As we fight valiantly to regain our sense of normalcy during the lockdown and even as it eases up in some states, productivity is the number one thing we strive and hustle for. We hope to buckle down for a short time until this pandemic is over. But behind this scramble for productivity is a faulty assumption that this thing will be over one day. The truth is it won't.
I'm writing this piece on a Thursday night, days after riots and protests erupted following the murder of George Floyd. Posting on social media didn't feel authentic to me. Protesting didn't feel enduring. For me, they both felt like actions that would temporarily make me feel good about myself without any real lasting impact.It took days to write this because I needed time for the words to catch up with my emotions. Since then, I've had a number of people reach out to me, some with genuine concern for my mental state and others who seemed to be offering a "check the box" gesture. They were mostly all the same in content: "What can I do?" or "If you need to talk or vent, I'm here." Some even expressed how sorry they were for what I must be going through. The problem is, no one should feel sorry for me. No one should feel sorry for Black people.