Buckle up America, This is Becoming Dangerous - Dylan Conley

Buckle up America, This is Becoming Dangerous - Dylan Conley

Buckle up America, this is becoming dangerous. Some people are trying to turn this election into a cultural civil war in the midst of a pandemic. It doesn't look like a cold war. There's politics and culture to this, but primarily I’m asking you to realize that this is a safety issue.

Please understand how dangerous this moment is. COVID-19 has thrust us into a level of mass unemployment virtually guaranteed to stress society and push social upheaval. The inequalities of our society are being exacerbated at an exponential pace. At the same time, the pandemic has thrust the entire globe into a mental health challenge where everyone is plagued by the considerations of this public health crisis and the uncertainty of its socioeconomic consequences. Thousands of friends and family are dying, millions of jobs and careers are slipping away.

On top of that, the Coronavirus has hit us during a national election of unparalleled polarization with a president dedicating to sowing the seeds of discord. Our social trust is plummeting exactly when we desperately need it.

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Now, this past week, we have seen a marked rise in overt racial hate.

Consider the following confluence of national incidents. Police murder George Floyd. Twitter had to label the President's publications as false and inciting violence. Riots break out, and there’s video footage of at least one white person looting and starting fires apparently to undercut protests about the value of African American lives. There’s even evidence of a large-scale movement centered around the term ‘boogaloo’ dedicated to inciting civil war. Local politicians cannot hold town halls without being attacked for being black. Police are arresting minority news crews but not other news crews standing nearby. Christian Cooper asked a white woman to put her dog on a leash and she responded by effectively threatening him with death by cop. The public safety reactions to Reopen America protesters appear distinctly measured when compared to footage of Black Lives Matter protesters get gassed.

This confluence of events is proof that the context of our time is not just culturally dangerous, it has all the ingredients of being physically dangerous.

The darkest corners of America believe they have an inherent right to be evil, and the President has identified that movement as the key to his electoral and branding success. Violence against fellow Americans will be actively promoted by the leader of the free world. The loudest cultural voice in America is dog whistling at the top of his lungs because he believes that is in his best interest. Our era is not intangibly threatening. Our era has slipped into a period of literal danger.

Please. Be vigilant, be safe, be an ally to all those threatened by this darkness. We are not all in the same boat, but together we can make a formidable armada capable of weathering this storm.

 

Dylan Conley is a husband and a father. He is an attorney for several municipalities and serves on the boards of Millennial RI, Federal Hill House, and the Providence Board of License