We need a “circuit breaker” for a pandemic called Racism

I normally focus my energies on positive things - as there is enough to deal with based on what life already throws at us. But this week, I couldn't get over the heartbreaking story of George Floyd and the experience of Christian Cooper in New York’s Central park.  It is unbelievable that so many around us cannot do simple things without thinking twice about it - Like go for a jog without being gunned down or watch birds without being abused racially or go to a grocery store and be allowed to buy stuff like everyone else. 

Freedom is among the most fundamental of human rights. How can this happen in this day and age? The fact that I am shocked shows how privileged I am. For many, instances like these are part of an exhausting sequence of systemic dysfunctions that have marginalized communities around the world and made them feel like a lesser human. 

Social / justice systems that marginalize communities based on age, gender, sexuality, neuro-diversity, religion, etc is unacceptable. Is this happening because we don’t know enough or even worse, are we choosing to be silent about it? This week’s stories made me pause and question - what am I going to do to bring change around me? Staying quiet is not OK. 

 We need a “circuit breaker” to stop this. Spoiler alert - It is going to be uncomfortable.

• As with any pandemic, “knowing is half the battle”. Let us all raise collective consciousness against every case of inequality in any part of the world. It starts by being human.
• Quarantine those with the illness - Racism starts as a state of mind - as prejudice… In many cases, the perpetrators are not even aware they are doing something wrong. Such people need to know this is not OK, and they need deep empathy.
• We MUST do something- we owe it to ourselves to leave the world a better place for future generations.  As for me, I strongly believe we cannot solve aggression and hatred with the same medicine. I started my career as a copywriter (not a very good one). I have decided to dust off those skills and use it to write about this. I am also committing time and efforts to help people heal, leveraging my learnings and experiences with mindfulness and mediation.

 These are difficult times, but we can beat this Pandemic by Staying Safe, Staying Sane and Being Humane.