thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-09--'Fighting For Our Lives' – How It Feels To Be Black In 2020

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Niellah Arboine is tired of being constantly reminded her life is at threat.
“It’s coming from so many directions right now. Knowing Covid-19 is more likely to kill Black people than anyone else, and now we have protests where we –Black people – are fighting for our lives, it can all feel very overwhelming and scary.”
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Like Niellah, I am someone who is very easily overwhelmed by the news. As social injustices unfold across the world, I have always grappled with the urge to close the tab – to distract myself – followed by the realisation that there is more injustice in the world than on the news. Being a Black woman, and a journalist, this process is very hard.
Niellah – who is 26, and a journalist too – feels that, when you are a Black writer, it can be difficult to find any peace or solace.
“I’m writing about this all day every day. There’s so little respite from it. I don’t get to just switch off – it’s my job to engage.”
The past few months have been hard for us. A global pandemic stopped everything – borders closed, businesses shut their doors and friends and families ceased to meet.
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Niellah Arboine Shope Delano
The premature Black death that is embedded in the structures of the state reared its head again – in the UK we learnt that being Black is a health risk, making us four times more likely to die of coronavirus than our white counterparts.
Then a Black man, George Floyd, was murdered by a white police officer in broad daylight, and a wave of ongoing protest and unrest swept the world faster than the virus did. Images and ideas of Black death were everywhere.
This double assault has taken somewhat of an emotional toll for Black people.
As a result of lockdown, many of us are consuming far more news than ever before. Social media has become a hotspot for sharing both protest footage and messages of solidarity; our Twitter communities bore witness to the realities of police brutality, and Instagram turned Black for a day.
Paulina, a 25-year-old biologist who has asked us not to use her surname, tells me that she feels worn down from suddenly following the news so intently.
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“I have probably cried more this year than last year already – from anxiety and stress rather than feeling down,” she said. “I don’t feel like I can or should just disconnect, and I’m thinking about race constantly.”
“This is the longest I’ve been physically separated from the majority of the Black people in my life. I feel extra isolated in a time when I could really do with that community and uplifting” - Niellah Arboine
Yassmin, a 29-year-old writer and broadcaster, emphasises how moments like this can feel for Black people: just one thing after another.
“I feel like I’ve been punched when I was already out for the count,” she said. “It’s not as if we arrived at this point with our tanks full. [Black people] were already depleted, grieving our friends and family, supporting our community through a once in a lifetime catastrophe made worse by our leadership [...] and all without our usual coping mechanisms available.”
This feels particularly pertinent – for many of us, particularly Black women and non-binary people, the creation of support networks offers us vital protection against a racist society.
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Now, during lockdown, we can’t access them.
Niellah is feeling the effects of this. “This is the longest I’ve been physically separated from the majority of the Black people in my life,” she said. “I haven’t seen my family since February. I feel extra isolated in a time when I could really do with that community and uplifting.”
Some feel is exactly this combined frustration that has led to such widespread and ongoing protest.
Broadcaster Yassmin, who has asked us not to use her surname Kristoffer Paulsen
Josephine Williams, an American living in the UK and studying to be a lawyer, thinks it is no coincidence that a pandemic served as the backdrop for the biggest wave of US protest since the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
“As Black people, watching [the murder of] someone who looks like us – who could be us – creates helplessness.
“Coronavirus compounds that helplessness we feel watching these videos. Suddenly, we’re sitting at home – Black people have more than 50% unemployment in the United States, no one’s been given a furlough, we were given a $1,200 cheque to survive a pandemic that could last between three months and two years.
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“And on top of all of that, we get to watch videos of people with whom we identify getting murdered, arbitrarily.”
Josephine also points out that Black people are disproportionately likely to be key workers – particularly in the US, where 37.7% of Black people work in essential industries.
And, as we have seen time and time again throughout history, marginalised people whose lives are laid on the line for their countries have not been adequately recognised or compensated.
“And on top of all of that, we get to watch videos of people with whom we identify getting murdered, arbitrarily” - Josephine Williams
“My father, who is an essential worker for the city of Portland, Oregon, has been going out and risking his life. Meanwhile a lot of white people were going out and protesting the stay at home orders, and demanding their right to get a haircut – which puts my father’s life at risk.
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“All of that has led to this unrest. It was a recipe for disaster from start to finish.”
It seems that both the pandemic and the death of George Floyd have served as a breaking point for so many Black people, in the US and on an international scale. As a result, it makes sense that we are seeing both a wave of action and a wave of exhaustion – as the rallying cry goes, Black people are sick and tired of being sick and tired.
There are still difficult questions on the road ahead for Black people – like what we do now.
Niellah tells me: “I really want to go to one of the Black Lives Matter protests but like many Black people I’m torn. I’m scared for my health and for my community’s health. I know there’s many other ways to protest, support and aid, but it’s like being stuck between a rock and a hard place right now.”
But the burden of all this mental mathematics isn’t just for Black people to carry. White allies need to take some of the responsibility – and now is the time to support the movement.
“I really want to go to one of the Black Lives Matter protests but like many Black people I’m torn. I’m scared for my health and for my community’s health.” - Niellah Arboine
Josephine feels that, in some ways, this moment is unique, with an unprecedented amount of momentum having built in a week alone. “Unlike [the protests of] the 1960s, we’ve seen a cross-racial alliance of people taking to the streets, instead of just Black people.”
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This has opened some white people’s eyes to police brutality in a way they hadn’t quite understood before: “We’re seeing white journalists beaten and attacked for the first time.”
Yassmin agrees that non-Black people may be finally waking up to the realities of both white supremacy and police brutality: “I’m not optimistic – I live life as a cynical realist.
“But what I do see is more engagement than I’ve seen for a while – maybe also because people are in lockdown, and have time, or because they have a sense of what it means to be at the mercy of the system for the first time – either way there are certainly ingredients for something potent to happen.”
With the ingredients laid out for them, white people must now step up their allyship – and Josephine explains why posting a black square and saying “solidarity” isn’t enough.
“I’ve seen a lot of non-Black people reaching out to me and others, I’ve also seen a lot of white people posting on Twitter saying ‘I stand with you’ type thing.
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“I welcome that, but on the flipside I think the most important thing for white people specifically to comprehend here is that racism and race is not just a Black burden – it’s actually a white burden.
“Racism is something they need to engage with because it’s something they cause. It’s something they actively participate in. It’s something they benefit from every day.”
This means political, social and economic allyship: donating to bail funds, going out to protest as safely as possible, and actively practising anti-racism long after the hashtags have petered out.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-09--Friends Creator Concedes She 'Didn't Do Enough' To Encourage Diversity On The Show

