When the World Was at War We Kept Dancing

Is it the end of America?
Is it the end of an era?
Is it the end of America?

It’s only the beginning.
If we hold onto hope
we’ll have a happy ending.

I had an idea for a social media app that would allow you to make a blog post based off of a song, with the ability to call out a section of lyrics. Then in your feed, you would get all of your friend’s songs for that day or few days or week, mixed together in a playlist and you could listen to it and see who chose it and read their blog for why. 

Music is so deeply tied to our experience of the world and it’s so emotional. I love the idea but I haven’t blogged in a really long time. Even though I keep a hand-written journal, the act of writing freely on a keyboard is not something I’ve practiced for a long time, but I’ll try. I am not going to post this blog anywhere but it will be here, if anyone finds it. 

We’re living in a time where most people are probably wishing they had posted less, or they feel like they should have more discretion about posting. Things people posted are coming back to haunt them. We’re in a moment of deep reckoning. The reckoning is so deep that it has spread to all aspects of self, being, and expression. Any one can be “canceled” for any reason - and they are. While I think canceling has its place - attempts to shame people into better behavior - it is a deeply flawed process of social justice and critique. I would say it has done more harm than good overall, but we are entering into some pretty pedantic territory that has the potential to detract from real issues. That is what the men in my life have always been saying to me about it, but I never felt that they were correct until recently. 

I wanted to start this blog to capture the feeling of 2020. We’re near the end of quarantine, or at least what feels like the end of it. From the way I remember it, we knew there was a virus, then it was here in the US, then it was killing a lot of people, we didn’t have enough tests, we didn’t have enough ventilators, we weren’t allowed to travel, and then whole cities shut down. The grocery stores were empty, the shelves bare of cans and other stapes. The stock market crashed and then recovered. Trillions of dollars were given to corporations and 1200 to citizens, but not at first. Many weren’t eligible.  At first masks “didn’t help” and they weren’t recommended, and then they were required. Videos came out of people not wearing masks getting dragged off of busses. We weren’t allowed to leave our houses except for essentials. We listened but most Americans were skeptical. There was enough fear and organized effort globally to convince me and everyone I knew, but some people called it martial law and tyranny. They called it a plan-demic. 

I didn’t know what to think. I was shocked and excited for the push for universal basic income. I was happy to see the stock market plummet. Overjoyed to see the price of oil go negative. Maybe it was a plan-demic, but I was happy to stay home and not see anyone. I often go into what I call “isolation vacation” which is my own form of quarantine, so I embraced it. My boyfriend gave me a mask, so I wore it. In the last three weeks I have only seen him, my sister, and my landlord. I’ve been to grocery stores. I’ve gotten deliveries. But other than that, I’ve been pretty isolated.

During this time, everyone was at home. UNICULT exploded. Everyone was lonely and excited to build unitopia. We had a great amount of growth during the first two months of quarantine. 

Conspiracy theories have been rampant during this time. I, along with millions of others, watched one series called Fall of the Cabal. Q conspiracies which always seemed extreme and a little wacky are now mainstream, or at least alt mainstream. 5G started getting turned up in every major city. Concerned people started talking about it. Then a conspiracy came out that said 5G causes Covid. At first no one actually believed that but the media make a big deal about it, thus discrediting all 5G videos. YouTube started deleting and shadowbanning any video that had both 5G and coronavirus in them. David Icke did a video that said hospitals are marking all deaths as COVID. Elon Musk said the disease isn’t as serious as we are making it and linked a video of doctors talking about it. YouTube deleted the video. Elon tried to publish a book about the disease but Amazon blocked it. Another video site of all conspiracy videos became the place to go to see the alternative narrative. 

I was relatively calm during all of this. I spent a lot of time at my boyfriend’s house. He spent a lot of time at mine. We watched TV, played mariokart, made love. Baked and cooked. Made music. Had zoom calls with friends and family. 

Two or three weeks ago police killed another black man for no reason. It was caught on video in Minneapolis. Minneapolis rioted. They burned and looted and marched. The rest of the world followed suit. Every state had protests. Seattle has been the wildest place, with police abandoning their east precinct and expecting the protesters to burn it down. Protesters did not burn it down. Instead they created Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) and claimed the police station as the people’s station. The media made it seem like the protesters are violent. The internet shows the truth - the police are violent. The protesters are peaceful. The police use tear gas and rubber bullets for no reason. They arrest people for no reason. We had curfews. My phone would buzz and beep and tell me what time I had to be inside by. Videos were posted of people out after curfew getting arrested, shot with rubber bullets (huge things by the way), and beaten with batons and fists. On social media Black Lives Matter and the appropriate way to interact with black people was all that was posted for at least a week. For many white people, this is their first exposure to racism and the wave of awareness has been amazing and exhausting to watch happen. I have done what I can to support my community.

It is a lot to go through. I, along with everyone else, wonders what’s next. We are all aware that our old world is being ripped to shreds and from my perspective, it’s the dawn of the new age, but for many others it must be terrifying. I would write more, but a UNICULT member needs my help. 

A new song tomorrow.