by Akaya Lewis - Class of '22 (bio below)
As COVID-19 continues to plague our society, grassroots activism has expanded now more than ever. In an effort to regain normalcy and access to human rights, both left and right activists have leaned into a politicized tug of war, expecting their side to conquer it all amidst a global health crisis. Through comparative analysis of left and right leaning media coverage of COVID-19 activism, it is my hope to expose the underlying over-politicization as a skewed mechanism, distracting the public from flattening the curve, therefore an endangerment to global health progress entirely.
Throughout history, activism has served as the necessary catalyst for social justice specifically regarding issues facing vulnerable populations such as racial minorities, women, LGBTQ+ identities, lower socioeconomic status, and disabled communities. The emergence of COVID-19 is not exempt in evoking many of these injustices, therefore prompting activism efforts. This pandemic has added fuel to the pre-existing fire of an ongoing global healthcare crisis and corrupted political system. Essentially, COVID-19 has further exposed the unequal playing field within this health care system, disproportionately amplifying the rate of health disparities amongst underrepresented groups. To put it simply, the people most connected to these disparities are sick and tired of being sick and tired and they will fight for the health of their communities by any means necessary.
Simultaneously, during a global health pandemic, activism uniquely presents a structural conflict for an activist to choose between their own health and safety and their access to human rights. Given the stay at home restrictions and policies in place, COVID-19 is expressed as “an existential threat to human rights activists worldwide” (Frett 2020). While some state orders are stricter than others, executing activism outside the bounds of one's home is often viewed as resistance or non compliance and ultimately penalized as a direct violation of social distancing measures. For instance, a salon owner in Texas was jailed for opening her shop in an effort to “feed her children and help her employees feed their children” (Olson 2020). She has since been released upon review and modification of Texas executive orders, however many people are not as lucky. In a time of such uncertainty, resource scarcity, health care decline, economic and job loss, and enforced stay at home orders, activism whether as a means of ideological resistance, survival, non compliance or privilege, is a prevalent social response and tool in an effort to fight for their rights to normalcy.
As with any current event and topic, coronavirus also presents a host of opportunities for political tension. With coronavirus pandemic being a multi-layered issue, political affiliation plays a major role in one's approach, perceptions and responses to activism and social resistance. Subsequently, in an effort to fight for the protections they deem necessary, many activists have maintained their left or right beliefs on the political spectrum. For both political parties, grassroot activism, “one promoted by autonomous, self-organized groups that carry out direct action not only at protest events but also in everyday practices” has served as the backbone towards creating solutions to this ever-changing pandemic (Gravante 2020). Some conservative activists voice their opposition against extension of stay at home orders and quarantine restrictions in which they have greater support for the Trump Administrations task force to reopen the economy. On the other hand, liberal activists typically advocate for improved measures towards the health, safety and access to care of their communities. Also, some activists are fighting for causes such as the reopening of small businesses, essential and non-essential worker rights, and bridging the gap of racial and wealth disparities. While some sources such as CNN and New York Times tend to lean towards the left and liberal political stances on activism, Fox News approaches social resistance from a more right leaning and conservative political lens.Additionally, for context, it has been reported that Fox news sources have consistently categorized coronavirus as a political hoax and a tool for democrats to “bludgeon on Trump” as stated by Fox News personality, Sean Hannity. With CNN having more left leaning perspectives, they are consistently in feud with Fox news coverage, specifically pertaining to the Trump administration. Yet again, a pandemic has been politicized, further dehumanizing the experiences and harsh realities of vulnerable populations.
The right side
From my analysis of liberal vs conservative sources in covering activism related to COVID 19, left leaning sources tend to view the pandemic as a threat to human rights, while right leaning sources focus on the economic loss. While Trump and his supporters want to return to normalcy for the sake of economy, even stating “I want to go back to where it was, that's where we’re going to be'', people on the other side of the spectrum simply can't imagine returning to normalcy when our health care is in shambles and humans are losing their lives by a virus (Valencia 2020). For example, a Trump supporter and resident of Ohio, Melissa Ackinson is enraged by stay at home orders and has “no fear whatsoever of contracting the virus”, even labeling many people's fears as “hype” (Associated Press, 2020). Additionally, in a protest participated by over 800 Minnesota trump supporters, many of them did not wear masks or follow social distancing rules. The leader of the protest, Michele Even, made it clear that participation is 100% optional and at their own risks and she isn't “responsible for your current health condition or what you may have 30 days from now or even a year from now” (Stone 2020). As expected this caused an uproar in social media criticism, where users felt that her protest was an endangerment to public health based on not following social distancing rules and regulations. The criticism did not stop this right leaning, Trump supporting, Minnesota native mother from exercising her right to protest against stay at home orders. Although the Trump administration is making efforts in appeasing their supporters through easing stay at home orders against proposed CDC guidelines, probably prematurely, these activists impatiently demand for the economy to reopen and life under lockdown to cease. In many ways, the right leaning COVID-19 activism tends to only be in the best interest of the fortunate few, therefore disproportionately neglecting the needs of susceptible populations.
