#which in North America for Covid is framed as simply wanting to make the best informed choice as a consumer in a market*

[communistkenobi]

The deeply moralist tone that a lot of discussions about media representation take on here are primarily neoliberal before they are anything else. Like the shouting matches people get into about “purity culture” “pro/anti” etc nonsense (even if I think it’s true that some people have a deeply christian worldview about what art ought to say and represent about the world) are downstream of the basic neoliberal assumption that we can and must educate the public by being consumers in a market. “Bad representation” is often framed as a writer’s/developer’s/director’s/etc’s failure to properly educate their audience, or to educate them the wrong way with bad information about the world (which will compel their audience to act, behave, internalise or otherwise believe these bad representations about some social issue). Likewise, to “consume” or give money to a piece of media with Bad Representation is to legitimate and make stronger these bad representations in the world, an act which will cause more people to believe or internalise bad things about themselves or other people. And at the heart of both of those claims is, again, the assumption that mass public education should be undertaken by artists in a private market, who are responsible for creating moral fables and political allegories that they will instil in their audiences by selling it to them. These conversations often become pure nonsense if you don’t accept that the moral and political education of the world should be directed by like, studio executives or tv actors or authors on twitter. There is no horizon of possibility being imagined beyond purchasing, as an individual consumer in a market, your way into good beliefs about the world, instilled in you by Media Product 

[csrgood]

Will Fear of COVID-19 and Loathing of Capitalism Drive Systemic Change?

This article was originally published on Medium

Texas Lieutenant Governor, Dan Patrick recently said, and I paraphrase, it’s not only OK, it’s good for America to throw granny under the bus to save the economy. Just let that sink in for a moment. What kind of culture would tolerate that kind of thinking. And when I say tolerate I don’t mean tolerate from a legal perspective - I’m referring to the perspective of social norms. The norms that would shame a public figure for uttering such a callous and thoughtless statement.

If that isn’t disturbing enough, I recently saw a picture that was so outrageous that I had to check to see if it was actually true - sadly it was. 

Homeless in Las Vegas

Recently in Las Vegas, in an effort to contain Covid19, the homeless were relocated from a shelter after a resident tested positive for Covid19. They occupants were placed into a parking lot with paint outlining little 6 foot cubicles to keep these poor souls from infecting each other. They did try to lay down some carpet but when they found that it couldn’t be sterilized they gave up on that idea and provided nothing but concrete.

Wow...in a city with thousands of empty hotel rooms, a convention centre and a sports arena, rather than help the homeless stay healthy in a way that let’s them keep their dignity and have a modicum of comfort, they were corralled and sequestered into a parking lot, away from the rest of “us” using the least amount of money and effort. 

There was no outcry and barely a mention in the news, a couple of tweets and it was over. In much the same way as Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick felt no need to retract his brutal comments, this story too, revealed yet another window into the soul of a heartless predatory capitalist system.

Is it fair to say that this system doesn’t care about people? Maybe, but perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the system cares more about consumption and corporate profits than it does about people. Or better yet, perhaps an even more accurate way to phrase it would be, that while the system does place an oversized value on the strength of the economy, people are still valued, but only inasmuch as they are able to consume. 

Back to “Normal”

There’s a lot of talk about how quickly we can get back to business as usual (BAU) but is that really what we want - to return to a system that makes its decisions from an “economy first” mindset - ahead of public health and well-being. A system that rewards corporations for exploiting people and destroying the environment. A system that glorifies extreme wealth and rising corporate profits while punishing poverty. A system that uses the corporate media to tarnish long standing metrics of societal well-being in favour of the narrow metric of a rising stock market.

You can put all the lipstick you want on this system, you can focus on the few good stories of individual perseverance, there are many to choose from, but when you zoom out and look at the system as a whole the evidence is clear. Free Market Capitalism, as it is practiced in America, is a brutal system that systematically places the 99% into a predatory arena, while the 0.1%, enjoy corporate socialism where their financial mistakes are repeatedly forgiven with corporate bailouts and their stock portfolios are buoyed with Government backed, never ending streams of capital and friendly legislation. 

