Item

Mad, mad, world

Title (Dublin Core)

Mad, mad, world

Description (Dublin Core)

COVID-19 Black lives matter : June 1, 2020

The news of the riots and looting that have broken out at BLM protests is horrifying. There are so many supremacists, instigators and fame whores trying to remove the message that Black Lives Matter. There also seems to be a misunderstanding in the slogan. All lives should matter. They don't. Black lives matter, too.

Despite the agitators, I was so pleased to hear that the Marches in Decatur and cities around were peaceful. Last night, I talked myself out of participating in a March out of fear of violence. The very violence I want to be standing against. I'm disappointed in myself. Age and illness have cost me some of my fearlessness. The Freedom Fighters traveled the segregated South, facing beatings and possible death. Such courage they had.

I kept my phone away purposefully today. It seems every hour we have something and strange to react to. Space Launch! YAY!!! Riots! WTF!!?!

Two hours later, more info is available that modifies the initial reaction. Then, by the evening, reactions change again after we're bombarded with opinions and news links from social media. We try to get our bearings and then we're confronted with something new and equally mindboggling. UFO's? Barely a mention.

Conflicting opinions abound, with no consistency from our state and federal governments.

It's hard not to long for the days when I trusted Walter Cronkite and thought the government was looking out for my best interests. Illinois Governor's Kerner and Walker shattered that pipe dream. Watergate ground the pieces into dust.

It was another gorgeous day, today. Bright, sunny with a gentle wind. I kept the windows open and putzed around the yard. We found a new home for our old pool. It will have five playful kids enjoying it, rather than sitting in pile outside our shed. It can join it's Toy Story buddies and return to its life as a pool filled with children.

I needed to be outside today. Away from humanity. I'm out on my sleeping swing, listening to wind. At times, it almost sounds waves rolling in. The moon is just bright enough that I watched Rocky Raccoon searching for grubs, not ten feet from me. I didn't disturb him. He slowly meandered across the yard.

I think a Mama Deer may have a fawn stashed in the ditch across the road. I heard a huff and stomp. Maybe Rocky got too close.

The stars are bright and fireflies are all over the place. The other night the grands were convinced they were falling stars.

Nights like this, during times like this, I wonder why humans were given dominion of the earth. Then I remember I'm just a tiny grain of sand. A grain of sand that helps forge canyons. I'm grateful I can find peace and calm under Mother Nature's mantle.

Date (Dublin Core)

June 1, 2020

Creator (Dublin Core)

Joan B. Rhoades

Contributor (Dublin Core)

Joan B. Rhoades

Type (Dublin Core)

text

Controlled Vocabulary (Dublin Core)

English Conflict
English Emotion
English Politics
English Protest
English Race & Ethnicity

Curator's Tags (Omeka Classic)

Black Lives Matter
fear
peace
calm
Decatur
Illinois

Contributor's Tags (a true folksonomy) (Friend of a Friend)

#wtfufos

Collection (Dublin Core)

Black Voices
Social Justice

Date Submitted (Dublin Core)

06/17/2020

Date Modified (Dublin Core)

06/20/2020
12/8/2020
03/25/2021

Item sets

This item was submitted on June 17, 2020 by Joan B. Rhoades using the form “Share Your Story” on the site “A Journal of the Plague Year”: http://mail.covid-19archive.org/s/archive

Click here to view the collected data.

New Tags

I recognize that my tagging suggestions may be rejected by site curators. I agree with terms of use and I accept to free my contribution under the licence CC BY-SA