2020 January 1st, hangovers everywhere, confetti littered streets, fireworks stenched ambience, new dreams scribbled, 2019 regrets amended. It’s a new year, the beginning of a new decade, a lot to happen and as a growth tracker, economists trumpet a a global growth at 2,1% CAGR.
Alas, Donald Trump the logorrhea- beleaguered President of the United States, sex offender, an impeachment survivor and the only global problem thus far is still the most powerful man in the World. Concerning, but the count down for his presidency is nigh. The MAGAers are ramping up support for the Trump base intendem with white supremacist, proud boys, evangelicals and conspiracy theorists. Yes, Evangelicals in that breath, providing a pristine and divine guidance to the next Trump administration. Not so hallelujah! This episode of the apprentice was never scripted and the world is in aghast, thinking of the worst possible scenario. Another 4 years of this man, hard to fathom the moral, institutional and democratic decay. This is a troubled man at the helm of global leadership who believes in conspiracy theories to science. Wind mills cause cancer he proclaimed on his presidential pulpit to a thousand of his blind followers. At this point in the beginning of 2020, Donald Trump was indeed the our global Achilles heel pre-covid.
2020 March 5th, I’m attending a big conference- the SHE Conference in Oslo. Conference hosted over 3,000 attendees and indeed a great conference that was anchored on katapulting female global leadership. At this juncture of time, COVID-19 was mainstream rumor circulating in news media and no one then knew the severe wrath of this acute respiratory disease. Dizziness, lack of breath, headache among others were just mere symptoms. Diagnostic cases are appearing and making news, Itália falls victim to covid the news says, reminiscent of fall of Rome. Dejavu right. Mass hospitalization in Itália and subsequent fatalities.
The conference in Oslo is closed, lucky I made it to a great wine tasting and tapas to a private room to celebrate the event success by the host where I met very important people across industry. The next day, the National cable news Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK in short) & the national tabloids are airing updates that at least 5 people who attended the SHE conference tested positive for COVID-19. Stern warning issued from the government to all who attended the event to self isolate and watch their healthy and signs for symptoms. This was our our genesis and exodus of the COVID-19 quarantination.
W H O
The World Health Organization is in disarray, timely updates on washing hands was the main antidote of COVID-19. The use of mask not so prioritized , social distancing highly recommended to survive the misterioso disease transmitting flu-ently. The WHO declare it a pandemic, just like the Spanish flu in the late 1920s which claimed over 10 million people fatalistically. Alarming numbers of cases per country, data sources visualized for number of cases , mortality per population. Wuhan province in China, allegedly a source of this virus, is officially closed by the Chinese government. Too little too late, for the rest of the world business as usual. Numbers are rising, then governments across now are thinking the worst. Trump, the spot light lover and apparently playing all medical roles as a dictator would do, acting as chief surgeon, infectious disease expert on press conferences on the alarming rise in cases and mortality is issuing medical counsel. Even while the top infectious experts as Dr. Fauci are sitting next o him and sidelined to give concrete medical feedback to the public, it’s all About trump now. At some point, he makes false claims “it will disappear” , “it will go away” and sadly the globally embarrassing point, urging people to inject disinfectants to kill the virus. Dr. Birx a top doctor seemed to marinate the message, with less vigor to rebuttal the falsehood. Dangerous, i’m dreading the next four years.
Quarantine tales
The world is in complete shutdown, business as usual is halted. Capital streets are empty. Toilet paper in short supply, but trending online and tiktok. Toilet paper demand & supply created shopping wars. As everyone was shopping as much to stay indoors, others overshopped this commodity too much as social media Live streamed the the mayhem that transpired in several places. This was a Black Friday but for toilet paper, couldn’t imagine we would be here. How did it happen? the governments declared complete lockdown, advised alarmed people to get their needed supplies as major shops were to close. This was the root cause of the toilet paper faux pas.
Tiger King best LoL-kdown Netflix Series
Lockdown was at some point reviving, working from home and movie fanatics bieng watching Netflix. In particular, the Tiger King docuseries played by himself the tiger king aka Joe exotic Maldonado, who once almost was vying for the highest office of the land, as a Presidential candidate. Then came Trump. I won’t summarize the actual script of the frame here but eventually Carol Baskin, allegedly accused of feeding his husband to tigers put the beloved and controversial Tiger King in jail for murder for hire case. To cut to the chase, social media had a run on this this and if you missed it, we still in lockdown I recommend it. What followed was trending memes and harshtags for the life in lockdown.
George Floyd
Before the economies started crashing, an unjust and inhuman event story was live streamed. This was the murder of George Floyd, accused of forging 20 dollar bills. The act of this murder of George Floyd was shocking to every racially sensitive human being. Police in armor and gear, pinned George Floyd in a choke hold even when he begged to let him breath, one officer for 8 minutes and 46 seconds to be precise had his knee on George Floyd’s neck. The other officers were complicit to this murder as they pinned his body while the other other had his knee on his knock. Gruesome. The land of the free and brave, the ghost of Jim Crow still lingers in the US law enforcement system to racially kill with intent. This happened while we are in a global lockdown. Racial injustice anywhere is racial injustice everywhere, proclaimed Dr. King. This was unimaginable this time and age to commit such racial murder in broad daylight. So, the whole world for a moment paused the lockdown and global solidarity much and voices to bring the cops to justice started spreading. Human when we act together, we can achieve great things. We voices were heard to fight systemic racialism and any forms of discrimination, statutes of slave owners across the world started falling down. This was reminiscent of the Berlin Wall but for justice for Floyd. Today as I blog this, the US has passed a bill that forbids and implicates service men for any form of racial bias and police brutality. In Bill is named after George Floyd. Rest in power.
The Insurrection at Capitol Hill
Oh what a tangled web we weave when we first learn to deceive. For four years, the President of the US potus they call him has been peddling his governance on perennial lies and cover ups. For four years the seeds his personal and administrative lies continue to bud into what is notoriously knows as the trump base or the MAGA fans.
It’s 2020 November 20th, the unfathomable thought of another term presidency for Donald Trump was here. Unpolitically correct, he did what he did, hold massive rallies without masks, insult opponents, profanity and lack of respect and decency was the alphabetical order of his way of persona. Thank goodness for the mail in ballot provision, the man who thought he was going to win could not actually believe it that his electoral college tally was not in his favor after a number of key states projected Joe Biden to win the presidency. Traditionally, and on moral grounds, the practice is that the losing president accepts defeat and extends an olive branch to the winner. Smooth transition of power. Hold on, not with this man. To make the long story short, ICYMI the narcissist beleaguered man Trump lost and encouraged his supports on Jan 6 before the actual counting of votes by congress to cause mayhem at the nations law capital. Insurrection and impeachment followed.
Frontline workers
The covidversary article could not be concluded without a standing ovation and oncore for the frontline workers those alive and posthumously though who got died trying to help fight the pandemic. The nurses, doctors, teachers, postal men and women, transport service officers to mention but a few. Our personal responsibility to heed the quarantine rules and regulations reduces the impact on the frontline workers. So, these are the people we should celebrate during this covidversary, for putting their lives at all year risk and helping people and societies to fight the impact of covid-19.
A sequel to follow to this article.
