Quarantine Lao New Year 🇱🇦 : Hurt, Disappointment, Love
When I look back at 2020's Lao New Year family pic I'm always gonna remember this year 😂🙄
The year the rona upended the world, canceled my (and everyone else's) New Year plans, the year we had houseparties on our phones, the year I went to Zoom University. The year I fell behind on my schoolwork. And I guess I'm also going to remember how capitalism failed us, how "essential" workers were martyred, how we were forced to continue to pay our bills during a dangerous global pandemic. How coronavirus disproportionately affected Black people and Poor people.
During this pandemic, I really haven't taken the time to reflect. I just didn't want to sit down and think about it. I willed myself to move, to keep my body busy, and to keep my mind busy.
Yes, I love the coronavirus memes. I love to make light of a situation because what else are you going to do in hard times? But as I finally sit down and reflect on it, I really have to say that I'm disappointed. Am I disappointed at our government? Our society? Humanity? Maybe it's a mixture of all 3. I'm disappointed at the cycle of anti-Asianness and anti-Blackness occurring. I've closed my eyes and ears to it recently because it hurts to see. It hurts to see the dehumanization of those in immigration detention centers, jails, and prisons. It hurts to watch our "essential" workers be put in dangerous situations everyday. It hurts to see how little the world cares about poor people. How corporations will donate food and gifts for social media clout but won't break off a piece for the people that really need it. And it hurts to see how selfish and greedy people are. How the economy comes before our safety, and how people's hoarding comes before the collective good of our whole community.
Am I surprised? No. Am I disappointed? Yes.
And on this Lao New Year, I felt so unsettled. I was scared to set my intentions, because my disappointment at the world... made this seem like such a herculean task. What could I ever hope to do? That could ever fix this?
These are the intentions I am setting this Lao New Year.
❤ I will remember to love & care. To love & care in every situation.
❤ I will be kind to myself during this pandemic. Nothing in our lives has prepared us for this moment. And I can't force myself to do things that I "normally" do. Because times are not normal.
❤ I will be kind to others. I don't know what people are going through. I may be upset by our interaction, but I will try to understand that they are people's REACTIONS to their own circumstances.
❤ I will share my resources to people that need them. I will donate some of my stimulus check directly to people that need it, as well as to community mutual aid funds. I will continue to do this after the pandemic.
❤ I will continue to work on living collectively and as a member of a larger community. Not as a self-centered individual. At the "end of the world", we can all make it together.
This Lao New Year, I'm sending you all blessings. For your physical, mental, and emotional health. For your safety. For your families. I'm praying that your reunions with your friends and family post-quarantine are 🔥🔥🔥 We WILL get through this. Sending you all love ❤🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
The year the rona upended the world, canceled my (and everyone else's) New Year plans, the year we had houseparties on our phones, the year I went to Zoom University. The year I fell behind on my schoolwork. And I guess I'm also going to remember how capitalism failed us, how "essential" workers were martyred, how we were forced to continue to pay our bills during a dangerous global pandemic. How coronavirus disproportionately affected Black people and Poor people.
During this pandemic, I really haven't taken the time to reflect. I just didn't want to sit down and think about it. I willed myself to move, to keep my body busy, and to keep my mind busy.
Yes, I love the coronavirus memes. I love to make light of a situation because what else are you going to do in hard times? But as I finally sit down and reflect on it, I really have to say that I'm disappointed. Am I disappointed at our government? Our society? Humanity? Maybe it's a mixture of all 3. I'm disappointed at the cycle of anti-Asianness and anti-Blackness occurring. I've closed my eyes and ears to it recently because it hurts to see. It hurts to see the dehumanization of those in immigration detention centers, jails, and prisons. It hurts to watch our "essential" workers be put in dangerous situations everyday. It hurts to see how little the world cares about poor people. How corporations will donate food and gifts for social media clout but won't break off a piece for the people that really need it. And it hurts to see how selfish and greedy people are. How the economy comes before our safety, and how people's hoarding comes before the collective good of our whole community.
Am I surprised? No. Am I disappointed? Yes.
And on this Lao New Year, I felt so unsettled. I was scared to set my intentions, because my disappointment at the world... made this seem like such a herculean task. What could I ever hope to do? That could ever fix this?
These are the intentions I am setting this Lao New Year.
❤ I will remember to love & care. To love & care in every situation.
❤ I will be kind to myself during this pandemic. Nothing in our lives has prepared us for this moment. And I can't force myself to do things that I "normally" do. Because times are not normal.
❤ I will be kind to others. I don't know what people are going through. I may be upset by our interaction, but I will try to understand that they are people's REACTIONS to their own circumstances.
❤ I will share my resources to people that need them. I will donate some of my stimulus check directly to people that need it, as well as to community mutual aid funds. I will continue to do this after the pandemic.
❤ I will continue to work on living collectively and as a member of a larger community. Not as a self-centered individual. At the "end of the world", we can all make it together.
This Lao New Year, I'm sending you all blessings. For your physical, mental, and emotional health. For your safety. For your families. I'm praying that your reunions with your friends and family post-quarantine are 🔥🔥🔥 We WILL get through this. Sending you all love ❤🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
“It is our duty to fight for our freedom.
It is our duty to win.
We must love each other and support each other.
We have nothing to lose but our chains.”
- Assata Shakur
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