Real Time 

Normally government policy is a slow process - it can take years to develop and decades to assess. But Covid-19 changes that - suddenly timelines are compressed and policy decisions come rapidly. We have a unique opportunity to see how governments work, (and think) as their choices play out in near real time. In particular, their bias towards policies that choose to protect the economy over people. 

“Economy First” 

Back in January and early February, the whole world could see the explosive growth of this virus, and our political “leaders” had a chance to contain it, BUT as is often the case, guided by the corporate elite and the neoliberal script, they said no.  

For the next 4-5 crucial weeks in opposition to the advice from health care professionals who said that it was vital to contain the illness and restrict air travel, the airports remained open and the virus exploded around the world. Western leaders in both Europe and North America failed us in three distinct ways. First, they squandered the opportunity to act on the early data that China provided in terms of the ease and speed with which the virus spread. Second, they failed to prepare logistically and provide their hospitals with the necessary supplies. And finally they failed to inform and educate the public of what was likely to come. 

The Common Good

The “economy first'' ideology that drives Capitalism has led to a collective failure in global “leadership”. Decisions that were clearly best for public health, societal well-being and long term economic stability, were forsaken for decisions that bolstered the short term interests of corporations and the stock market. We seem to have forgotten that a strong government with a commitment to wellbeing is the foundation of a flourishing and resilient society. And that when society is organized in this way, we are best prepared to overcome big social, economic and environmental challenges - not via an economy devoid of corporate regulations - hoping that profit driven companies will magically work for the common good. 

Our Biology

Covid-19 has captured global attention and is forcing action in a way that the fight for a stable climate never could. Not because the climate strategy was wrong - it wasn’t - not because scientists are poor communicators - they’re not - and certainly not because we couldn’t find the elusive business case - it doesn’t exist. No...the climate fight is failing because it's trying to change behaviour without the benefit of our evolutionary instincts, whereas Covid-19 doesn’t need to win a long complicated argument to bring about behaviour change - it’s benefiting from instincts that have been hardwired into our ape brains since before we came down from the trees, 4 million years ago. Whether we recognize it or not, our biology is dictating the response to both of these crises. 

Timing and Fear

As humans, we’re most responsive to real time threats where cause and effect are undeniable, and as it so happens, the Covid-19 crisis has both of these features. First, let’s look at the time frame between policy choices and outcomes. The condensed time frame rapidly connects a failed policy of “economy first” capitalism to death, from an invisible and highly transmissible contagion. Covid-19 has exposed the soul of capitalism and in doing so, it has coalesced our attention towards the true systemic villain in a way that the climate fight never could. 

The second factor that is missing in the climate fight and that is central to Covid-19 is a healthy dose of fear. This emotion removes the need to convince anyone to do things differently — fear takes care of that. Everyone on the planet is triggered and thinking about their personal safety, and how they interact with other people. This is something that the climate movement was never able to achieve — at an individual level, everyone feeling the urgency to change their ways.

Covid-19 Changed How We See The World

As a fast moving crisis, laced with fear, where policy decisions clearly show cause and effect, Covid-19 has provided great insight into how we as humans respond to threats:

Speed

The speed of the crisis gave us a look behind the curtain and revealed exactly what “economy first” policies can do to a society, and in doing so, it exposed the soul of capitalism. But that speed of transmission had other effects too. 

Fear

It triggered our human fear response and within weeks people across the world were making radical behaviour changes to protect personal safety in ways that we never could have imagined just a few months ago. Considering that we can’t even get people to carry a reusable mug for their morning coffee, the level of behavioural change that has recently been triggered by Covid-19 is staggering.

Unity

It’s rapid connection of policy to outcomes coalesced our attention towards the true systemic villain in a way that the climate fight never could. 

Government Action

Government finally proved once and for all that with enough pressure to save lives, they’re capable of massive disruption to the system and reallocation of capital.

Capitalism and Climate

Covid-19 has shown us beyond any doubt that Capitalism’s “economy first” mentality is a cancer to society, and if left unchecked it will systematically destroy millions of lives and ultimately our planet’s ability to sustain us. Unfortunately the climate movement wasn’t able to expose this - it simply moved too slowly to capture people's attention and it lacked the necessary dose of fear. 

