I miss being a little girl today.
I had a great childhood, and I am grateful for that. We didn’t have much money, but my parents were hard workers, and they went out of their ways to make sure we never suffered from our life on a (tight) budget. There was so much love in our humble home that we didn’t even care about what we didn’t have…
But that’s not what I miss about those days, right now.
I miss how I only had to cover my eyes with my little palms to make monsters go away. Whenever I got scared, in the middle of the night, not looking at them made all the gloomy shadows disappear…
I wish that could still work. But adulting is much harder.
And nowadays, it seems like there are monsters everywhere.
This virus, of course. This invisible enemy that is threatening each and everyone of us, our families and friends.
The poverty spreading like a plague, people losing their jobs, struggling to feed their loved ones. Businesses going bankrupt, world economy slowly collapsing.
The future is no longer a reference. Planning is obsolete (hopefully only temporarely). Nobody can tell what will happen a week, a month, a year from now. We’ve fallen back in a weird world where the only certainty is the present.
And while we should all join hands and work together, these monsters still bring the worst in some of us.
As if we didn’t have enough on our plate, already.
You probably heard about the anti-racism wave that started in the United States. The Minneapolis’ black community’s voice has echoed all the way to Québec. In different cities, people of all skin colors are protesting against police brutality and racism against the black community.
To be quite honest, I question the pertinence of fighting specifically racism against black people. I understand the situation in the United States, but things are different here, in Québec. I think it is important to find ways to rid our society from racism, but why not fight it in general? It is a well-known fact that first nations’ people have been targetted by some authorities too. They need people to stand for them too, wouldn’t you think? And that’s just an example…
Anyway.
Yesterday, Montréal’s chief of police accepted to come and walk with the protesters, this coming Sunday. It was a symbolic gesture, from the man who had just announced measures to stop police profiling and systemic racism.
But this morning, the leader of the Black league – New generation announced online that the invitation had been cancelled.
The reason? ”Citizens are terrified by the thought that he would be there.”
Other black organizations spoke up, and disaproved the decision, stating that they had all missed a great opportunity to turn an historic page together. I agree with them.
I have no doubt that some people are in fact uncomfortable with the thought of walking alongside a man representing an authority they are afraid of. But I doubt there are enough of them to take such a step back.
Oh well…
I just wish I could cover my eyes, and make all of this go away.
Cyranny's Cove 
May fear turn to joy.
A happy healthy human family….with nothing and nobody who can make us tremble.
A world governed by love for our fellow human…where nobody would ever think of mistreating another person. A world where we only know kindness and goodness. Where the things that used to terrify us have long since passed away.
Maybe one day we will all get together for a real picnic and ask….did that really happen? It seems like such a distant memory….was it real?
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Oh my, do I wish this could happen. I had hope that this world plague would bring us all together for the first time. That it would put conflicts and disagreements on ”hold” so we could fight as one against our common enemy… I think this happened, to a certain level, but we’re still far from the target.
I’m sure someday we’ll sit around a fire, on a warm summer night and tell the young how things were in 2020…
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What we must be absolutely sure of is that while there may be some very silly people out there….there are also some very splendid people out there.
Sometimes the media makes us focus on the stupidity…and forget the special.
I have a feeling that we have a rough time ahead, mainly because the loss of income for many is still yet to get it’s grip.
As a volunteer I have had the privilege of meeting some extraordinary people, many out in Africa who had been through things we are scared to imagine. I also worked on projects for National Holocaust Day with people who were detained in concentration camps. The conversations I had with those amazing people helped me think about what happens when things do go crazy around you. What do we need when for a short time (and it is always relatively short) we might live from day to day feeling anxious about our needs (food and shelter) for the day.
Be strong, stay calm, don’t let propaganda get to you. Even if the world seems to be cracking up….it is exposing the things that need to go….the corrupt side to the world.
I feel as if the world is a bit like a pregnant woman at the moment….going through labour pains. There may some pangs of distress that become sharper and more frequent….but are in expectation of changes that will mean a cleaner earth a healthier happy human family.
Most people long for a world that feels safe, clean and healthy. But not all do. And some who say they want it don’t want to make changes to achieve that.
I think we are all in for an education…in life…in love…in what really matters.
I am waffling now….but I am trying to say is…do not be afraid. If you love what is good, don’t let any situation, any divisive issue, any propaganda cause you to forget love, kindness, goodness.
I am convinced that those who love good have a bright future ahead.
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You’re right about the need to end /all/ racism, but I think that’s what ‘Black Lives Matter’ has become, a blanket call to arms. Here in Australia, First Nations people are rising up and joining the call. And lots of new[er] Australians are joining them.
I think they’re crazy for protesting during a pandemic, especially as many of them are too young to truly understand the risks they are taking, both for themselves and the vulnerable people they come in contact with. And yet… And yet, if not now, then when?