To the left….
Contrastly, left leaning activists would most likely perceive Ackinson’s comment and Evens approach as denial of the severity of this pandemic based on the premise of coronavirus not directly impacting their communities of privilege and politically elite status. As stated in the Open Democracy Article, “ denial of the seriousness of the pandemic clearly reflects an ideology in which economic growth is more than human life” ( Gravante 2020). On the liberal side of the spectrum, ideological resistance and non compliance is exhibited when not considering the health and safety of at risk citizens. Sources such as CNN and New York Times have used their platforms to share the harsh realities of people fighting for their life in the face of this systemic pandemic. With recognition of coronavirus as a civil rights issue, while also following social distancing regulations, these activists are seeking forms of advocacy in ways that do not further inflict their communities. Civil rights activists are taking a step back from traditional rallies that “flood the streets” and instead utilizing their online or alternative platforms in lieu of stay at home orders (Burch 2020) . Most notably, housing activists in Los Angeles performed a car caravan protest outside of the Mayors home to voice their need for stronger tenant protections. Similarly, in Minneapolis, another car driveby protest occurred surrounding a bank, where participating cars honked to demand rent and mortgage cancellation after financial displacement of COVID-19. Although it is clear that “the pain will not be shared equally”, left leaning sources clearly outline the need for change to our healthcare system (Burch 2020). CNN host, Van Jones is also in support of these changes as he believes the government should be held accountable to end “the structural, systemic racism on full display right now in our health care and economic systems” (Jones 2020).
So who's party is it anyways?
The answer is neither. From my comparative analysis of approaches on both sides of the political spectrum, it is clear how this can skew us from addressing real concerns in our society. If our plan is to return to normalcy, we should be on one accord instead of dividing ourselves into political parties as if our health is up for political debate or trial. This tug of war between politics and health care has gone far too long and it's costing us. Our neighbors are losing their lives as we speak and all we are concerned of is whether they are left or right. By politicizing this issue further, we are ignoring the greater issue at hand, which is flattening the curve of this pandemic for EVERYONE. Regardless of political affiliation, one aspect remains true, we are all united in the fact that this is affecting all of our normalities. We should all be sick and tired of seeing our neighbors sick and tired, despite our differences politically, economically or racially. With this in mind, we should approach the pandemic collaboratively, because the truth is the issue isn't left or right, blue or red, black or white, poor or rich, it's quite plainly a global health and humanity crisis and we should address it as such.
Works Cited Page
Burch, Audra D.S. “Why the Virus Is a Civil Rights Issue: 'The Pain Will Not Be Shared Equally'.” The New York Times. The New York Times, April 19, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/19/us/coronavirus-civil-rights.html.
Frett, Latanya Mapp. “COVID-19 Poses an Existential Threat to Human Rights Activists Worldwide.” openDemocracy. openDemocracy, April 29, 2020. https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/covid-19-poses-existential-threat-human-rights-activists-worldwide/. Gravante, Tomasso, and Alice Poma. “Breaking Away from Narcissism: Emotions and Grassroots Activism in the Time of COVID-19.” openDemocracy. openDemocracy, April 13, 2020. https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/openmovements/breaking-away-narcissism-emotions-and-grassroots-activism-time-covid-19/.
Jones, Van. “Van Jones: I'm Someone Covid-19 Could Easily Kill. Here Is What I'm Doing about It.” CNN. Cable News Network, April 24, 2020. https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/24/opinions/creating-a-pandemic-resistant-black-community-jones/index.html.
Olson, Tyler. “Texas Supreme Court Orders Dallas Salon Owner Released as Abbott Bans Jailing Citizens for Lockdown Violations.” Fox News. FOX News Network, May 7, 2020. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/abbott-issues-executive-order-eliminating-jail-as-punishment-for-violating-coronavirus-restrictions.
Stone, Doug. “Minnesota Mom Leads Protest Against Stay-at-Home Order.” Voice of America. Accessed May 8, 2020. https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/minnesota-mom-leads-protest-against-stay-home-order.
Valencia, Nick, Betsy Klein, Kevin Liptak, and Joe Johns. “Trump Administration Rejects CDC Guidance on Reopening US amid Coronavirus.” CNN. Cable News Network, May 7, 2020. https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/07/politics/cdc-guidance-coronavirus-reopen-america/index.html.
“Pro-Trump Protesters Push Back on Stay-at-Home Orders.” Voice of America. Associated Press. Accessed May 6, 2020. https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/pro-trump-protesters-push-back-stay-home-orders-0.
“Media Bias Chart.” AllSides, November 19, 2019. https://www.allsides.com/media-bias/media-bias-chart.
Bio
Akaya Lewis is from Charlotte, NC and a current sophomore Sociology student with a minor in Bioethics, Humanities and Medicine. She has a passion for studying social justice, particularly in relation to disparities, health care reform and public health issues. In her pursuit as a future leader in health care, she plans to use her vocal platform to advocate for black and brown communities by raising health care awareness in an effort to bridge the disparity gap.