Selective Memory
Memorial Day 2020
Memorial Day typically is the unofficial start of summer in the United States and in a non Covid19 year it would’ve been earmarked with barbecues and family gatherings to mark the occasion.
In this novel coronavirus year, as states are opening up at various paces, the mood this is decidedly different. Except of course for all those people who have decided to forego warnings from states and scientists about large gatherings. It’s almost like we are throwing caution to the wind to forget about the last three months, while ensuring the inevitability that we continue to repeat the nightmarish aspects of those same last three months. Namely the loss of close to 100,000 (and rising)souls .
More than the losses on 9/11—- More than the —— losses in Vietnam over the course of —-years.
Although stories are coming in of block parties and mass gatherings I’d like to think that most Americans are adjusting how and why they celebrate in a cautious and safe way. People argue about the encroachment of individual freedom on all sides. Caring is a choice as well. It’s illuminating that it’s taken statistics of war to jar some people’s perspectives into remembering. Remembering that lives are at stake or that some sacrifices are worth it to diminish the loss of life.
We seem to forget easily, although this is a day earmarked for remembering. It’s always been a day about remembering the loss of life of those that have served this country in wars across its almost 250 year history. And there have been many wars in that short period and many selfless acts to secure a nation’s worth of freedom. There have also been many sacrifices, genocides, and atrocities too. But maybe we can adjust the what and the who of memorialization. We might be more able to to accept the idea of including the medical professionals , essential workers and volunteers who during this pandemic went above and beyond the call of duty and paid for their service with the lives…
…might we extend our memorial to include those in the near 100,000 (and rising) death tally who were not in these categories? Can we include the elderly or the immunocompromised all of whom needed more care and consideration? Can we include all the minorities and Indigenous communities who due to systemic inequality and racism were more susceptible to exposure to Covid19 due to underlying health issues, inaccessibility to care, inadequate care once seen, lack of space for sufficient quarantine protocols and inefficient living standards or savings? Can we include those who have perished in immigration cages, detention centers and jails? Can we? Will we? Or would we rather forget?
This pandemic has been described as a genocide. Even with federal and state help or far-reaching corporate donations and the individual concern we’ve shown to one another, there do remain deficits in the care that has been extended. If we truly cared about one another then the gaping inequalities that Covid19 has exposed would not feel so ——jarring? The cracks were and are there for all to see.
Summer 2020
For me, especially in recent years, the start of the summer is a mix of trepidation and excitement. It used to mean warmer weather and getting outdoors. It meant beaches and my birthday. It meant summer vacation and maybe a trip to Ghana. As a public librarian in a major city though, summer has also meant that school’s out and kids have more free time, and unfortunately the potential for more shootings and gang activity. All of these things manage to coexist. Tish Hyman and Kill Nigel’s 2018 song , “Summer Time” has come to be this sickly sweet anthemic beat that underlies a similar sentiment of dual energies.
They’re spitting uneasy facts over hypnotic melodies. Making the unpalatable truth go down easier. A lot of the last three weeks in isolation as a black woman in America whose job it is to serve information —but during a time when that task is more difficult—has come up against these dualities a fair amount and has ebbed between paralysis and defiance. Before the February 23rd death of Ahmaud Arbery came to light in early May I wondered about my safety just going outside and enjoying nature to break up the mundanity of apartment dwelling. Even though I was actively sewing non-medical masks with hints of African Prints I understood why some felt that facial coverings might keep them safe from covid but not from the violence inducing biases and racism of other people. And after I mustered the wherewithal to #runwithmaud via a 2.23 mile walk to prospect park (circling back home for a total of over 5.08 miles) learning that Breonna Taylor had been murdered by police in her own home on March 13th heightened my worries about just being indoor, in my apartment, minding my business and isolating for the greater good. To be black in this country, feels like playing a game with only some of the game pieces with rules that shift only for your continued disadvantage.
With Covid19 we’re reminded/told that getting outside is a privilege, that staying indoors is a privilege, that dressing for self expression is a privilege…when historically such “privileges” have been fabrications of social control. How to trust and follow the rules when the rules have consistently been set up for your failure? The only privilege that truly applies to everyone is life, even though society puts up caveats to ones ability to live. Life is not a given for any individual, and it feels even more true given the stakes of covid19. But all of the others stakes that put one’s life in jeopardy haven’t stopped because of Covid19. I understand not wanting to have stipulations on the when, where, and how many of “allowing” people to assemble. That sort of thing has steep racist history in this country. To be able to move freely was said to be a privilege meant only for straight white male citizens, and which has only slowly been eked out to all other demographics.
So this Memorial Day I’ve been asking myself if collectively it’s possible to extend the criteria of memorialization while still honoring the sacrifices of those officially recognized as having done so. Can we remember our inequalities and the long list of lives lost in assuring the demise of said inequalities? Wouldn’t that count as a fight for freedoms worth remembering instead of freedoms solely built on the necks and backs of others? Memorial Day has been for those lost to war. But what about the invisible wars against that which we assume are harmless and familiar ? What about the microscopic enemy we’re currently facing? What about the enemy in a uniform? Or the enemy that looks like your sibling or your best friend? The staggering dualities of experiences for those that make up this nation could give anyone whiplash. Maybe we aren’t all just actively willing ourselves to forget what we’ve gone through. Maybe we’re all just concussed.
~ Ohemaah Serwaah