What an interesting time to be alive, I must admit. As we enter the fourth full month of lock downs and restrictions, I can't help but notice how divided the planet is on everything. I feel like this whole pandemic and the actions taken to adjust to it have brought out the very worst in people. It's brought out the skeptics, the entitled, the angered..it's literally made the entire world clash on almost everything. It's unfortunate because when bad things come, it's always a better idea to approach it collectively and in unison but this situation has been anything but unified.

What I've noticed as I've still been working through this is that there are just as many people adhering to the guidelines as there are not. I've had people push their way through the barriers put together at my restaurant without regard for my health or safety. I've been at grocery stores where people blatantly disregard the directions and literally climb all over you as they try to shop. I've seen posts about conspiracies and tripe about masks and distancing being forced on us etc. It's been super disheartening watching this virus tear us all apart.

My intentions through all of this were to keep other people safe. I've kept my distance from others while shopping. I've worn the mask when it wasn't possible for me to distance myself. I've taken necessary protections at home as well. All of this was done with the intention of keeping other people safe just as much as it was about keeping myself safe. As I stated earlier in the post, I believe that it is more important than ever to come together in unison to get ahead of this virus. I believe in taking all of the precautions so that I don't unintentionally infect someone who is immuno-comprimised.  It's been most shocking to see how many people don't see things the same way.

It's also been disheartening taking my walks everyday and seeing disposable masks and gloves tossed all over public spaces. I can't think of anything more disrespectful to our planet than littering, and sadly,as soon as there was something new we all had to start wearing, the trash started piling up everywhere. Why is it that people think that throwing their trash all over our parks and green spaces is acceptable in any way? It's repulsive behaviour, especially at a time where the planet has started to heal itself from the many years of damage we have contributed to it. 

We need more love in this world. We need more cooperation and understanding. We need a collective effort in tackling our challenges so that WE ALL can come out of this stronger and healthier. We need to do away with the selfishness and just follow the damned rules. None of us have been through a pandemic before so why is it that suddenly everyone knows exactly what they should do despite being given instructions from health experts. Why the sense of entitlement because we've had to lockdown to keep safe? It's astounding how disjointed we all are in approaching the same situation.

My hope is that after this the world can start to heal itself with our help. We need to come together in trying times instead of trying to work against one another. There is so much happening in the world around us right now, some pretty pivotal shit if you ask me, so when it comes to this pandemic, can we not just all work together for all of our greater goods? 

Maybe I'm just a softy but a world where we all work together to benefit all of us isn't just a pipe dream. It's an actual end goal. A planet where everyone is treated equally regardless of race, gender, orientation, age etc. A world where we go out of our ways to help one another, to lift each other up. IS that really so far fetched?

HAPPY VEG

These past few days have been especially disturbing watching the events unfold in the United States as a result of the murder of George Floyd. The video was disturbing and clearly implicates the law enforcement officials who were involved. The abuse of power displayed was both shocking and a definite call for action which has resulted in serious riots throughout the United States and protests across the globe. These protests have shone a very dark light on the racism that is so prevalent in the United States but what it has also shown me is that there is still an unprecedented amount of hate on our planet.

Just the other day while walking with a friend, a man on a bike passing by us yelled homophobic slurs at me. Although this was the first time this has happened to me in a year or so, it was still another example of hateful rhetoric that frankly, shouldn't be happening. I've had slurs hurled at me repeatedly throughout my life, I've felt scared to leave school because I was worried there would be people waiting to attack me, I've hated myself for being gay etc. and all of this stems from hate. You see, hate is a giant blanket that covers a variety of situations which include both racism and homophobia. When someone hates you and feels as though they have the right to inform you that they loathe your existence, it's extremely disappointing.

​I live my life everyday as someone who gives everyone a chance. My dad always had a quote that I enjoyed;

"I don't care what colour you skin is or who you love, if you're an asshole, you're an asshole."

We need more love and understanding on this planet. It's 2020, we shouldn't be dealing with racism any longer. We shouldn't be dealing with homophobia any longer. These are things that are so outdated and given that we all are educated not to treat people differently because of these things, it's astonishing that it is still so prevalent. There are parts of the world where gay people are thrown off of buildings and their families are publicly shamed. There are parts of the world where gay people are thrown in jail for the rest of their lives simply for being gay. There are parts of the world where women have absolutely no rights and are seen as less than men. And quite obviously, there are parts of this world where African American people are unfairly targeted by the police and endure needless police brutality. This is unacceptable.

We are one planet and we are all human kind. We all bleed the same colour, we all desire a life free from the injustices of society. We all crave a life where we have the same chances at happiness as everyone else, free from persecution. We all DESERVE these things. In this day and age, we should be coming together instead of tearing eachother apart. Can you imagine how amazing this world would be if we all gave peace a chance? If every country on this planet worked together for the greater good of all people and all people had equal; rights and opportunities. It seems like nothing more than just a dream but it's possible if we all come together.

​Stand up against racism. Stand up against discrimination of any kind. Be kind to everyone you meet. Help your neighbours. Stand up for animals. These are things that we all need to be doing everyday. There will come a time where discrimination no longer exists but it's up to all of us to ensure that that day comes sooner than later.

HAPPY VEG