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Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman has lamented that she “didn’t do enough” to encourage diversity on the show.
The award-winning sitcom went off the air in 2004, however the lack of diversity among the principal actors has been raised again since its debut on streaming services like Netflix and HBO Max.
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During an ATX panel discussion, Marta was asked if there were things she’d do differently had she known more at the beginning of her career, and gave a tearful response about the show’s lack of diversity.
“I wish I knew then what I know today,” she said, according to Page Six. “Sorry, I just wish I knew then what I know now. I would’ve made very different decisions.”
Marta Kauffman Charley Gallay via Getty Images
She continued: “I mean we’ve always encouraged people of diversity in our company, but I didn’t do enough and now all I can think about is ’what can I do? What can I do differently? How can I run my show in a new way?′
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“And that’s something I not only wish I knew when I started showrunning, but I wish I knew all the way up through last year.”
While criticism about Friends’ predominantly white cast is often framed as a modern issue, the show was actually called out for it throughout its original run, with David Schwimmer claiming recently that he “pushed” for his character to date women of a different race to his own.
The cast of Friends NBC via Getty Images
“One of the first girlfriends I had on the show was an Asian American woman and later I dated African American women,” he told The Guardian. “That was a very conscious push on my part.”
As well as issues relating to race, Friends has also faced criticism over jokes relating to the LGBTQ community.
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Last year, Marta expressed regret over these moments, saying: “I think we didn’t have the knowledge about transgender people back then, so I’m not sure if we used the appropriate terms. I don’t know if I would have known those terms back then. I think that’s the biggest one.”
Explaining that she was specifically referring to the character of Chandler’s dad, Charles Bing, Marta added: “Every time I watch an episode, there’s something I wish I could have changed… Like, how did we leave that joke in there? Or, really, that storyline? That’s what we went with?”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-09--Sadiq Khan 'Hopes' London Statues Of Slave Traders Are Removed

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Sadiq Khan has said he “hopes” a review of London’s landmarks will lead to some statues of slave traders being taken down.
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The Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm will look at the capital’s landmarks – including murals, street art, street names, statues and other memorials – and consider which legacies should be celebrated before making recommendations.
The mayor of London launched the review on Tuesday after protesters tore down a statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol over the weekend.
Asked by BBC Radio 4′s Today programme if it would lead to some statues in London being removed, Khan said: “I hope so.”
“I’ve not got ownership of the statues or indeed some of the land that these statues are on,” he said.
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“But it is a wider conversation I want to have about the diversity of the public realm in our city.
“When you look at the public realm – street names, street squares, murals – not only are there some of slavers that I think should be taken down, and the commission will advise us on that, but actually we don’t have enough representation of people of colour, Black people, women, those from the LGBT community.”
But Khan said he did not consider statues of the likes of Sir Winston Churchill to be included in the review, after the former prime minister’s statue in Parliament Square had “was a racist” scribbled onto it by protesters.
The commission – which will be co-chaired by Debbie Weekes-Bernard, the deputy mayor for social integration, social mobility and community engagement, and deputy mayor for culture and creative industries Justine Simons – will include historians as well as arts, council and community leaders.
There have also been renewed demands that the statue of imperialist Cecil Rhodes be removed from Oriel College at Oxford University.
The Rhodes Must Fall Oxford campaign group, alongside other student groups, argue that the university has “failed to address its institutional racism” and the impact on students and the city.
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A worker cleans graffiti from the plinth of the statue of Sir Winston Churchill at Parliament Square in London, following a Black Lives Matter protest at the weekend. PA
It comes ahead of planned anti-racism demonstrations in London as George Floyd is laid to rest in the US, after a killing which Boris Johnson said had awakened an “incontrovertible, undeniable feeling of injustice” worldwide.
Floyd, who died after a police officer in Minneapolis restrained him by holding a knee on his neck, will be buried in his home town of Houston in Texas on Tuesday.
A symbolic and socially distanced commemoration is planned at the Nelson Mandela statue in Parliament Square in London at 5pm, organised by Stand Up To Racism.
Following protests across the UK on the weekend, the prime minister – who had previously condemned the “thuggery” by a minority that marred some demonstrations – acknowledged many of the activists’ concerns were “founded on a cold reality”.
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He said leaders “simply can’t ignore” concerns that Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups face discrimination in education, employment and in law.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-09--Beyoncé's Powerful Graduation Speech About Black Lives And Sexism Is One We All Need To Hear

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Grab a cap and gown, because we’re all 2020 graduates after Beyoncé’s stirring commencement speech.
The singer joined YouTube’s Dear Class of 2020, which was headlined by Barack and Michelle Obama, alongside other famous faces including Lady Gaga, BTS, Taylor Swift and Alicia Keys, to impart some wisdom to the next generation.
For nearly 10 uninterrupted minutes (truly, what did we do to deserve?), Beyoncé highlighted the unique struggles facing graduates today and charted a path forward with special emphasis on the power of community action, especially as it relates to racial injustice.
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Beyoncé speaking on YouTube's Class Of 2020 series Youtube Tumblr
“Thank you for using your collective voice and letting the world know that Black lives matter,” Beyoncé said at the beginning of the speech.
“The killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and so many others have left us all broken,” she continued. “It has left the entire country searching for answers. We’ve seen that our collective hearts, when put to positive action, could start the wheels of change. Real change has started with you, this new generation of high school and college graduates who we celebrate today.”
She went onto jokingly lament not having a traditional college experience herself to highlight how special the day is for the students and for the many who came before them.
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“You are the answer to a generation of prayers,” she said.
Beyoncé gave special mention to those who’ve felt othered, imploring them to keep going in spite of the obstacles.
“Your queerness is beautiful, your Blackness is beautiful. Your compassion, your understanding, your fight for people who may be different from you, is beautiful,” she said. “I hope you continue to go into the world and show them that you will never stop being yourself. That it’s your time now, make them see you.”
Being counted out is something the singer said she can relate to, as she’s struggled for self-determination in her work during her decades-long career.
“The entertainment business is still very sexist,” she explained. “It’s still very male-dominated, and as a woman, I did not see enough female role models given the opportunity to do what I knew I had to do. To run my label and management company, to direct my films and produce my tours, that meant ownership: owning my masters, owning my art, owning my future and writing my own story. Not enough Black women had a seat at the table.
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“So I had to go and chop down that wood and build my own table. Then I had to invite the best there was to have a seat,” she added.
Beyoncé ended her speech by encouraging young people to “put in that work” in the spirit of togetherness to shift the balances of power, referencing the ongoing global protests against police brutality.
“Please, continue to be a voice for the voiceless,” she said. “Never forget: We can disagree in a way that is productive to arrive at decisions that foster real change. And if you make a mistake, that’s okay, too. But we all have a responsibility to hold ourselves accountable and change. Whatever the world looks like in 10 years and 20 years, part of that is up to you. I urge you to let this current moment push you to improve yourself in all areas of your life.”
Beyoncé has certainly been practicing what she preached, speaking out to her legions of fans about the coronavirus pandemic and the police killings of Black Americans.
In addition to donating $6 million to communities of colour impacted by the global health crisis, she urged followers to take action after the death of George Floyd by signing petitions on her website, which have now amassed millions of signatures.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-09--Health Minister Helen Whately Backtracks After Blaming Scientists For Care Home Deaths

