Mandated COVID Vaccination For All Is Imminent

While ultimately it will be a lost fight, I do not summarily dismiss people who reject the COVID vaccination as irrational, minus the trump supporters, solely because of their position.

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Our government(s), the pharmaceutical industry and the medical profession have earned this mistrust. Yes, there are the indisputable facts of Tuskegee, which is but a drop in the bucket of medical experimentation on human subjects, and the rantings of a mad man masquerading as POTUS who had the shot himself (SMH) but who among us does not believe that there exists a cure for cancer, is not resentful of being gouged financially by doctors, hospitals and big pharma, who trusts that FDA approvals are granted free and clear? I could go on.
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The mistrust is real and earned. It is not limited to Black folks or even crazy trump supporters. These entities must own it and start sharing all of the facts with the American public instead of shutting down the dialogue, even of fellow professionals, of those who disagree with them. Allow the discourse. Perhaps then, some of the resisters might be swayed to vaccinate. Is that not the overall goal? To dismiss or denigrate them however, only adds fuel to the[ir] fire. But soon, public pressure that will look much like the pass system reminiscent of apartheid and being reduced to the social status of leper, even with friends and family, will force or at the least, serve as a mandate for most to ultimately vaccinate.
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As a society, we either passed this test, if you will, with flying colors or we failed miserably. It depends on which side of the issue one stands. There must always be a segment of society that challenges our government. History has taught us that. I ain't mad at the resisters. I just want them to accept that no matter their position, COVID is real, people are dying and vaccinated or not, they too, must respect the now socially acceptable codes of conduct to wear masks, wash hands and respect personal spaces, social distancing at a minimum...

This is the article that prompted this writing...
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/08/vaccine-refusers-hesitancy-mandates-fda-delta/619918/

Waste Not!

I love the concept of this meme or photo someone posted on Facebook. I hope the message is true. What a novel and logical idea! 

 
I remember having dinner with a friend in South Africa, Refilwe. As we were leaving the restaurant, she gave her doggy bag to a homeless man outside the restaurant. He was quite thankful and did not take it as a sign of disrespect being given food from the unfinished plate of another. He did not counter that instead he wanted money. None of that.

She gave from her heart and what seemed the natural and logical thing to do, he received it accordingly. I loved it and made note to self that it was so un-American-like. We often take our doggy bag home of our much too large servings provided us by a restaurant who under pays it's workers, put it in our overstocked refrigerator, forget about it, and often eventually throw it away or feed it to the doggy, which is probably the origin of the name "doggy bag" and might also be why our homeless would likely reject such an offer. Who knows? 

Never, however, would it be the norm to simply give it away or would we be so kind to offer our bounty to a hungry stranger. What an UN-American concept! Nightly, bakeries, grocery stores, restaurants, banquet organizers and such throw away tons of food for fear of lawsuits, lack of empathy, no compassion, etc. 

Meanwhile, there is no shortage of homeless people who are hungry and begging in the streets of America, homeless shelters and food centers are everywhere and still there are not enough, school lunch programs are thriving as though only the school aged children in the family are hungry. 

Also meanwhile, America consoles herself in flooding the television with PSAs featuring starving and malnourished, usually Black or Brown, children in other countries promoting the notion that all is well here in America, the "land of plenty where the streets are paved in gold". SMH... 

American capitalism disappoints me yet again. I love when I hear stories like this about France and remember the natural concern for a fellow citizen by my friend in South Africa where I hope her gesture is the norm. 

The USA MUST do better! Many of her sheets are off, to include that poverty and hunger in America is a very real thing! Ignoring it will not make it go away...

Racism & Discrimination Front and Center!

To deny LaVar Burton the job as the new host of the popular game show, Jeopardy, would be a slap in the face but certainly in line with America's fear and rejection of talking about white privilege and teaching true history, hers and that of Black people. 

There is no way that this guy should get the job over LaVar Burton except that seeing a Black man in a roll of intelligence day in and day out would be too reminiscent of Barack Obama and the rage his presence caused for America such that he was succeeded by a true imbecile! As we are seeing played out in the Olympics, Black excellence scares the hell out of some people committed to a narrative of Black inferiority...

LaVar, "Kunta Kinte" Burton, showing up in this role goes against the very narrative of how this country wants Black people, who she formerly enslaved, depicted as brute, animalistic, uneducable and denied the right to learn to read and write, to be depicted. We can't be smart and sophisticated as is the persona Trebek created for this position. We can run, jump, dribble, sing and do physical labor but we are not to be articulate, learned and intelligent. Whatever would be the result of such a positive image of Black folks? Another of America's lies would be exposed! Black folks being proud, emboldened, awakened, inspired and possibly empowered by an image of  Black positivity? So give the job to an unknown, unskilled, mediocre white guy. Its not like we haven't seen that happen before!

There's no real surprise here. This is but another example of America's fear of Black excellence! Let's see how this shakes out. If they give the job to this unknown, mediocre white guy, I hope the show flops!