Black Lives Matter or Corona?

*DISCLAIMER* Down below you are reading my personal experiences and opinions on this subject.

Although the Dutch government is gradually easing the corona measures, I notice in my area that there is increasing resistance to the existing measures. I hear many people say that they get tired of handling the 1.5 meter distance all the time and that they would like to return to normal. Of course I understand that. Last Monday the first of June there were massive protests all over the world over the murder of George Floyd. I have seen the video myself and I was shocked when I saw it, it made me literally sick to my stomach. I get why people get so angry about this police brutality and I find it good people all over the world are speaking up for black lives.

In the Netherlands there were also people protesting on the Dam in Amsterdam. Around 5000 people came together to stand up for black lives. I personally find it good people are protesting because I think it is time for a chance and the murder on George Floyd should not have taken place. I read a newspaper (Leeuwarder Courant) and some other news online about the protests. What I mostly saw was critics about the protest because the protesters didn’t hold them on the corona measures and there were to many people. Most of the news was about the size of the protest and about mayor Femke Halsema giving her statement because she was accountable. I understand that the protests can be offensive to the healthcare staff and I don’t think it was very responsible to protest with so many people in one place, but I am definitely not against the protests. I do think the Black Lives Matter movement is really important and change is needed. Maybe you can say due to the coronavirus it isn’t the right time to protest, but when is it the right time? Racism is a problem that has been going on for several centuries, it cannot be tucked away anymore.

What I find the strangest of all this is the role of the media in this and what is in the newspaper. On Monday first of June was the protest. The newspaper I got at home from 2 and 3 June said nothing about the message the people wanted to spread with the protests. So nothing about why people got so angry about George Floyd, nothing about racism and nothing about why there are protests needed for the matter of black lives. I find it strange people can just say “They shouldn’t protest”, because this is what I have heard a few times. If racism wasn’t such a problem in the world protests are not needed, but it is a problem. I think a lot of people still don’t acknowledge that racism is a big problem in the world of today, and when this doesn’t get acknowledged by people it isn’t going away. Most people don't even know what it is like to be disadvantaged on the basis of racism, including myself. As a white person you never walked in the shoes of someone with a different skin color, so how can you judge.

I don’t think you as a white person can say “They may not protest” or “Racism isn’t a problem in the Netherlands (or anywhere in the world)”. To me that is really controversial. Gladly I am seeing a lot of social media influencers supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. They have a big audience and most are role models for a lot of (mostly young) people. I find this really positive! I have also watched the Netflix documentary 13TH. In this profound documentary, scientists, activists and politicians analyze the criminalization of African Americans and the jam-packed American prisons. I really recommend watching this documentary if you want to educate yourself more on this subject. To come back at the question I put in the title, I don't think you can say the one is more important then the other. 2020 is showing us we need change in the world.