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Health minister Helen Whately quickly backtracked on Tuesday morning after she suggested scientists were to blame for the deaths in care homes from coronavirus.
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The latest figures from the government suggest 12,739 care home residents have died from the illness so far - 29.1% of the entire UK death toll.
In an interview with Sky News this morning, Whately said the government had followed “scientific guidance as to what is the right thing to do” at “all points”.
Told “you can’t stick it the on the scientists” by interviewer Kay Burley, the minister replied: “Well I can.”
Whatley, who has responsibility for social care, quickly added: “No. no. That’s not what I meant to say. To be clear that is your words.
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“We’ve taken the scientific advice and then the judgement is made about what is the right decision to take.”
Burley replied: “You just said that. You just said ‘I can stick this on the scientists’.”
Yesterday health secretary Matt Hancock said the coronavirus epidemic in the care sector was “coming under control”.
He told the Downing Street press conference the number of people dying in care homes has fallen 79% from the peak in the week ending April 24 to the week ending May 29, according to the Care Quality Commission.
There has also been an almost 50% fall in the number of new care home outbreaks compared to the previous week, he said.
“In fact, if you look at the proportion of people in the UK who have sadly died in care homes, it is significantly lower than in comparable countries across Europe,” Hancock said.
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A social care task force has been announced to help prevent the spread of coronavirus, as the Government expanded its testing regime to thousands more care homes in England.
Hancock on Sunday also said the government made the “right decisions at the right time” with the lockdown, despite a leading scientist saying lives would have been saved had ministers acted sooner.
Infectious diseases expert professor John Edmunds suggested the UK should have imposed restrictions in early March – although he admitted it would have been “very hard to pull the trigger at that point”.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-09--Bonnie Pointer, Former Pointer Sisters Member, Dies Aged 69

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Singer Bonnie Pointer, best known as a member of the Grammy-winning group The Pointer Sisters, has died at the age of 69.
She died on Monday, according to her sister and fellow singer Anita.
No cause of death was revealed.
In a statement to the PA news agency, Anita said: “It is with great sadness that I have to announce to the fans of The Pointer Sisters that my sister, Bonnie, died this morning.
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“Our family is devastated, on behalf of my siblings and I and the entire Pointer family, we ask for your prayers at this time.”
Bonnie Pointer pictured in 2019 Leon Bennett via Getty Images
The Pointer Sisters – at different times including Bonnie, Anita and their siblings June and Ruth – formed in Oakland, California, and first found success in the 1970s.
Bonnie left the group in 1977 and pursued a solo career. Heaven Must Have Sent You is perhaps her biggest hit.
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The Pointer Sisters’ best-known songs include Jump (For My Love) and I’m So Excited.
The Pointer Sisters pictured in 1973 ASSOCIATED PRESS
The group won three Grammy awards and were honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994.
Anita, 72, added: “Bonnie was my best friend and we talked every day, we never had a fight in our life, I already miss her and I will see her again one day.
“The Pointer Sisters would never have happened had it not been for Bonnie.”
Bonnie is survived by her brothers Aaron and Fritz, as well as sisters Ruth and Anita Pointer, a representative said.
June died in 2006. Bonnie and Anita recently released a tribute song titled Feels Like June, which was Bonnie’s final recording.
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The Pointer Sisters currently consists of Ruth, her daughter Issa Pointer and her granddaughter Sadako Pointer.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-09--Plans To Fully Reopen Primary Schools Before End Of Term 'To Be Dropped'

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The government’s decision to drop plans to reopen primary schools before the end of term has been branded a “huge disappointment” by the children’s commissioner for England.
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Anne Longfield said the decision meant many children would remain “isolated”, with many living in “fragile” family environments for months to come.
She told told BBC Breakfast on Tuesday morning: “I think it’s a huge disappointment for those children who’d expected to go back into school before the summer now now may not.
“It does mean that the vast majority, probably about eight million children, very likely won’t return to the classroom until September, which means that, again, there will be a huge variation in their learning over that period.”
Ministers had wanted pupils to spend four weeks in school before the summer break but had faced a backlash from some in the education sector who said it would be impossible to enforce social distancing to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.
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Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said he was not surprised the plan to bring back all primary pupils before the summer holidays had been dropped.
He said: “The ‘ambition’ to bring back all primary year groups for a month before the end of the summer term was a case of the government over-promising something that wasn’t deliverable.
“It isn’t possible to do that while maintaining small class sizes and social bubbles, so we aren’t surprised that the policy has been jettisoned.”
It comes after health secretary Matt Hancock conceded secondary schools in England may not fully reopen until later than September despite saying coronavirus is “in retreat” across the UK.
Boris Johnson will speak with his Cabinet on Tuesday morning before education secretary Gavin Williamson delivers a statement to parliament on the wider reopening of schools, PA Media reports.
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Hancock said at the Downing Street briefing on Monday that it was still “our current working plan” that secondary schools in England will not open until September “at the earliest”.
The Department of Education said it remained the “ambition” for all primary school children to return before the summer holidays, but did not deny reports Williamson will accept this desire may not be fulfilled.
PA Media
With the number of new deaths falling to the lowest reported since lockdown began, Hancock said plans to further ease restrictions including the reopening of non-essential shops from Monday could go ahead.
“When you look across the board, it is clear that coronavirus is in retreat across the country,” he said, as deaths linked to Covid-19 reached nearly 51,000.
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But with the phased reopening of England’s schools having begun last week, he acknowledged older pupils could still face months without attending class.
“That is our current working plan, is that secondary schools won’t open until September at the earliest,” he said.
Children in England began returning in a phased process last week, with Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 pupils heading back first.
Ian Robinson, chief executive of the Oak Partnership Trust, said he did not think lessening the social distancing restrictions from two metres to one would help matters in schools.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “You can’t keep children two feet or even 1.5 feet away from each other.
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“We’ve worked on the principle of no more than 15 children per classroom, so one of our schools, when we’ve got all three of our year groups in and over 50 key worker and vulnerable children in, have 250 children on site – they have got 12 classrooms.
“If you divide those children into groups of 15, you don’t have any more classrooms, you don’t have any more teachers to be able to bring any more year groups back in.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-09--Newlyweds Do 'First Look' In The Middle Of Black Lives Matter Protest

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In the midst of the ongoing anti-racism protests around the world, one couple’s empowering wedding photos from a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Philadelphia have gone viral.
Bride Kerry Anne and groom Michael Gordon tied the knot in an intimate ceremony at the Logan Hotel on Saturday. Hotel staff had informed the couple days earlier that a protest was set for their wedding date but they decided to go ahead with their plans.
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As the couple was preparing to do their “first look” outside the hotel, demonstrators gathered to cheer them on, which made for a truly powerful moment.
Linda McQueen Photography//Vogue.com Photographer Linda McQueen captured this moment of the couple raising their fists in the heart of the downtown Philadelphia protest.
“I come running around the corner and I see Kerry standing with a circle of people around her just cheering, and she’s literally standing there looking like a Black princess. That’s all I see,” the groom told Vogue. “These peaceful protestors, positive energy, cheering, yelling, people with their phones out taking pictures and videos.”
“And Kerry’s just standing there looking beautiful as can be,” Michael continued. “And I walked up to her and took her hand, and she was shaking. The energy and passion and moment, everything that was going on, was just blowing through her.”
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Celebrating this milestone in their relationship during such a pivotal moment in history, was “empowering,” the bride — an OB-GYN who’s originally from Jamaica — told ABC News.
“Not only are we feeling the movement of the people ... but I’m meeting my husband, on our wedding day, as a strong Black man and a good representative of who we are as people, what our men are like, what our culture is like,” Kerry Anne Gordon said. “It was just a very, very empowering moment for us considering all of this is happening at one moment in one time.”
Initially, the couple had planned to get married in May, but had to postpone due to the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to their small, socially distanced ceremony this weekend, they plan to do a larger celebration with extended family and friends in 2021.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-09--Yorkshire Tea and PG Tips Take On Far-Right YouTuber Sparking Incredibly British Hashtag

