulations from the Obama administration.  And that’s just the airlines! A number of tourism and travel companies such as Airbnb, Carnival Cruise Line, and Starwood Hotels have also taken advantage of the Obama administration’s relaxed restrictions to expand into Cuba, hoping to cash in on what will become a hot new tourist haven. Airbnb alone (Cuba to Trump: US in no ‘condition to lecture us’ on human rights), over the past two years has been able to bring 40 million dollars back to the Cuban people who have rented out their homes for travelers.

Hilariously, this somewhat tougher stance with Cuba won’t get Trump the response he’s looking for. After all, 50 years of tough US policies toward Cuba failed to achieve the desired political, social, and economic reforms inside the island nation. The idea of what Trump wants and desires are totally out of par with what Americans want and desire. The world is continually evolving and changing, which makes decisions such as this all the more frustrating because of the impact it has on our countries relationships with our neighbors as well as with our ability to travel freely and learn from other cultures.