Wow… When I envisioning my life after the Pan American Highway I knew it would be different. Different from how life was before my trip and most certainly different than my life during. What I couldn’t imagine is a world gripped by a pandemic, even though news and cases of what we would later know as COVID-19 was starting to turn from a trickle into a torrent. I also couldn’t imagine that a man’s death at the hands of police in my home city would spark not only nationwide protests but globally in solidarity for black lives and against police brutality and systemic oppression and racism.
When I returned to the US and began to live life in a less nomadic way I had a plan: get back to rock climbing, hug friends, and set up a business that would allow me to continue traveling. I quickly got a rock gym membership and was regularly bouldering, so I can check that box. I hugged my friends and family as much as I could, check another box. And I have successfully transitioned to being a virtual assistant so I can work location independently, check! Wait… All the gyms are closed because of a pandemic, well I guess I’m not gym climbing anymore and without a car or driver’s license getting to a crag is near impossible as bumming a ride might not be the best health decision. So uncheck that box. And I can’t hug friends and family anymore, uncheck. And I can’t travel, so is a digital nomad still a digital nomad if they are only nomadic digitally through Zoom?
So where does this leave me? It leaves me in a home. And alive. Which is more than people like Breonna Taylor, Philando Castile, George Floyd, Elijah McClain, and countless others who have been lynched by racist wannabe Klansmen in the protection racquet that is called “police” in this country.
What does this have to do with adventure cycling? You might be asking yourself right now. It’s a valid question. When I was on my tour, I had to change my plans constantly for many different reasons. Always having to change and adapt to new information as it came in. That’s what we have to do now. We can’t keep going on the same old way. It is a broken way for a broken system. The system was designed to reinforce inequality and oppression of black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), women, LGBTQ+ through economic and judicial means.
I write this mere days after Kyle Rittenhouse allegedly shot three people, killing two of them, in Kenosha, WI who were protesting because another black man was shot in the back by police. He drove across state lines “to protect businesses” with an assault rifle and a first aid kit which he said was to help those injured during the protests. But it’s very telling that after shooting someone he runs away without giving first aid. It is people like him who are clinging to the lie that we were sold in school about America and are afraid to confront the idea that America is a deeply flawed state built on the backs of the oppressed. For years white America could hide behind willful ignorance when they would hear about the atrocities carried out on BIPOC at the hands of police. Because as white people, if they had any interactions with the police it was probably nothing more than a warning that their kids were playing around in an abandoned building and a friendly reminder to be careful.
Now we live in an age where it’s nearly impossible to hide behind ignorance with the advent of cell phone cameras and Twitter. And those who continue to try and defend the actions by those with power against by saying that the person was a criminal who was a shoplifter, or did some drugs, or whatnot. What they are saying is that a human life is worth less than a few CD’s, a traffic fine, or a few pieces of candy. But what most of those white people will never understand is that when they are pulled over for speeding or having a taillight out their life is not in jeopardy. The system works for them, it was built to. But for BIPOC it’s a different story. Philando Castile was murdered by police during a “routine” traffic stop. George Gloyd was murdered for allegedly using a fake $20 bill. Breonna Taylor was murdered in her own home because the cops made a mistake and they are still walking free. Ahmaud Arbery was murdered because he was a black man jogging. Elijah McClain was walking down the street likely dancing and listening to music, neighbors called the cops, who with the help of the paramedics, sedated him, choked him, and murdered him. As a white woman, I will never understand what BIPOC go through on a daily basis in this country, but I can empathise and fight the injustice and try and make systemic change.
Making these changes will not be easy for anyone. It’s frightening confronting your own biases. We all have them, but it is important to recognise your biases and work to undo them. The system will not change without continued pressure from the people, it was also designed to resist change; especially when those in power have a vested interest in keeping the status quo. We have to keep protesting, keep making noise because eventually, they’ll have to listen. If they try to ignore us they’ll listen when we vote them out from the ballot boxes. America is changing, it can’t be stopped, but we can either have evolution or a revolution.
We need to defund the police as a minimum. We could save so many lives – and money if that’s all you care about- if we invested in social programs that were designed to help people and not lock away large segments of our society. Healthcare is a human right, quality education, liveable wages, protecting the environment, the list could go on. If we invested in helping people instead of punishing we could have a more robust economy – again for you people who really love money. I’m going to quote Mary Church Terrell, a badass feminist and racial justice advocate “And so, lifting as we climb, onward and upward we go, struggling and striving, and hoping that the buds and blossoms of our desires will burst into glorious fruition ere long“.
Also, where a f***ing mask. It’s a small way to make a big difference.