Peter Dazeley via Getty Images
Two of the UK’s biggest tea brands have sparked an incredible hashtag after taking on a Yorkshire-based far-right vlogger who was tweeting in opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement.
In June, Laura Towler said she was “dead chuffed” that Yorkshire Tea hadn’t come out in support of worldwide protests at the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis earlier this month.
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I’m dead chuffed that Yorkshire Tea hasn’t supported BLM. 😁 — Laura (@thisislaurat) June 6, 2020
But the brand responded bluntly, telling her: “Please don’t buy our tea again. We’re taking some time to educate ourselves and plan proper action before we post.
“We stand against racism”
Please don't buy our tea again.
We're taking some time to educate ourselves and plan proper action before we post. We stand against racism.
#BlackLivesMatter — Yorkshire Tea (@YorkshireTea) June 8, 2020
In a sadly predictable manner, the tweet sparked calls for a boycott from people who took offence at a brand opposing racism.
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What on earth are you doing? Don't take sides just stick to your bloody product. We defended you against the lefty hordes now you tweet this. FFS. — Ministry of Truth (@BanTheBBC) June 8, 2020
This then caused PG Tips to get involved, spawning the #solidaritea hashtag which was still trending on Twitter on Tuesday morning.
Yeah it does suck, Pamela. If you are boycotting teas that stand against racism, you're going to have to find two new tea brands now. #blacklivesmatter #solidaritea — PG tips (@PGtips) June 8, 2020
2020 might be an absolute shitshow but #solidaritea has certainly brightened up my morning! pic.twitter.com/1P6X3eTOKB — Cori Pim-Keirle (@greencardmonkey) June 9, 2020
COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITY: There is now a gap in the market for a new and really aggressively racist tea brand, for arseholes to drink https://t.co/JLZJALXeKH — Stuart Heritage (@stuheritage) June 8, 2020
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More Black Lives Matter protests are planned for this week and Boris Johnson has said they had awakened an “incontrovertible, undeniable feeling of injustice” worldwide.
Floyd, who died after a police officer in Minneapolis restrained him by holding a knee on his neck, will be buried in his home town of Houston in Texas on Tuesday.
This country is more than it's government and even though I'm not a tea-drinker, #solidaritea epitomises why I love UK.
Thank you Yorkshire Tea and PG Tips for providing a ray of light at a gloomy time.#solidaritea - the most British hashtag ever! pic.twitter.com/LfR1dwmOGJ — KT #ExposingHypocrisy Parker (@lunaperla) June 8, 2020
A symbolic and socially distanced commemoration is planned at the Nelson Mandela statue in Parliament Square in London at 5pm, organised by Stand Up To Racism.
Following protests across the UK on the weekend, the prime minister – who had previously condemned the “thuggery” by a minority that marred some demonstrations – acknowledged many of the activists’ concerns were “founded on a cold reality”.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-09--Minnesota Law Officers Acknowledge Slashing Tires At Minneapolis Protest

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The Minnesota Department of Public Safety confirmed Monday that officers from two law enforcement agencies slashed dozens of vehicles’ tires as part of the response to protests in Minneapolis last weekend.
Minnesota state troopers and deputies from the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office punctured and deflated tires in “a few locations,” Department of Public Safety spokesman Bruce Gordon told The Star Tribune.
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“State Patrol troopers strategically deflated tires ... in order to stop behaviours such as vehicles driving dangerously and at high speeds in and around protesters and law enforcement,” he said.
Gordon acknowledged that law enforcement slashing tires is “not a typical tactic,” but defended it as reducing the risk of vehicles “being used as dangerous weapons and inhibiting our ability to clear areas and keep areas safe.”
Several of the damaged cars belonged to reporters on the scene covering the protests that erupted following the police killing of George Floyd on May 25 in Minneapolis. Journalists have repeatedly been targeted by law enforcement officers as they cover protests across the country.
Minneapolis Police slashed every tire on my rental car, as well as every tire of every car in this parking lot. pic.twitter.com/lchFplYQ0n — Andrew Kimmel (@andrewkimmel) May 31, 2020
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Now this is weird. Someone pointed out to us all that of the cars in the Kmart parking lot at Nicollet and Lake St. have slashed tires. The group that told us said it was the police or Natl Guard who did it. @WCCO pic.twitter.com/1nv9Rr2wsh — Jeff Wagner (@Jeff_Wagner4) May 31, 2020
In Minneapolis, police fired tear gas at reporters “at point-blank range,” according to a Los Angeles Times reporter, who said she was hit in the leg by a canister. And a Vice News reporter said he was thrown to the ground, held down and pepper-sprayed by police after identifying himself as press.
Freelance writer Linda Tirado said she’s “permanently blind” in her left eye after allegedly being hit by a rubber bullet or tracer round fired by authorities in Minneapolis at the end of May. Tirado said officers fired at her even after she’d identified herself as press.
Similar incidents occurred over and over across the US, including in Louisville, Kentucky, where cops fired pepper balls directly at TV reporter Kaitlin Rust and her cameraman:
This just happened on live tv. Wow, what a douche bag. pic.twitter.com/dQKheEcCvb — Christopher Bishop (@ChrisBishopL1C4) May 30, 2020
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Protests have upended cities across the globe following the death of the 46-year-old Floyd, a Black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes while he gasped out the words, “I can’t breathe.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-09--The Fall Of America's Monuments To Racism

