issue 31// vol 46 rey tet tes eae tee Be)

Turmoil in the city on the hill

» Race struggles in the USA

Matthew Fraser
Opinions Editor

 

here is a land that exists in the minds

of many. It’s a land of boundless
opportunities and freedom. It’s a place
where the only thing separating one
from prosperity and serenity is time and
effort. It’s a land that many of its denizens
continue to describe as the “shining city
on the hill”, this place doesn’t seem to exist
for roughly 13 percent of its population.
The description given by some African
Americans in the USA as well as many
of the people who claim to speak for
African Americans is a place of loss, fear,
and hopelessness. Yet for all of the ardent
vocalizations, some white Americans don't
see this separation between black America
and its white counterpart. With the
understanding that these are the extreme
camps, for some white people the streets
are filled with black pain, and for others
black suffering is inconsequential and
mostly self-induced.

There lies an eternal problem between

the black voter and their frequently
white political leader: it’s the problem
of pandering and misunderstanding.
Worse still is when the problem escalates
into outright neglect. When Joe Biden
said “If you have a problem figuring out
whether you're for me or Trump, then you
ain't black” he reinforced the notion that
Democratic leaders have taken the black
vote for granted. Indeed, the fact that a

white politician felt comfortable enough
to explain what actions were suitable for
black people to engage in underlines the
idea that Democrats believe the black vote
belongs to them and is something to be
demanded as fealty at every election.

After the murder of George Floyd
galvanized the American population and
sparked riots, the sitting president felt the
need to state that “[.../These THUGS [those
there to riot—not protest] are dishonoring
the memory of George Floyd, and I won't
let that happen. Just spoke to Governor
Tim Walz and told him that the Military is
with him all the way. Any difficulty and we
will assume control but, when the looting
starts, the shooting starts” in a tweet
pledging military support to Minnesota
Governor Tim Walz. Nothing could have
further illustrated to black voters how
far from potential understanding the
president is. Though there is no doubt
that arson is illegal, it is a by-product of
peaceful protests being struck down or
even ridiculed that people feel that they
must destroy the very building that houses
their oppression. A president that says
“The Governor of Michigan should give a
little, and put out the fire. These are very
good people, but they are angry. They
want their lives back again, safely! See
them, talk to them, make a deal,” to armed
protesters wanting a state (Michigan) to
reopen after COVID-19 (granted there was
no bloodshed or rioting) while suggesting
state violence against those riot-ready
peaceful protesters who feel their cries have

No fun under COVID-19

» Closing mass gatherings is one thing—extending
it to cars at a drive-in is unscientific

Craig Allan
Staff Writer

 

ast month I went to the Twilight

Drive-In Theatre in Langley for the
first time in years. I hadn't gone recently
because it’s so far out in the suburbs and |
am often busy, but in this COVID-19 world
where entertainment and fun is hard to
find— especially at night—the drive-in
has become a light in the darkness. I have
wanted to go back again, even more so
now that they are running classic movies
like Jurassic Park and Jaws, but I have been
unable to get a ticket due to every show
being sold out almost immediately when
the tickets become available. Any future
trips to the drive-in, or any drive-in-like
event in BC has likely been crushed by
Chief Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry. On
Sunday, she stated the change that dictates
that there will be no mass gatherings of
50 people or more has been modified to
include that there will be no more than 50
cars at events.

On the night when I went to the drive-
in, I found the crowd to be very respectful
of social distancing. They were spread out
with only one car per two car spots, people
were staying in close proximity to their
vehicles, and when I went to get popcorn,
the concession area was completely empty.
Considering how I have felt going into