For all the deaths and disruption and misery this pandemic has caused, it’s also given us a chance to stop running like caged mice on an exercise wheel and ask ourselves some uncomfortable questions, like – is the pursuit of the dollar at any cost really the way we want to live our lives? Could there be something more that we’re currently missing? Do we really need to be divided into ‘Us’ and ‘Them’? Rich and poor? Black and white?
-sigh- I really hope the protests don’t trigger a second wave of the pandemic, but I am so heartened to see people, all over the world, showing that they /care/. Finally, after all these years, they care.
Apologies for the rant. I’m stuck in the now too, but for the first time in a long time, I’m proud to be human again. The sociopaths have run the world for far too long.
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No need for appologies 😉
I have similar worries, watching the protests going on again today. Though it won’t impact me directly, since we’re still not leaving home unless we really need to, I watch thousands and thousands of mostly quite young people gathered in the streets, almost shoulder to shoulder, many of them not wearing masks, and I hope we won’t see the effect of it in two weeks.
The timing isn’t perfect, but then again life isn’t either. And if the fact that so many people have the time to get out and speak out loud (because a lot of people still don’t work or go to school) can help change mentalities… Then I can’t be against it.
Let’s hope for a better world, when we’ll finally get out of this crisis 🙂
Thank you for sharing your thoughts!! xx
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-grin- the young are always immortal. Let’s hope their passion brings us all to a better place in the end. – hugs-
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I was one of the lucky ones to have been born and raised in the heart of New York City, where I literally interacted with people from all over the world. It is difficult to develop racist ideas when you are surrounded by so many amazing people from literally every corner of the globe. The world is hurting and in the United States we are longing for a leader to provide guidance and solutions, though under the Trump administration, it is unlikely that we will see any resolution to the issues currently faced by The United States.
On a side note, here is something I wrote recently which has a similar theme:
http://www.TomSlatin.com/belong/
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I so agree with you, Thomas… I spent my early teenage years in Africa, and I’ve been ”the minority” for five years. As you said, racism becomes absurd when you live with amazing people of other origins. Now living in Montréal, I love the mix up of cultures, and how each community is a piece of our colorful puzzle….
I hope you guys will get rid of Trumps, and elect a leader instead of a boss!
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You are not alone in that.
Sent from my iPad
>
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*Big hugs* Here’s to better times to come, sooner than later 🙂 xx
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I feel the same my friend!! ((((HUGS)))) ❤ ❤
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*Big hugs* right back, dear Joy 🙂 xx
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💕💕
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It’s such a complex issue that affects so many people. I just hope no matter what the protests are in Canada, that they stay peaceful and are a catalyst for change for Black people, Indigenous people, and anyone else who faces racism and discrimination.
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Amen, Suzune 🙂 We had a protest that turned into wrecking downtown stores in Montréal, last Sunday. I know that this pillaging is the work of a minority of protesters but it is still sad to see happening. I hope that today’s and upcoming manifestations will remain peaceful to send out the right message…
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I hope so too🤞
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Oh, to be that little boy
Each little thing, a little toy
Each little story, little book
Enchantment with each little look
Oh, to be again so small
When now I stand so very tall
Please gently tuck me into bed
Put little dreams within my head
Oh, to be so sweet. Naïve.
Oh, to sleep with make-believe.
And wake to every day anew
With every dawn a different view
It’s all a dream and once begun
A dream of what I’ve now become
Each dream will reach a moment when
I dream to be that boy, again.
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I didn’t read your whole post. Sorry. I was captivated by the first few words and went off on a tangent.
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This might seem lil off the topic..I can’t express how I feel..so just sharing some facts and observations—–
As #BlackLivesMatter hashtag reach India, there was another India-centric news making the headlines. A pregnant elephant died after eating a pineapple stuffed with explosives. while some people have been arrested in the case, it’s being said the fruit was kept for wild boars who destroy the crops (I don’t know if killing animals like that is justified. for that matter there were swarms of locusts who were destroying the crops.. I don’t know what happened to them as the elephant and more corona centric news became imp to the media channels.)
When I scrolled through my Instagram stories, people’s first story read #BlackLivesMatter and the next story said #AllLivesMatter (this was for the elephant).
Many even came up with more hashtags..to say which lives matter..caste-based, race-based, gender-based and what not…
Then there were people criticising actors of Indian cinema who do commercials of fairness cream and then posting #BlackLivesMatter.
Then there was news of an Indian cop kneeling on a citizen in the same way..But it was later found out that the man had two cases registered against him. (having cases registered against someone doesn’t justify the cop’s behaviour though). Then it was told that the cop’s action was in defence. I didn’t read much about it. Just read the headlines and I was done with this news.
I do close my close and try to take out time to go to a place where things are much better.
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