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Nationwide protests over the racism of America’s present have also reignited furore against the most powerful symbols of its racist past: the roughly 1,700 Confederate monuments and symbols that still dot the nation’s landscape.
Since a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd, protesters have graffitied and toppled Confederate monuments across the American South, including in Richmond, Virginia, the former capital of the Confederacy, and Birmingham, Alabama, in the still-beating heart of Dixie. Local leaders have backed efforts to remove statues in both cities, and in states like Kentucky, Indiana and others that never left the Union. The US Marine Corps banned its troops from displaying the Confederate battle flag, and on Monday, a US Army official told Politico that the Pentagon may consider changing the names of military bases named for Confederate generals.
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The effort to reckon with slavery and the men who fought to preserve it has even gone global: On Sunday, demonstrators in the United Kingdom tore down the statue of a prominent slave trader in Bristol, then ceremoniously dumped it into a nearby river.
The renewed push to rid American public squares of the racist symbols of the Confederacy came as activists and protesters scored major policy and political victories, including pledges to cut police budgets, electoral wins for candidates who support police divestment, and a promise from the Minneapolis City Council that it would dismantle and rebuild the local police department in the wake of Floyd’s killing.
Next to drastic efforts like that, tearing down the memorials to long-dead traitors may seem like a mostly symbolic act. But the fight against Confederate monuments, activists and historians say, is as necessary as any reform effort during a moment of deep national reckoning.
“The symbols help sustain racist policies and racist policies help sustain the symbols,” James Grossman, the executive director of the American Historical Association, said of the statues. “Those statues legitimate racism. They legitimate violence against Black people, because slavery was a system of violence against Black people. To take down those statues is to make a statement about how a community’s values are changing.”
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A monument of Confederate president Jefferson Davis in Richmond, Virginia, was marked during widespread civil unrest following the death of George Floyd. Julia Rendleman / Reuters
The number of Confederate memorials to go by the wayside will only grow in the coming months, after Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed a law in April allowing localities to remove many of the more than 200 Confederate memorials and symbols still standing across his state.
But with protesters targeting monuments nearly a month before the law goes into effect on July 1, Northam last week pledged to tear down Richmond’s century-old statue to Robert E. Lee “as soon as possible.” Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, meanwhile, last week introduced a resolution to take down four other Confederate statues that line the city’s Monument Avenue, one of the most striking memorials to the Confederacy in the nation.
No state has more Confederate monuments than Virginia, and Northam’s decision could mark a “tipping point” for the effort to protect the honorifics, said W Fitzhugh Brundage, a history professor at the University of North Carolina.
“I anticipate that in the next six months or a year, we’ll see them come down all over Virginia,” Brundage said. “That’s the most significant Confederate commemorative landscape in the South. The tipping point has been reached.”
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Nearly all of America’s Confederate monuments were built in the late 1800s or early 1900s, during the Lost Cause Era efforts to mythologize the Civil War and the South’s reason for seceding to fight it. Statues went up across the South, in an effort to obscure the war’s roots in the effort to preserve slavery, and to remind Black Americans during the Jim Crow years that they were still subject to violent and oppressive white supremacy. Another wave of statues were erected in the 1950s, in response to desegregation efforts and calls for civil rights. They spread across the nation to reinforce the same message even in states that hadn’t seceded.
Black Americans have targeted the monuments for decades because of their symbolic power, turning them into flashpoints for activism when protests over racial injustice break out.
There were similar sudden efforts to erase signs of the Confederacy after Dylann Roof, a white nationalist, killed nine people at a Black church in Charleston in 2015, and after the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville inflamed the country in 2017. (The rally took place amid efforts to remove Charlottesville’s Robert E Lee statue.)
More than 100 Confederate monuments and symbols fell between 2015 and 2018, according to the Smithsonian, but at least 1,700, including nearly 800 monuments, remained.
And even as cities pushed to enact policies aimed at curbing the disparities between Black and white residents, the statues’ continued existence served as a barrier to real change ― an ugly reminder of how the country’s racist past continued to thwart progress in the present day, said Wes Bellamy, a former member of the Charlottesville City Council who has long argued for the removal of the Lee statue.
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“I can have sweeping legislation, but people still have to walk by and see something painful like a 28-foot statue in their public park. That sends a very strong message: You may have the policy, but we control the land.” - Wes Bellamy, former member of the Charlottesville City Council
“We know that these are symbolic, but symbols matter,” Bellamy said. “You cannot deny just how important these racist symbols are, even when you’re looking to address things like affordable housing, education and criminal justice reform. I can have sweeping legislation, but people still have to walk by and see something painful like a 28-foot statue in their public park. That sends a very strong message: You may have the policy, but we control the land.”
The speed with which tearing down the monuments has won the backing of political leaders, though, may be an indication that the message has begun to sink in with white Americans, as the protests and the police killings that led to them have made it impossible to ignore the realities facing Black people.
“The connection between slavery, Jim Crow and ongoing systemic racism in American society is much more familiar than it was three or five years ago,” Brundage said. “It’s so much easier for Americans, and particularly white Americans, to connect the dots from slavery to the current-day problems.”
That those attitudes are changing has shown up in polls and at protests: A majority of Americans have said the demonstrations are justified, and for the first time, more than half of Americans now agree that police treat Black and white people differently. Approval for the police has fallen to near-record lows, while calls to “defund the police” ― or devote less public money to police budgets while spending more on social services and other violence prevention efforts ― have reverberated across the country.
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People visit a monument of Confederate general Robert E. Lee on June 5 after Virginia Governor Ralph Northam ordered its removal after widespread civil unrest. Julia Rendleman / Reuters
On Sunday, Senator Mitt Romney joined a demonstration in Washington, DC, New York Times editor James Bennet, meanwhile, resigned amid criticism ― largely from Black journalists on the paper’s staff ― for publishing Senator Tom Cotton’s opinion piece calling for Donald Trump to mobilise the military in cities where protests were taking place.
Previous efforts to take down monuments have faced stern backlash from opponents who have argued that activists want to erase history. State lawmakers and local residents have passed legislation and filed lawsuits to block efforts to remove the memorials.
Although the Virginia GOP opposes the removal efforts, there has been less blowback overall so far this time around, which both Brundage and Grossman said is likely a product of continued activism against the memorials and the increased awareness that has resulted from the spread of videos documenting both police officers’ and ordinary white Americans’ racist treatment of Black people.
“Defenders of these monuments are truly on their back foot,” Brundage said. “This is a different moment.”
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As the monuments continue to fall, they have taken on a different symbolic power for Black Americans like Bellamy, who kept pushing for the removal of Charlottesville’s statue of Robert E Lee even as he faced death threats and doubters who told him it would never fall, and that the laws protecting it would never change.
“We’re in a new era in which the impossible is possible,” he said. “There’s an opportunity here for us to be able to push legislation and policy that create change. Now, we can actually say that this stuff works.”
Bellamy went on his normal morning jog Monday, through downtown Charlottesville and past the statue of Lee that likely won’t stand much longer.
“Goliath,” Bellamy thought, “meet David.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-09--Daniel Radcliffe Supports Trans Community Following JK Rowling Tweets: 'I Feel Compelled To Say Some

Daniel Radcliffe Supports Trans Community Following JK Rowling Tweets: 'I Feel Compelled To Say Something'