Human Biology and Climate

Covid-19 taught us that while we’re the smartest animal on the planet we still can’t get away from our evolutionary instincts. In the case of the climate crisis, those instincts simply aren’t activated, and that’s leading us down a dangerous path towards extinction, just like every other hominid cousin of ours from the past.

This is Our Chance 

Every leader knew what was coming with Covid-19 but they held firm to their "economy first" dogma. Only when it became obvious that they would lose public support when the body bags started piling up, did they change gears. 

Our system is broken. It lies on a toxic foundation that exploits people and the environment. Trying to find the elusive business case to create a more sustainable business model is like trying to grow a healthier crop, with a few tweaks, on polluted soil. You can add all the sustainability and impact investing you want...the result will still be social harm and ecosystem destruction.

We’ve identified the problem. Now is the time for hope. The pieces of the puzzle are in place. We have the solutions. We have the chance to do something special and re-create our system of commerce. As they say, a crisis is a terrible thing to waste. Let’s get it done!

    Brad Zarnett is a Canadian sustainability strategist, writer and blogger. He is the Founder of the Toronto Sustainability Speaker Series (TSSS). Brad writes about why Corporate Sustainability and our attempts to address Climate Change are a massive systemic failure and what to do about it. You can follow Brad on twitter: @bradzarnett, LinkedIn, Medium or via email.

source: https://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/44816-Will-Fear-of-COVID-19-and-Loathing-of-Capitalism-Drive-Systemic-Change-?tracking_source=rss

[orbemnews]

