Wow. I can’t believe it. It’s the first day of June. The entire month of May was a blur as I, along with the rest of humanity, awaited for our worlds to open up with the shutdown from COVID-19. I’m still on furlough but I’m told that I might be back to work in a couple of weeks. Again, this has lasted so much longer than originally thought. There is hope in a couple of days, though, when the City of Chicago finds out what the next phase of reopening will be. Fingers crossed.
Not much has changed since I last wrote except for one thing. There are protests and lootings around the country as the result of the death of George Floyd, a black gentleman who was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis on May 25th. The protests in Chicago only started a couple of days ago but there is much destruction all around. The stores and neighborhoods in and around Chicago were looted, cars were set on fire, and vandalism ensued. I can’t believe all this is happening. The pandemic is horrible enough but to add this to the stress of the world is just too much. Yesterday I couldn’t dare see what Michigan Avenue looked like in person because I saw the pictures in the news and social media. Many stores were broken into, looted, and graffiti sprayed across the buildings. Such a terrible sight. So I decided to walk toward the river instead. It was a beautiful day. Then I saw something that I had never seen before. All the bridges of every street were raised up so no car nor person could get through. When I got closer I heard the constant alarm from the raised bridges which was unnerving. It was only cool to see all the raised bridges because I had never seen it before, and seen against the gorgeous blue sky was a sight that I surely wanted to capture. I walked all along Wacker Drive and was more saddened to see workers boarding up the storefronts and restaurants to prevent further looting. After an hour and a half passed I started to head back home. It was getting chilly and I had a phone call scheduled.
Somehow this protest, vandalism, and looting seems worse than the pandemic itself. I’m sure it’s because we can physically see in all the media outlets the proof of people looting, cars being set on fire, and the vandalism whereas with the pandemic it’s an invisible virus. We only see statistics, facts, and figures. But when you see a video of a man being killed as well as the destruction of communities by mobs of people, it’s easy to lose faith in humanity. The economic downturn from COVID-19 will be rebounded in time, although a very long time. But losing faith in humanity is something that is far worse and not so easy to harness back. The world needs a healing as well as prayers. At this moment this is all I hope for…
