COVID, confusion, death and complexity (On Friday’s I write)
On Friday’s I write. The plan really is to do this every week, but sadly last Friday my computer broke. So here are some thoughts about the last two weeks in our world…
COVID Restrictions
For the first time I feel that there should be a more severe lockdown here in Barcelona. We have seen a spike in cases (up to 40 000 in a day) and this inevitably with absolute certainty will lead to a spike in deaths in a week. It is inevitable that health services will be pressured and the UK is a diabolical example of how to do it badly. So actually, yes, please close everything for two weeks to cut that off.
CENSORING
Trump being banned from twitter brought all sorts of reactions, my favourite was Jonathan Pie, who usually loves to tout free speech.
It’s an interesting debate, but ultimately if there is someone in the room who is spouting shit, the grand majority of people will shut them down – if everyone has a voice. To what point is shutting people down, effectively giving other people a voice? Pie doesn’t dive straight in with “he shouldn’t have been banned”, and that is telling.
Censorship around racism, violence, vaccines, all the way down to medicinal products in general – there is always the backdrop of capitalism. You have to balance the idea of shutting down hate speech and conspiracies, with the reality that there are always very powerful companies behind the scenes desperately seeking profit above all else. Are profits being put above health and environment with this censorship? (eg maybe La Dulce Revolución natural medicine site shut down in Spain?) or is this a situation where the censorship is shutting down outright lies, hate and gaslighting?
CONFUSION
Obviously all this leads to confusion, as demonstrated in an incredible example by a permaculture colleague two weeks ago.
I received a forwarded whatsapp from them which was a message from the mayor of Barcelona Ada Colau. It was an unedited copy of the message posted on her public facebook page in which she talked about her personal experience and difficulty with a media that spreads misinformation, and social media platforms that spread lies and sexist insults. She gave a brief analysis on this widespread problem and ended with a call to people to check their information and take personal responsibility not to spread false information.
The very next message from this person was a shared video on whatsapp, not available on youtube, of an Irish doctor claiming COVID doesn’t exist.
How does anyone reach a point where they hold both these beliefs? it is a very confusing world.
I know that our friend’s father died of COVID yesterday. I see the devastating numbers in the UK. I cannot fathom that Boris Johnson would even consider saying that the pandemic has been managed well there. But I am still asking questions, and that is where we all need to be.. asking questions that take us in the direction of a better world. There are way more than two sides to every story.
What can you do to promote love and compassion? How can you avoid creating division and hate?
Inspiration
When people wonder how to react with the impending crises of climate breakdown and ecological collapse, they often think about what they can do. I have been reading more and more that focuses on the “why?”. The real question is why do you want to avoid further collapse? and the answers are incredibly beautiful.
Here is a quote from Daniel Wahl’s book, and I follow this with a quote and a recommendation for an amazing book, Braiding Sweetgrass, described as “A hymn of love to the world” which I highly recommend.
“The why defines the how in an action-oriented way. In a nutshell, why offers a purpose, cause, or belief; how expresses the values that guide our actions.” (Designing Regenerative Cultures)
“I don’t have the power to dismantle Monsanto. But what I do have is the capacity to change how I live on a daily basis and how I think about the world. I just have to have faith that when we change how we think, we suddenly change how we act and how those around us act, and that’s how the world changes. It’s by changing hearts and changing minds. And it’s contagious. I became an environmental scientist and a writer because of what I witnessed growing up within a world of gratitude and gifts.” Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of “Braiding Sweetgrass“
This weeks crazy ideas and new stuff
I am going to keep this section because the universe is amazing, and after expressing the idea to start a podcast last time, an old friend contacted me directly to offer practical help in making that happen. You have to throw these things out there! and I’ll keep you up to date on any podcast progress. One crazy idea this week is to completely drop off whatsapp and facebook – if that’s even possible. Plus me and Vianna started a Boodaville communications folder. Our to do list looks like this :
Social Media Strategy
– Make one.
So fairly soon we may be calling out to consult with someone who knows, and really actually knows, how to be effective on social media.
We also had a long Rovira Regenerativa meeting and realised that there are a few key project management roles that need to be filled. For now you can find out more about that project on instagram (@roviraregenerativa) and soon we’ll publish a webpage.
See more blog posts “On Fridays I write” here:
and please feel free to leave a comment!
