Social injustice –  4-19-2020

Social distancing vs physical distancing, who was the Einstein who came up with the term “social distancing”? Why not use “physical distancing” since that is what we are being required to do? We have been social distancing for centuries.  It called the haves and the have nots, the 1% and the rest of us. Yeah, let’s exacerbate that even more now while we wait out this deadly pandemic. The pandemic that is polarizing the injustices that exist in our society. If your rich, a sport figure, movie star you can be tested immediately, but rest of us need to show some symptoms and even then, we might be required to go isolation without being tested. Yeah, go separate yourself even further from the haves. Seems fair, right? Uh, no.

Homelessness, people with no health insurance, people living paycheck to paycheck, working more than one job just to survive, having to choose between food and electricity, lack of access to education or information… the list goes on. The privileged not having to make any of these decisions. That’s social distancing. The privileged not having to worry about when they will eat again. That’s social distancing. The privileged not worry about which bill to pay. That’s social distancing.

Is any one person more deserving than another? No. The playing field has never been level because society has been rigged since the beginning. Enough is enough.

While we hold close to our hearts those who have been lost, those who are ill, and those who have lost someone they love, let us take the time to look at the way in which way our society has been built and make changes necessary to create a just society. A society where “essential” workers are paid a living wage, have paid leave, insurance, access to an affordable education, transportation, and affordable housing.  Let us lessen social distancing, but still practice the need for physical distancing.

Let us not forget, words matter and so do all lives.