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On Saturday, the author commented on an article titled, Creating a More Equal Post-COVID-19 World for People Who Menstruate, pushing back against the headline for not referring to those who get their periods as just ‘women’.
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“I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?,” she tweeted.
‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?
Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate https://t.co/cVpZxG7gaA — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2020
The tweet sparked a wave of backlash from the LGBTQ community and its supporters, accusing her of erasing trans people, and reminded the author that transgender people, non-binary people and gender-nonconforming people can also menstruate.
Daniel, who became a worldwide star after playing schoolboy wizard Harry in the blockbuster adaptations of the beloved book series, has now commented on the controversy, stating “transgender women are women”.
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Daniel Radcliffe EMPICS Entertainment
He shared a statement through the LGBTQ suicide prevention charity The Trevor Project, saying that while JK “is unquestionably responsible for the course my life has taken… as a human being, I feel compelled to say something at this moment”.
Writing that the issue is not about “in-fighting between JK Rowling and myself,” he said: “Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I.”
The 30-year-old then cited statistics from The Trevor Project, claiming 78% of transgender and non-binary youth reported being the subject of discrimination due to their gender identity.
He said: “It’s clear that we need to do more to support transgender and non-binary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harm.”
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Daniel shot to worldwide fame playing boy wizard Harry Potter. Warner Bros
And the actor addressed fans on social media who said they could no longer enjoy the Harry Potter series due to their disagreement with the author.
“To all the people who now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished, I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you,” he said.
“I really hope that you don’t entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you. If these books taught you that love is the strongest force in the universe, capable of overcoming anything; if they taught you that strength is found in diversity, and that dogmatic ideas of pureness lead to the oppression of vulnerable groups; if you believe that a particular character is trans, non-binary, or gender fluid, or that they are gay or bisexual; if you found anything in these stories that resonated with you and helped you at any time in your life — then that is between you and the book that you read, and it is sacred.
“And in my opinion nobody can touch that. It means to you what it means to you and I hope that these comments will not taint that too much.”
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Following a backlash, JK stood by her comments, arguing “it isn’t hate to speak the truth”.
J.K. Rowling Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
She tweeted: “If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.”
It is not the first time the author has been accused of being anti-trans.
Back in 2018, the Wizarding World creator sparked a backlash when she was seen “liking” a tweet referring to transgender women as “men in dresses”.
Towards the end of last year, she was criticised when she spoke out in defence of Maya Forstater, who had been accused of using “offensive and exclusionary” language in a number of tweets relating to proposed changes to the Gender Recognition Act, which would allow self-identification.
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She said she had “accidentally pasted in” a sentence, which appeared to be from an article about transgender activist Tara Wolf.
Useful websites and helplines:


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-09--My Pride Anthems: Juno Dawson

My Pride Anthems: Juno Dawson

The coronavirus pandemic has changed everything, and that includes how we’re all celebrating Pride in 2020.
With huge public gatherings out of the question, we’re asking a range of LGBTQ celebrities and allies for their personal Pride anthems, to help us all get into the Pride spirit from lockdown.
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Up next in our My Pride Anthems series is young adult author Juno Dawson, who recently released her latest novel Wonderland, a modern retelling of Alice In Wonderland with a transgender teenager at the centre of the story.
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Juno – who was recently awarded the Young Adult Book Prize for her latest work – has picked songs from artists including The Saturdays and Demi Lovato, revealing her choices are tracks she associates with “key Prides in her life”...
The Shapeshifters – Lola’s Theme
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“I met my friend Sarah-Lee at Brighton Pride 2005. It was the first time we’d really been out together, and we just absolutely went off to this song, and in that moment I knew that we were going to be friends forever. And we still are.
“And this is so not my normal kind of music, but that song, and dancing to that song at The Open House in Brighton, brings back memories.
“Sarah-Lee is cisgender, but she’s now the most amazing advocate for trans rights, she’s really dedicated herself to supporting trans youth whenever she can, and she’s one of the stewards for Trans Pride in Brighton, she’s amazing.”
Demi Lovato – Cool For The Summer
“I think songs can really define your summer, and Pride summer tends to fall around the summer months. If there was ever a bisexual or trans-inclusive song, it’s Demi Lovato’s Cool For The Summer. Because, of course, she refers to ‘don’t be scared ‘cause I’m your body type’. There you go. Also what a bop! And then it was immortalised in a Drag Race lip sync, as well.
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“This song reminds me of me and my friend Lewis, and that year he was going through a really horrible break-up, and he stayed with me for a few nights, and we just listened to this song over and over and over.”
The Saturdays – All Fired Up
“This song has absolutely nothing to do with anything LGBT, but when this came out, I had moved to London, and I came down [to Brighton] for what I believe was the last Pride I had using my previous name, and so it did slightly feel like a ‘going away party’.
“I wasn’t sure what my relationship with Pride was going to be after that, and to be honest, I wasn’t sure if it was going to be my last Pride. And luckily, it was not, and there have been many more since. And many more to come. Well, if we’re ever allowed to reunite with people in public spaces again.”
Visage – Fade To Grey
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“Blast from the past. If you don’t know this song, you’ll know the sample, because Kelly Osbourne sampled it on One Word.
“This one again, it has nothing to do with the song itself, but it was my first Pride in London, and it was my first time at [club night] Gay Shame. It was absolutely pouring with rain outside, such a wash-out, and I was in the toilets at Gay Shame, and I realised I was queueing up next to Caitlin Moran and Grace Dent, bizarrely. And that song came on, and we just had the most amazing bathroom party.
“And that was pre-transition – so this notion that we’re not all sharing bathrooms at all times, it’s wild. So don’t be worried about bathrooms, just go and dance to Visage with Caitlin Moran and Grace Dent.”
Lady Gaga – Alice
“Honestly, this is not promotion for my book! But it’s quite clear that album, Chromatica, is the album of the summer, which is so frustrating because can you imagine how much fun we would have had at Pride events dancing to Rain On Me and Alice?
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“And so it’s a bit of a shame, and I understand now why Gaga put the album back a little bit, because it was an album that should have come out around Pride month. And even though we’re all going to have to celebrate Pride at our homes and in our gardens this year, there’s no doubt that album is a Pride album.”
Juno Dawson’s latest book, Wonderland, is available to buy now.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-09--15 Things Therapists Do When They're Worried About The Future