A Black physician died of Covid-19 weeks after accusing hospital employees of racist therapy In a video that was posted earlier this month, she filmed herself from a hospital mattress and recounted her expertise at IU North. Moore stated her physician disregarded her signs, telling her, “You are not even wanting breath.” “Sure, I’m,” Moore stated within the video, which she shared on Fb December 4. She needed to beg to obtain remdesivir, she recalled within the video, the antiviral drug used to deal with sufferers who’re hospitalized for Covid-19 and will not be in want of mechanical air flow. And regardless of her ache, the physician advised Moore he may ship her house, she stated, and he did not really feel comfy giving her extra narcotics. “He made me really feel like I used to be a drug addict,” she stated within the video. “And he knew I used to be a doctor.” Moore had additionally posted updates on her Fb web page together with the video. Moore, who was an internist, stated her ache was “adequately handled” solely after she raised considerations about her therapy. She was later discharged from IU North, however returned to a unique hospital lower than 12 hours later, she wrote on her Fb web page. “I put forth and I keep if I used to be White, I would not should undergo that,” Moore stated. A spokesman for IU North confirmed to CNN that Moore was a affected person on the hospital and that she was finally discharged, however declined to say extra about her, citing affected person privateness. “As a corporation dedicated to fairness an lowering racial disparities in healthcare, we take accusations of discrimination very severely and examine each allegation,” the spokesman stated. In a assertion issued on Thursday, Dennis M. Murphy, President and CEO of Indiana College Well being, defended the technical features of the therapy Moore acquired, whereas conceding “that we might not have proven the extent of compassion and respect we try for in understanding what issues most to sufferers.” He additionally requested for an exterior evaluate of the case. Racism in well being care is nothing new Moore’s story speaks to a broader situation of what specialists name implicit racial bias in well being care towards Black sufferers. Research have proven that Black sufferers are in some conditions prescribed much less ache medicine than their White counterparts. And a current article within the New England Journal of Medication attributed unequal therapy partially to “enduring racist cultural beliefs and practices.” The article cited a 2016 examine that discovered half of White medical college students and residents “held unfounded beliefs about intrinsic biologic variations between Black folks and White folks,” falsely believing the ache of Black sufferers was much less extreme than White sufferers. “Acceptance of this inequitable therapy as ‘regular’ is traditionally rooted in and supported by the idea that Black individuals are intrinsically disease-prone and, implicitly or explicitly, not deserving of high-quality care,” the authors of the New England Journal of Medication article wrote, evaluating the problem of racism in drugs to racism in policing. Racial disparities in medical therapy have been additional underscored by Covid-19, which disproportionately impacts communities of colour. To a “majority of physicians, predominantly who’re White in america, the notion is that African Individuals don’t want as a lot for ache,” stated Dr. Ala Stanford, a pediatric surgeon and the founding father of the Black Docs Covid-19 Consortium. Moore leaves behind her 19-year-old son, Henry Muhammed, and her aged dad and mom, each of whom have dementia, in response to a GoFundMe arrange on their behalf. In keeping with the New York Occasions, Moore’s household stated she was born in Jamaica and grew up in Michigan earlier than learning engineering at Kettering College. She then earned her medical diploma from the College of Michigan Medical Faculty, the Occasions reported. The GoFundMe web page describes her as somebody who cherished to observe drugs and was proud to be a member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority. CNN has reached out to Moore’s household for additional remark. Her son advised the New York Occasions she was adept at advocating for herself at hospitals, the place she usually acquired therapy for sarcoidosis, an inflammatory illness that impacts the lungs. “Practically each time she went to the hospital she needed to advocate for herself, combat for one thing ultimately, form or type, simply to get baseline, correct care,” he advised the Occasions. “That is how Black folks get killed,” Moore stated within the video, “if you ship them house and they do not know combat for themselves.” Stanford acknowledged Moore wasn’t her affected person, and she or he did not know what the state of affairs was on the hospital the place she acquired therapy. However she felt that Moore’s must repeatedly advocate for her personal care was “unacceptable.” Moreover, Moore’s resolution to ask for ache drugs was not simply to alleviate her ache, Stanford stated, but in addition would assist her restoration by making it simpler for her to breathe. And Moore’s request for an antiviral is now a part of normal therapy for Covid-19, Stanford added. “That is simply primary,” Stanford stated. “That is normal for what you get. I do know that from caring for sufficient folks with coronavirus within the hospital and serving to them via it.” ‘She is me and we’re her’ Moore first examined optimistic for Covid-19 on November 29, in response to her Fb put up. By December 4, she was hospitalized at IU North in Carmel, Indiana. It was solely after a CT scan confirmed new lymphadenopathy — a illness during which the lymph nodes grow to be enlarged — that the hospital agreed to deal with her ache, she stated. “It’s important to present proof that you’ve one thing improper with you so as so that you can get the drugs,” she stated within the video. Dr. Stanford stated that the lymphadenopathy would point out that “the illness course of was happening for a time frame,” and that Moore’s physique was combating off the illness. In keeping with her Fb posts, Moore was finally capable of converse with the chief medical officer of IU Healthcare, who stated he would guarantee she get the very best care. He additionally advised her variety coaching could be carried out. On December 7, the hospital discharged Moore and despatched her house, per her Fb put up. However lower than 12 hours later, she was despatched to a unique hospital following a fever and a drop in her blood stress, in response to the Fb put up. Moore stated she was receiving therapy for bacterial pneumonia and Covid pneumonia. She described the care on the second hospital as “very compassionate.” The subsequent day Moore wrote she was being transferred to the ICU. It was the final replace shared to her Fb web page. Her story has resulted in an outpouring of generosity from individuals who have heard it, and the GoFundMe web page has raised greater than $100,000 as of Thursday evening. Dr. Alicia Sanders, one other doctor who first got here involved with Moore after seeing her video, helped begin the web page to lift funds for her household, together with to ship Muhammed again to high school at Indiana College. Sanders stated the explanation she first got here involved with Moore was “gut-wrenching.” “She is me,” stated Sanders, who can also be Black. “She is me and we’re her. It might have been any one among us that occurred to.” Stanford — who advised CNN she acknowledged implicit bias and racism in drugs, however had chosen to attempt to change issues from throughout the well being care system — echoed that remark. She advised CNN that when she first discovered about Moore’s story, it stopped her in her tracks and introduced tears to her eyes. She shared it with a bunch of her pals — all Black girls surgeons throughout the nation. They may all relate, Stanford stated, having skilled the identical therapy regardless of their experience. “All of us have the tales,” she stated. “If any of us will get sick, please do not be silent. Be vigilant, be current, be public,” Stanford wrote to them, including of Moore, “She was one among us.” CNN’s Sheena Jones and Mirna Alsharif contributed to this story. Supply hyperlink #ABlackdoctordiedofCovid-19weeksafteraccusinghospitalstaffofracisttreatment-CNN #accusing #Black #Covid19 #died #Doctor #hospital #racist #Staff #treatment #us #weeks