Columnists
Imagine Roaring in like a Lion
In like a lion, or so I’ve heard. It’s March! My, how time flies when you’re having fun. You are having fun, right? I know I must be. There are so many reasons to be in a good mood, these days. Coronavirus, rail blockades, stock markets plummeting, education workers striking and this freaking weather—all reasons to feel like life just couldn’t get any better, right!?
I’ve decided to deal with two things, one at at a time, starting with the coronavirus. Let’s begin by getting the facts in front of the fiction. FACT: Diseases can make anyone sick, regardless of their race or ethnicity. It has become abundantly apparent coronavirus isn’t just for Asians. It’s an equal opportunity infector. FACT: The rick of getting COVID-19 is, at this point in time, low. However, viral infections like to get around and if you’ve travelled to places where people have become sick with COVID- 19, you should let your doctor know and be prepared to be monitored by health officials to protect yourself, your family and people in your community. FACT: Someone who has completed the quarantine and has been released from isolation does not pose a risk of infection to others unless they have been re-exposed. FACT: You can stop COVID-19 by knowing the symptoms—which are fever, cough and shortness of breath—and isolating yourself from others. If you have travelled outside of the country or been in a place where COVID- 19 is active in the past 14 days and have these symptoms, seek medical attention immediately. Call ahead before you go to the doctor’s office or emergency room. Be honest about your travel and your symptoms. FACT: You can protect yourself, to a certain extent, by washing your hands with soap and water (for at least 30 seconds) especially after being in a public place (like the grocery store, church, cafes, retail shops or a gym), before eating, after blowing your nose, coughing, sneezing or using “the facilities” (the boomboom room). Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands. Stay at home if you’re sick. Cover your cough or sneeze. Don’t cough or sneeze into the air. Did I mention washing your hands after you cough or sneeze? FACT: Get the flu shot. It won’t protect you against COVID-19, but it will protect you against influenza and rule out a misdiagnosis if you do become ill with flu-like symptoms.
WASH YOUR FREAKING HANDS.
Now, rail blockades. First of all, if you aren’t an Indigenous person, feel free to tell me how a rail blockade messes up your day-to-day life. Then, let me suggest the rail blockades probably don’t have any direct impact on you, personally. Am I right? Of course I am. It’s time for all of us to do a bit of reading and a whole lot of thinking. If you can imagine for a few moments you are an Indigenous person (go ahead, think about it) and your children or your mother or your sister or your neighbour has been taken away or has disappeared. Imagine what that would be like. You’d go to the police, but chances are you wouldn’t get any satisfaction. Imagine your property, on a reserve, has been expropriated to accommodate this “pipeline”. Your family graves have been bulldozed to make way for the oil to come through. Imagine if a government authority suggested putting the pipeline through Glenwood. Where would you set up your blockade? Imagine, on top of these indignities trusted white-man religious leaders had raped and/or killed your ancestors—your aunties or uncles, your mom or dad. Imagine trusted religious and government authorities took you from your family and put you into a residential school, hundreds of miles from your family, then beat your culture out of you. Imagine that and then tell me where, if it happened to you, would you put those blockades? Imagine never having know what it was like to have clean drinking water or decent housing or fresh, affordable food. Imagine that and tell me where you’d put your blockades. Imagine living in one of those communities, where an oil pipeline is a reality and fresh water is a dream.
Imagine you’re an Indigenous person and COVID-19 reared its face in your community, then tell me where you’d go to wash your hands.
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