The Squeeze
By Brandon Hodges
“Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”
How tiring it is to wake up every day just to be bombarded by disparaging news that attacks so many parts of your identity. Being fat, black, and male was always a problem, but my identity and worth should not have to be proved in 2020.
Transforming from an unlikely concern to the present pandemic, COVID-19 aka Coronavirus is here to stay. This highly infectious virus affects all kinds of people differently, and there seem to be some common telltale symptoms. However, science has not been enough for society, and just like with anything else, biases and prejudices have allowed for people to create social symptoms of this disease as well. One unfortunate societal problem has been the trend of people politicizing the virus for their own agendas.
We’ve all seen the Facebook posts from our neighborhood health experts and surgeon generals: “COVID-19 is a fat person’s death sentence. If you choose to be fat and have a weak immune system then COVID’s gonna get ya!” Hell, my own governor thinks this is a fat person’s fatality.
But if this were the sole reasoning behind the surge in infections and deaths, why are the numbers skyrocketing? Major league sports are being delayed, canceled, and altered. Boxing is putting on mediocre cards as more champions and prime contenders miss fights, and have lower paydays due to a fat person’s Achilles heel.
And to top it all off, black lives are dually mattering and being killed during this chaotic election and pandemic year! Something isn’t adding up.
Or...
Maybe we should check our prejudice during this pandemic.
Fact check: Obesity and age are prominent factors in determining peoples’ risk factors for having COVID-19 fatalities, but this line of thinking also fails to mention how these pre-existing conditions are often caused by systemic and socioeconomic problems. This often happens in Black communities. Hence, these overwhelmingly already unhealthy communities are taking yet another disproportionate hit in a world that continues to be unfair.
Fact: #Blacklivesmatter protests have not yielded increased rates of positive COVID cases. This new age, dog whistle tactic is being used to distract from the simple fact that bad federal leadership is what has truly created this positive testing boom.
Fact: Black Americans are fighting COVID with more at stake, which is especially damning when compounded with systemic racism in the socioeconomic structure and prejudice in healthcare.
Opinion: Covid-19 only affecting the fat and those with weak genes or bad immune systems is bro-science. Some of these so-called superior fitness influencers and gurus are risking their health working out in group settings, which can undermine anyone’s superior genetics. Many states opened too early, and gyms cannot be a guaranteed, coronavirus-free, safe zone.
Your fresh-squeezed juice and Instagram fitness aren’t going to protect you or anyone else from this disease, because the system has failed you.
But...
Wearing a mask and washing your hands will.
Mental fitness and working out can help you mentally, physically, and emotionally during this time. We simply must accept that the ball was dropped by the powers that be, but we are facing this deadly pandemic now, and we have to figure out how to keep ourselves healthy to see the other side. These activities are safer in your home, outside with social distancing, or at a gym that is practicing social distancing, proper ventilation, and cleanliness. These precautions are necessary for everyone, because America is fighting this pandemic on two fronts. The war on COVID is a pandemic of health and inequality.
So before you judge others based on your own views remember this: COVID-19 doesn’t discriminate just because you do.
Meet the Writer
Brandon Hodges is Mass Communication M.A recipient from Georgia State University who currently resides in Tampa, Florida. He is a fan of comics, writing, boxing and movies. His writing focuses on black male identity, hyperbole, and navigating hostile spaces.