grocery stores and walking through my
local park, | felt safer at the drive-in than in
most places I have been since the pandemic
started. Now, I'll admit that I have not been
supportive of the practically hero worship
level of love Dr. Henry has received during
this pandemic, but I have mostly agreed
with her decisions on restricting the spread
of the coronavirus. Only allowing 50 cars for
avenue like this is a bridge too far though.
Dr. Henry has even admitted that
“there is no science to this,” acomment
referring to the exact number of 50 people
(or vehicles) as the choice for the limit.
The amount of people in those cars is not
factored in, and there seem to be so many
exceptions to this ordinance. One example
is the mini-doughnut drive-thru at the PNE
fairgrounds, which saw hundreds of cars
bumper to bumper to pick up doughnuts
from one location. I’m sure vehicles with
more than one person didn't stay in their
cars through that whole thing, and they
also can't be sure that the contactless
delivery service model they had could
avoid transmission of the virus. Also,
nobody needs PNE mini doughnuts in
order to live, so why is this event okay while
a similar event like the drive-in is viewed
as a petri dish for disease? There was no
inciting incident to show that the groups
that go to drive-ins are unmanageable, and
overall BC is doing a good job at flattening
the curve with new cases coming in the

always been ignored
sides not with justice

or the greater good of
America, but an order
based off of conditioned
white comfort and
directive.

“Sir, I'm asking
you to stop recording
me. (Please don’t come
close to me.) Please take
your phone off. (Please
don’t come close to me.)
Then I'm taking pictures and calling the
cops.” Nothing could have softened the
video of a flustered Amy Cooper vowing
to call the police and tell them that an
African American man was threatening her
life after he refused to stop recording her.
There was nothing to hide the intended
malice. There was no mask to cover the
rage that motivated her to fake urgency and
fear in order to summon the police force to
punish a black man for giving her orders.

In that moment Cooper must have seen the
police as the only reasonable punishment
for a black person stepping out of place.

It seems like for decades the police
have been the go-to tool for white malice
against the black audacity to live outside
of TV screens and entertainment venues.
Worse still, is that to the cynical eye
police have been willing to show up and
deal out punishment on demand. Thusly,
in the consideration of race relations in
America (at least relations between white
Americans and black Americans) some

single digits many days—so why can’t we
have our reasonable fun?

Some may look at this and say “chill
out, it’s a drive-in, who cares,” and looking
at tweets from people like Global News
correspondent Keith Baldrey invalidating
these concerns, clearly some think that this
issue is little more than a petty trifle—but
I disagree. For one, more drive-in like
events were looking to get established at
the PNE fairgrounds and other places. Now
it appears that it is not going to happen
because there is no way they can make
money off just 50 cars with no combined
food sales. Also, I think there are far more
risks at parks and forest trails than there
are at drive-in events, but Dr. Henry’s not
similarly pounding the table to close all
parks and trails.

 

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are left thinking that black Americans are
short on friends in power and short on
friends in the street. Amy Cooper was a
registered Democrat who had donated to a
number of official causes, yet that did not
stop her from falsifying a police report to
punish a black man who wanted to keep
recording her with his phone. Joe Biden
is the Democratic presidential candidate
and yet he seems to believe that the black
vote is his by right and that his entitlement
looms large enough to determine who is
and who ain't black.

There are fears that the justice system
will deal Derek Chauvin (the police
officer charged with Floyd’s death) a most
charitable and unjust hand, and with the
way history in similar cases has borne out,
it’s hard to say that’s unfounded. Indeed, it
looks to me as if race relations in America
are only slightly ahead of the 1992 LA riots,
or their successor the 2014 Ferguson riots.

In my eyes the city on the hill is
shining because it is burning once again.

 
 

Illustration by Udeshi Senaviratne

We are living in a modern day
Footloose. Here is something that is
taking the doldrums out of this pandemic,
and is giving people a reason to have
fun—especially at night when options
are incredibly limited. And here comes
Rev. Shaw Moore, aka Dr. Bonnie Henry,
(metaphorically) saying “people having
fun... we can’t have that” and shutting
down the place with no evidence that it
will lead to a spike in COVID-19 numbers.
These kinds of decisions are dangerous,
because I believe that it will make people
take these social distancing protocols less
seriously and lead people to congregate.
To paraphrase a common saying: “when
everything's against the law, nothing’s
against the law.’