Corona Diary (October 5–October 11)
Like everyone, we are currently experiencing challenging times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Regardless of our nationality, age, or cultural practices, social distancing has rapidly become the norm. The following is a weekly series of thoughts and experiences across five different cities and countries, in the hope of making connections and distinctions in a strange and uncertain time.
Brooklyn, New York, The United States
by Jon Gayomali
This week was the only vice presidential debate. Overall, Senator Harris presented herself in a way that was much more on the offence than Vice-President Biden. She used phrases such as “there will be no more protection … for people with preexisting conditions,” and “On January 28, the vice president and the president were informed about the nature of this pandemic. They were informed that it’s lethal. In the consequence that it is airborne that it will affect young people, and that it would be contracted because it is airborne. And they knew what was happening and they didn’t tell you." Pence was dodging comments all night, with answers not relating to the question. When asked about pre-existing conditions, he responds with pro-life; when asked about climate change, he responds with repealing Trump tax cuts. The most eventful guest of the evening, a fly, landed on Vice-president Pence’s head and stayed there for over two minutes, sparking memes and gifs all over the internet.
The Los Angeles Lakers battled the whole week in the NBA finals. Ending a whole 3 months of a successful “bubble,” and to my delight, we won! I have been a Laker fan as long as I could remember. Celebrating, watching the game, and being a fan has been different in COVID. The group texts, were very active this week, as we created a live commentary on the games. One of my cousins commented “this sucks, we should be watching this together,” Which is something we usually do. I watched one of the games with my brother and sister in law, which was a refreshing change from watching in my room on my laptop. Watching sports proves that coming together is more than the game itself, but gives you a common event relate to, feel sadness, and feel joy.
Mexico City, Mexico
Sometimes, I even feel that I’ve forgotten about the virus; only for a few days or minutes though.
Every morning, President AMLO has his own television space to neutralize the information: Las Mañaneras. He uses their show to promote the spectacle and avoid politics– says Alberto Barrera in his article at the NYT. Mexican politics has become a telenovela.
This article by the Financial Times sums up a lot of my frustration toward a failed promise of transformation, that has proved to be more authoritarian than revolutionary, more egocentric than democratic, and not at all progressive.
This week, two days before the commemoration of “the discovery” of America, the statue of Cristopher Colombus was removed from its pedestal in Av. de la Reforma, in the city. I doubt this is a casualty, rather makes me think that the decision from the government to restore and clean this monument comes from an attempt to prevent demonstrations of the collective act of taking the statue down. I wonder when our government will allow itself to hear the voices of those who ask for justice, for those who protest about something, for those who demand the right they should have and yet they don’t. I wonder when we will do a de-colonial effort to strike down imposed political practices that stand against what we are and what we do.
Although this is not related to Mexico per se, I read this article about architecture offices. Makes me mad that architecture practices rely so much on exploitation and bad pay.
