Even with the best of intentions, these graffiti artists exploited structural racism

George Floyd

black-lives-matter-downtown-pittsburgh-graffiti
Fig. 1. Looks lovely, doesn’t it? Except that this graffiti, painted by whites costumed as a construction crew and unmolested by police in a city that treats graffiti artists harshly, was enabled by structural racism, which is the larger subject of protest. Photograph by Jared Wickerham, undated, via Pittsburgh City Paper, June 9, 2020,[1] fair use.

Amanda Waltz, “Black Pittsburgh artists respond to graffiti protest mural produced by white team,” Pittsburgh City Paper, June 9, 2020, https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/black-pittsburgh-artists-respond-to-graffiti-protest-mural-produced-by-white-team/Content?oid=17431125


Pandemic

Fingers in ears, singing “la la la” loudly, we refuse to hear that the pandemic still rages:[2]

Data from states that are now reporting some of their highest seven-day averages of new cases is disproving the notion that the country is seeing such a spike in cases solely because of the continued increase in testing, according to data tracked by The Washington Post.

Many of these states that have experienced an increase in cases have also had an increase in hospitalizations, with a handful of states also nearing bed capacity. Hospitalizations nationwide are difficult to track, with states reporting hospitalization numbers in varying ways, or not at all. Even states that do report hospitalization numbers may not have always received complete data from every hospital in the state at the time of their reports.[3]

Associated Press, “Pennsylvania GOP seeks to dismantle Wolf’s shutdown,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 9, 2020, https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/pennsylvania-gop-seeks-to-dismantle-wolfs-shutdown/

Samantha Pell, Candace Buckner, and Jacqueline Dupree, “Coronavirus hospitalizations rise sharply in several states following Memorial Day,” Washington Post, June 9, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/06/09/coronavirus-hospitalizations-rising/

Dominic Rushe, “Fauci: coronavirus pandemic that ‘took over the planet’ is far from over,” Guardian, June 9, 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/09/anthony-fauci-coronavirus-pandemic-far-from-over


  1. [1]Amanda Waltz, “Black Pittsburgh artists respond to graffiti protest mural produced by white team,” Pittsburgh City Paper, June 9, 2020, https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/black-pittsburgh-artists-respond-to-graffiti-protest-mural-produced-by-white-team/Content?oid=17431125
  2. [2]Dominic Rushe, “Fauci: coronavirus pandemic that ‘took over the planet’ is far from over,” Guardian, June 9, 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/09/anthony-fauci-coronavirus-pandemic-far-from-over
  3. [3]Samantha Pell, Candace Buckner, and Jacqueline Dupree, “Coronavirus hospitalizations rise sharply in several states following Memorial Day,” Washington Post, June 9, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/06/09/coronavirus-hospitalizations-rising/

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