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We turn to therapists to help us navigate life and the difficult situations that come up. And although they may seem to be experts on how to work through feelings of anxiety, worry and fear, it doesn’t mean that they don’t encounter their own struggles as well.
The state of the world ― between the coronavirus pandemic, police brutality and racism, record unemployment and more ― is deeply affecting people, including mental health professionals. It makes many of us fear for what the immediate and distant futures could look like.
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So what are some ways therapists deal? We asked them.
Take a break
Angelle E. Richardson, assistant professor at the community and trauma counselling programme at Thomas Jefferson University, said there’s nothing wrong with needing to take a step back if you’re feeling too overwhelmed.
Turn off the news and log off of social media for an hour or two so you can spend some time reading or doing another self-care activity. Nothing can change long-term if you don’t take care of yourself and give your mind space.
“If we stop, pause and step away from what we’re doing or worrying about, it gives us time to think and reflect, which may put things in perspective,” Richardson said.
Focus on what you can control
“It sounds simple, but I make a list of the things I can control and let go of the rest,” said Sean Davis, a marriage and family therapist and psychology professor at Alliant International University.
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Identify what those control measures are for you, then take action. For example, you can wear a face mask outside; you can donate to organisations; you can have meaningful conversations with family and friends; you can apply for jobs as they become available; you can maintain a healthy routine that benefits your mental health. This will help ground you when your anxiety skyrockets.
valentinrussanov via Getty Images A lot of people are struggling with uncertainty about the future and anxiety right now.
Apply the AWARE technique
Zlatin Ivanov, a psychiatrist in New York City, uses the “AWARE” system to work through an anxious cycle:
Accept that you are feeling anxious and directly identify it as what you’re feeling. Watch the anxiety and grade it on a scale. Act normal as much as you possibly can through talking and your breath. Repeat the previous three steps if necessary. Expect the best. You are taking control of the fear instinct and taming and training it.
Try a grounding exercise
Erika Updegrove, a licensed clinical psychologist in New York City, said she engages in a grounding exercise when she feels anxious: “I put my feet firmly on the floor and I imagine that my feet are much like the roots of a tree. I envision that my ‘roots’ go way down below the street level and I am anchored into place, immovable.”
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You can also focus on other tangible things around you. For example, prompt your mind to notice five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell and one thing you can taste.
Sit in your anxiety for a while
It sounds counterintuitive and uncomfortable, but the point is to normalise the feeling. Because anxiety is natural.
“I will tell myself to ‘sit’ with the anxiety and that it is OK that it is there,” said Jeffrey Kassinove, co-founder of Therapy West in New York City. “When you are afraid, it means there are too many unknowns for us to make a prediction. So, I sit tight and let time fill in those unknowns as the future becomes the present day.”
Instead of defaulting on the worst scenario, intentionally visualise the best
Jaime Bronstein, a psychotherapist and licensed clinical social worker in San Diego, California, recognises her negative thoughts — then urges herself to think about positive ones.
“Instead of imagining something terrible happening, I create the most positive scenario I can think of,” she explained.
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Seek lessons from ways you’ve dealt with uncertainty in the past
“I remind myself how I have coped with difficult transitions, or things that were out of my control in the past,” said Jennifer Chaiken, a licensed marriage and family therapist in at The West Chester Therapy Group in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
She added that we tend to forget how resilient we are and how much we have gotten through. Remind yourself of your strength, think back on how you have managed issues before and then consider how those methods could help you again.
Try to concentrate on the present moment
“Even if I have to remind myself each hour, I remind myself to stay present,” said Eliza Kingsford, a licensed psychotherapist and behaviour change specialist in Boulder, Colorado.
When she feels inclined to worry, Kingsford said she works to consciously bring herself back to the present moment and asks herself questions like: “What is true right now?” “What do I know right now?” “What can I control right now?” “Am I OK right now?” “Are there decisions that need to be made right now?”
This, she said, helps to keep her “present focused” and work only with information that she has, not information that she is anticipating.
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Act on your anxiety by moving your body
“When I feel the urge to roll over rather than face the day, I use a technique called opposite action,” said Heather Collins, a licensed clinical social worker in Berkeley, California. “So, rather than succumbing to that feeling of paralysis, I shift gears and psych myself up to get active.”
Moving your body in a way that feels good will help alleviate some of the physical effects of anxiety. “I know that once I get moving, some of those sinking feelings will begin to lift,” Collins said.
BFC/ Ascent Xmedia via Getty Images Concerns about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic are leading many people to feel stressed and upset.
Spend some time acknowledging what you have right now
Kathryn Grace Zambetti, a psychotherapist and executive coach at Grace Consulting, said gratitude for what you have right now allows the brain to release thoughts tied to the future. It’s important to do this regularly, even when you aren’t in a time of crisis.
Reflect on three or four things you’re grateful for — the more specific, the better. You can acknowledge them quietly to yourself, she said, but advised that “a daily gratitude practice is also much more effective when it is said out loud or written down on paper.”
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Create and stick to a schedule
Jerry Lynn Petty Jr., a licensed professional counsellor in Denton, Texas, has found that consistency is key when everything in the word feels uncertain. And a great way to do this is to stick to a routine. Even if it’s a super basic one.
“I go to sleep at approximately the same time, wake up the same time, eat at the same times,” he said. “Keeping routines instills a sense of normalcy during very abnormal times.”
Remember a time when the outcome was positive
Kim Grevler, a licensed clinical social worker and founder of the mental health awareness brand selfishladies, thinks about all the times that she was worried about the future and the outcome turned out better than she had imagined.
“This busts the myths and assumption that are inherent in our minds when we worry about the future, which implies that there is something to be afraid of,” she explained. “By remembering a time when the outcome was better than what you anticipated, you are retraining the brain to worry less about the lack of control and have more confidence in the possibility of a positive outcome.”
Use a mantra
Having a phrase to come back to whenever things get stressful has been extremely helpful to Christi Solomon Zerega, founder of Aware Counseling in Charleston, South Carolina.
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“When I am struggling, my mantra is ‘I am capable. I am competent. I am confident. I can handle anything that comes my way,’” she said. These empowering statements pull her back to what is within her control and help keep her in the present moment.
Turn to a support system
“If my level of worry feels overwhelming, I will vent to a friend,” said Pamela J. Garber, a therapist in New York. “If no one is available, I will vent out loud about it, but give myself a 30-minute time limit.”
During this time of venting, Gerber said she will work to find a new way of looking at the situation, a technique she calls basic cognitive reframing. She tries to find a silver lining, identify a benefit for herself or others that can come from the situation, or work on developing her tolerance for uncertainty.
If her worry continues to escalate, she will text the people in her friend network and continue reaching out for support.
Go to therapy
“Yes, it’s true! Therapists have their own therapist ― or they should ― because we also need a place to feel validated when we worry about the future, and we need a therapist to challenge us when our anxiety has gotten out of control,” explained Audrey Grunst, founder of Simply Bee Counseling.
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She said the practice of talking to someone also helps therapists learn what it’s like to be on the other side of the chair and grow empathy for their clients, in addition to healing their own wounds.
“This type of work can protect us from anxiety about the future because we are not just giving advice every day, but we are also accepting someone else’s help. And that can go a long way in terms of coping with an uncertain future,” she said.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-09--What You Should Know About Flying Right Now Amid The Coronavirus

