YouAlberta
As I'm sure most of you have been doing, I've been trying to make some sense of the uncertainty that has come with the COVID-19 global pandemic. Of course, this looks different for every person. If it's reading the plethora of new information coming from every corner on the internet, whether that be government authorities or public health officials (maybe even that one company you interacted with once seven years ago that feels the need to send you a perpetual stream of COVID-19 updates…), or looking at history books and comparing how we've handled the pandemics in the past, there's surely no shortage of COVID-19 content right now to help us try and navigate these uncharted waters.
I've been paying attention to the progression of the pandemic since January, when my political science professor, Dr. Greg Anderson, brought it up in our American Foreign Policy class. While January seems like a billion years ago (I've begun measuring time in how long the food I'm stress-cooking lasts in the fridge. Vegan cheesecake is three days.) I remember Dr. Anderson raised concerns that this virus seemed to have the potential to throw a wrench in political life as we understand it. So, I "sat-down" (responsibly, social-distancing-ly FaceTimed) with Dr. Anderson to try and make sense of some of the political considerations that COVID-19 has bolstered in light of the drastic changes we've seen here and across the world.
For both Dr. Anderson and myself, the topic of uncertainty and inequality was at the front of our mind. "I'm struck by the socioeconomic qualities of this whole thing." Dr. Anderson said, noting that a large portion of news coverage focuses on issues such as what people are doing to pass the time, how they're social distancing, or how they're staying productive while working from home. "I'm profoundly struck by how the advice that comes from them, primarily from people who both are wired up (they have proper equipment, computers, internet connection), they're often talking from the palatial confines of their five-million dollar Manhattan apartment. And I'm thinking about the people that [have to consider] homeschooling their kids and [go] out of their way to sort of comply with what the public health officials are saying."
This thread by Jie Jenny Zou highlights the way in which the coronavirus has a disproportionate impact on those who are already marginalized in society, like communities of colour, the incarcerated, and rural communities (and often those living at the intersection of these multiple vectors of marginalization). Dr. Anderson also addressed the way access to healthcare has "gigantic socio-economic and racial undertones" in both Canada and the United States. "We're going to see that play out unfortunately." He brought up the direct appeal made by two Manitoba First Nations communities to the Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan to establish a military hospital to prepare for the COVID-19 outbreak. The outbreak will exemplify these kinds of existing socio-economic divisions and inequalities, since ongoing colonialism leaves many First Nations communities extremely vulnerable. Another consideration in the United States is access to healthcare, period. "Once the coronavirus begins to spread through the Bible Belt, and more rural parts of the country, their access to healthcare is not that great and their healthcare systems will be overwhelmed quite quickly."
For myself, as a student of political science and women's and gender studies, I've been startled to see the ways in which inequalities have become more apparent and devastating as the pandemic has progressed. For Dr. Anderson, he was "thinking about the single mother in The Bronx housing projects…whose kid has been out of school, who primarily gets their lunch from the school lunch program, and what are they doing to social distance, what are they doing to pay the bills? They don't have a white collar job where they're sitting at home. In some respects social isolation and social distancing and quarantine are, to put it really bluntly, for rich people." For people like us, the ability to have a discussion of these issues in the abstract highlights a stark privilege afforded to certain parts of society which can wait out the pandemic that is not granted to the vast majority of people. Research done at the Economic Policy Institute shows that Black and hispanic workers in the U.S. are much less likely to be able to work from home due to their work in essential services, leisure and hospitality, giving them less flexibility and putting them at a significantly higher risk of contracting COVID-19. The socio-economic and particularly racialized impacts of the pandemic are being witnessed in cities like Detroit, where systematic marginalization and discrimination leaves African-American communities at a substantially higher risk.
Even within the larger university community we've had to grapple with these consequences. In the U.S., many have criticized their COVID-19 stimulus bill for leaving college students without support. Many of my friends here have lost employment as a result of the pandemic, or seen their summer jobs and internships suspended indefinitely. And those of us graduating this year and entering the workforce have the added stress of entering the workforce during a possible recession.
Dr. Anderson's point also draws attention to another concern that's been highlighted by many: the impact of this pandemic on women. From healthcare workers, teachers, and care workers, to single parents and people facing domestic violence, the impacts of the pandemic have revealed disproportionately gendered consequences and concerns. Women make up a majority of healthcare workers putting them at a greater risk for contracting the virus through their occupation. Across the world, women have also had to bear the brunt of childcare and schooling with daycare and schools being closed. Further, advocates for people experiencing domestic violence are urging governments to take more action to protect those who are quarantined or socially isolated with their abusers.
Calls have also been made for prison reform in light of the potential for COVID-19 to spread through the prison population at an unprecedented rate. "There's been a lot of talk about prisons and the potential for COVID-19 to spread like wildfire through the prison population. So, if that then spurs additional criminal justice reform around overcrowding and these things that are in the ether to begin with, then I think that would be really good."
Most importantly, none of these political inequalities are new. "[The pandemic is] exposing these deep rifts that have existed for a long time. Maybe exposing the depth of them." These revelations showcase just how seriously inequality persists in our society. The disproportionate impacts of the pandemic showcase how particular communities lives are at greater risk due to systemic marginalization and precarity.
And the picture becomes even more complex among those who have the privilege to self isolate when we take into consideration aspects like living with mental health concerns. The long-term psychological effects of social isolation are yet to be fully understood and mitigated. The fact is, technology can only do so much in replicating much needed human interaction, especially for those with depression and anxiety.
Since literally everything else we talked about was incredibly gloomy, I asked Dr. Anderson what he does to make some sense of all of this political uncertainty. "I think at the end of the day people are pretty resilient." He noted that while there are a lot of unknowns, the pandemic has shown the value of human connection and the resilience of our communities.
In times like this, I'm grateful for my (almost completed!) degree in political science that helps me try and understand these complexities. This pandemic showcases the need to seriously address persistent inequalities in society. It has the potential to mobilize political will to fix some of these systemic inequalities with solutions that prioritize the well-being of collective society. And it can also help each of us re-conceptualize what we value as a community. I'm thinking of our teachers, healthcare workers, grocery store workers, caregivers and how we can ensure their safety and appreciate the work they do in normal times (Through funding! Living wages! Paid leave!). I'm also thinking of every person in our society, those at the margins and the intersections of oppression, who deserves to have their dignity and life honored and valued. And, because I'm a student, I'm thinking about how all of us students (young people!), have remained resilient in light of unprecedented uncertainty, coping in the best ways we can and trying to come up with political, social and scientific solutions. For Dr. Anderson:
"I hope [we] head in a direction where people actually want to be around others. So, I cling to that and I watch a lot of HBO."