How COVID is affecting creative protest, and our future.

Impossible to ignore the global chaos of COVID-19, normal social life has been made impossible. Workers are to work from home, students are to study online and workouts must be done from inside: but where does this leave the active protestors amongst the globe?

The coronavirus has stopped a 100 day peaceful protest in India, for equal Muslim female citizenship, and many American voters and protesters in the light of elections have had to move their campaigns online.

After China’s sudden exposure where the virus originated, COVID has seen a surge in online discrimination and public harassment against Asians. Art activists have taken to social media to expose a variety of illustration and photography to communicate their anti-racism points. Arguing “a virus has no nationality” (Madame Marilou, KQED, 2020), activists must use the internet as a vehicle to visually speak.

• 

• 

• 

• 

How citizens protesting against authority in times of such social restriction?

We cannot start a march because of the virus spread. We cannot come into contact with people to support, or start, an activist movement.

Brazil has found a new way to protest. President Jair Bolsonaro’s lack of action in response to the Corona has sparked the country’s rage. As the country’s economy has started to fall, the united desire to end Bolsonaro’s rule only grows greater.

Rio’s citizens took to their balconies on Wednesday 24^th March 2020 to bang pots and pans, and shout songs at the top of their voices – turning the city into a theatre of vocal protest. Thousands of people used musical sounds of pots and pans to loudly protest “Bolsonaro Out”.

During a time of social restrictions, it meant citizens had to retreat back to Brazil’s beautiful traditional culture of song, dance and movement. I love the unity in this protest, how so many people came together, but were so far apart.

Can we re-imagine a future without COVID?

At a time when climate change was heading for the worse, COVID is giving our planet a total ‘Thunburg’ detox. The enforced lockdown has seen the world cleaner than ever. Despite heading for a collapsed economy, our planet may end up being greener than ever expected.

I believe when the restrictions start to be lifted it will take a long time for us to get used to normal social interaction. Working at Sainsburys, I experienced someone forget to keep their social distance. As I edged away, the close proximity of the other person made me uncomfortable in a way I had never felt before. Despite the awkwardness, we will only learn to appreciate moments with friends and family more, living for the moment and maybe even spend less time on social media.

Bibliography

Alexandra, R., 2020. Artists Fight Coronavirus-Related Racism On Instagram. [online] KQED. Available at: <https://www.kqed.org/arts/13877013/artists-fight-coronavirus-related-racism-on-instagram&gt; [Accessed 28 April 2020].

BBC News. 2020. Brazil Coronavirus Protesters Urge ‘Bolsonaro Out’. [online] Available at: <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-51955679&gt; [Accessed 28 April 2020].

BBC News. 2020. Why Coronavirus May Halt Months-Long India Protest. [online] Available at: <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-51907173&gt; [Accessed 26 April 2020].

 Jain, S., 2020. Anti-Asian Racism in the 1817 Cholera Pandemic. [Blog] Jstor Daily, Available at: <https://daily.jstor.org/anti-asian-racism-in-the-1817-cholera-pandemic/&gt; [Accessed 29 April 2020].

Johari, A., 2020. ‘It’s now or never’: Why young, urban Indian Muslims plunged into the anti-Citizenship Act protests. [Blog] Dawn, Available at: <https://www.dawn.com/news/1523363&gt; [Accessed 28 April 2020].

Law, C., 2020. Lifting The Lockdown: The Government’s Dilemma. The Week, (1274), pp.2-9.

National Geographic. 2020. Fake Animal News Abounds On Social Media As Coronavirus Upends Life. [online] Available at: <https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/animals/2020/03/fake-animal-news-abounds-social-media-coronavirus-upends-life&gt; [Accessed 28 April 2020].

Phillips, T., 2020. Brazilians Protest Over Bolsonaro’s Muddled Coronavirus Response. [online] the Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/22/brazilians-protest-bolsonaro-coronavirus-panelaco&gt; [Accessed 27 April 2020].

Mair, S., 2020. How Will Coronavirus Change The World?. [online] Bbc.com. Available at: <https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200331-covid-19-how-will-the-coronavirus-change-the-world&gt; [Accessed 27 April 2020].