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At this stage of the coronavirus pandemic, public health experts still do not recommend non-essential travel, and that includes flying.
“It is important to avoid air travel because it inherently involves spending time in places where others have passed through every day such as airports, public restrooms, and of course airplanes,” said Sachin Nagrani, a physician and medical director for the telemedicine and house call provider Heal.
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Nevertheless, passengers are still flying. On Wednesday, the Transportation Security Administration screened 304,436 people at American airports. (On the same weekday one year ago, that number was more than 2.3 million, so air travel is still significantly down.)
If you must take a flight at this time, there are ways to mitigate the risks and help protect your health and safety and that of your fellow travellers. Below, Nagrani and Jeremy Tarr, digital editorial director of Fodor’s Travel, share their guidance for safe air travel right now.
Prepare for it to feel different.
“I think everyone needs to realise that it’s going to be very, very different than what they’re used to,” said Tarr. “It’s going to feel weird, it might feel uncomfortable, and, depending on the person, it might feel really scary.”
Still, he added, most airlines are making an effort to keep passengers feeling safe and are receptive to concerns.
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“Research what your airline has done before you book your flight and especially before you board,” he suggested.
Choose a safe transit method to the airport.
“If you must fly, consider your local travel method to and from the airport and any rules that the airport may have instituted for safety, such as modified pick-up and drop-off procedures, which can be found on the airport website,” Nagrani advised.
If possible, drive yourself to the airport or have someone in your household drop you off. Public transit is less costly but exposes you to more risk.
Wear a mask at all times.
To slow the spread of the virus, public officials advise wearing a mask in public spaces, including airports and airplanes. Most airlines mandate that passengers wear masks for the duration of their flights, and many airports require them inside the terminal.
“Wear a mask at all times, unless told by TSA or some other official to lower it for identification purposes,” Tarr advised. It may not be the most comfortable accessory for long periods of time, but this is an important way to protect the safety of you and your fellow travellers.
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Bring your own provisions.
To minimise risk, airlines have severely limited their food and beverage services, so be sure to fill your water bottle at the airport to stay hydrated on board. Consider taking some vitamin C and other immune-boosting vitamins or nutrients before the journey, too.
Many airport shops and restaurants are still closed, so you may also want to bring your own snacks from home for your travels.
SOPA Images via Getty Images A sign reminding passengers to stay six feet apart at a screening checkpoint at Orlando International Airport on May 21, 2020.
Social distance as best you can.
“Airports were never particularly fun, and now they’re even worse. But the key is to follow the same protocols you do pretty much everywhere else right now,” Tarr noted. “Keep your distance, and if someone else isn’t keeping their distance, politely say something.”
Plexiglass partitions between passengers and crew are more common, and there are some changes in the security processes, like more staggered lanes and spacing between individuals.
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Practice social distancing to the best of your ability at the gate and throughout the boarding process, which may be a little different as well.
“One thing you’ll most likely experience is that planes are being boarded from the rear to ensure that passengers limit interactions with one another,” said Tarr.
Brace for close quarters.
While there are significantly fewer people flying right now, there are also fewer flights and routes in service, so planes aren’t as empty as they looked in mid-March.
In fact, some passengers on recent flights have complained on Twitter about the number of people on board. If you’re concerned about in-flight spacing, you can discuss your options with airline employees.
“Talk to the flight crew and to see what can be arranged,” said Tarr. “United is sending alerts to passengers 24 hours in advance if their flight hits 70% capacity and is allowing you to choose a different flight.”
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Clean your hands frequently.
Disinfect your hands frequently. Many airports also have sanitiser stations in the terminals.
Tarr also recommends proper hand-washing at the airport. “I know airport bathrooms are often shockingly, revoltingly disgusting ― but most of them have sensors for soap and water,” he said.
Limit touching surfaces.
“Before travel, consider checking in online and downloading a boarding pass for low-touch experience,” Nagrani advised. Avoid touching any surfaces unless needed.
You can also cut down on the risk of touching surfaces by wearing gloves, but the CDC guidance doesn’t deem them necessary.
Wipe down your seat area.
You don’t have to go full-on Naomi Campbell, but it doesn’t hurt to wipe down your seat area when you board a flight.
Many airlines have shared ways they’re stepping up their cleaning procedures, with measures like high-grade disinfectant, more frequent cleanings and electrostatic spraying.
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Keep up with the latest guidelines.
As experts learn more about the novel coronavirus and the disease it causes, guidelines change.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-09--No Deal Brexit Is Back With A Vengeance

No Deal Brexit Is Back With A Vengeance

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“Senior No 10 sources” have been at it again. This time, telling the Sunday Times that the UK is prepared to walk away from the Brexit negotiations should the EU fail to display greater flexibility. No deal, in other words, is back on the Brexit table. Indeed, as we explain in a recent report, a no trade deal outcome looks as likely as it ever has. But what difference would it make in the context of the disruption that Covid-19 will already be causing?
It’s worth starting by saying that no deal now is not the same as under Theresa May. For one thing, there is now a Withdrawal Agreement in place. This sorts out the money that the UK owes the EU, the issues of citizens’ rights and, to an extent, the fraught question of Northern Ireland (on which more in a minute). This was doubtless the point that Michael Gove was making in parliament when he declared: “We can’t have a no deal scenario because the withdrawal agreement is a deal.”
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What we can have, however, is a no trade deal scenario. And here lies the other difference with the situation under May. The logic underlying government thinking, as spelled out recently by James Forsyth, seems to be that the “disruption caused by coronavirus means the costs of leaving without a trade deal are lower than they have ever been.”
The European Union and UK flags flying outside the House of Parliament oversnap via Getty Images
From an economic perspective, there is considerable force to this argument, at least for the longer term. The kind of trade deal being sought by Boris Johnson is far thinner than that which her predecessor had negotiated via the much-maligned all-UK backstop, which would have kept the UK in a de facto customs union with the EU.
That lack of ambition means that even in the unlikely event that the UK gets exactly what it wants from the EU – a trade deal with no or few tariffs – significant adaption to our current trading practices will be needed. Our modelling suggests that no trade deal – trading on “WTO rules” would, over the long term, reduce UK GDP by about 8% (or £2,000 per head); but the type of deal advocated by the government would only reduce that damage by a fifth.
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So, the argument goes, a trade deal would be nice, but hardly top priority.
However, there are a number of assumptions doing a lot of heavy lifting here. First, that coronavirus will dwarf the impact of any cliff-edge in January 2021, both economically and politically.
It is certainly true that, as the Institute for Government have pointed out, the “ordinary processes of a modern economy” can continue under the latter but have ground to a halt as a result of the former. But this cuts both ways. One of the success stories of the recent period has been the resilience of food supply chains despite the disruptions imposed by lockdown. The checks and tariffs that would accompany a no deal mean that disruption in this area will almost certainly be more apparent than it is now.
It would be a brave (and arrogant) economist who, given the uncertainties, would predict how Brexit will interact with the aftermath of Covid-19. What is, however, certain is that while both affect not just the UK but the EU and indeed the world, they affect us more. Our exports to the EU are about 13-14% of UK GDP, but EU exports to the UK are less than 3% of UK GDP. And the Covid-19 outbreak has been both more serious and more prolonged than in the EU, with more deaths here than in even the worst hit European countries, let alone the average. The combined impact, in other words, will be significant.
The second argument is that what really matters, for both Covid-19 and Brexit, is not short-term disruption – which may be painful, but transitory – but the long-term structural impacts on the UK economy. In other words, both represent a permanent economic shock, to which business and the economy will have to adjust. Adjustment has costs – investment, reshaping business models, and restructuring supply chains – and will be painful for some. Surely those costs will be minimised if those two shocks are synchronized? With one bound, the UK economy will shift to a new post-Brexit, post-Covid model.
Again, this is hard to model, but suffice it to say that this view is not popular in the business community. What is certain is that it would represent a huge gamble – the capacity of the UK economy to withstand an extended period of “creative destruction” and emerge stronger on the other side – that has its most obvious recent analogy in the Thatcher era of deindustrialization.
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More broadly, the political implications of a no deal outcome threaten to be every bit as significant as its economic fallout. Should the negotiations collapse, the outcome will doubtless be a period of mutual recrimination as both sides point the finger of blame at the other.
And there will be obvious flashpoints where things could easily spiral out of control. To take one example, the British government has (finally) admitted that, even with a deal, there will need to be some checks in Northern Ireland, albeit that it has made it clear that it intends to limit these as far as possible. With no deal at all, however, given the fundamentally different relationship with the EU that Northern Ireland and Great Britain would have when it comes to goods, those checks will be more intrusive and the border more obvious. Will this be manageable? And we haven’t even mentioned fish.
And all this in the context of a world in which many in the west are reconsidering their relationship with China, while Donald Trump continues to generate doubts about the future of the transatlantic bond. Cross-Channel tensions would hardly help either side craft a sensible and collaborative strategy to address such international uncertainties.
The gap between deal and no deal is certainly smaller than it was under Theresa May. And Covid-19 may indeed alter that calculation still further. Yet, even so, no deal would still be a big deal.
Professor Anand Menon is director of UK in a Changing Europe, and Professor Jonathan Portes is senior fellow.