NO HATE,
NO WAY
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW MATUSIK
TO QUOTE THE BEATLES, “I read the news today, oh boy.” Throughout this pandemic year I have jokingly referred to my “home office” as “The Fallout Shelter,” and it has certainly felt that way for most of the past 12 months. It just so happens that I actually have one of those slightly ominous, black and gold, nuclear-era fallout shelter signs, which I found in the garbage in Chelsea, hanging over my desk. Apparently, a few years ago the City decided that it was misleading to call a building basement a fallout shelter so they started removing some of the corroding signs that were appended to thousands of buildings— remnants of the Cold War fever dreams that consumed the American public in the 1960s. The sign I found was in perfect condition so it was likely hanging in a hallway somewhere. I imagine that a lot of them ended up in the trash, but you can still see them on some of the older buildings in town. Anyway, there have been many times this year where some kind of bunker has felt necessary—and comforting. But what I have experienced in my own world pales in comparison to what the members of the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community has experienced. Racism toward people of color is sadly not new, but there has been an escalation in hate crimes committed against AAPI people this past year, due to the rhetoric of the former administration with regards to COVID-19. (You will notice that I did not qualify my statement with soft words like ‘allegedly’ or ‘in part.’) All racism shocks me. Why do people expend so much energy hating other humans? I can’t understand it. There is no excuse for it that makes any sense at all. As William Shakespeare’s Shylock says in the Merchant of Venice, “If you prick me, do I not bleed?” Yes, and it’s all the same color—red. This issue is dedicated to our Reformers. And while we focused our attention on our waterways this Spring, we also reported on four organizations who are laser-focused on climate justice. Why? Because none of the problems we face as humans can be looked at in a silo. Climate change, systemic racism, the economy, health care, infrastructure... all interconnected, all parts of the larger survival of the species. Our waterways are a perfect example of the interconnectedness of life. Just ask Sam Waterston. His work with Oceana is about just that. We have had an abundance of sea life in our own New York Harbor lately, due to the health of our waters which has resulted in the return of critical feeder fish. If you build it, they will come. Patti Smith, a person I greatly admire, puts it this way: “We are all alive together.” Let that be our theme and our mantra. We all see the same sunset, breathe the same air, and walk on the same planet. Let’s start acting as if we appreciate it, and each other. DT
Deborah L. Martin Editor in Chief
Follow me on Instagram @debmartinnyc, @downtownmagnyc, and on downtownmagazinenyc.com
THE REFORMERS 2021 DOWNTOWNNYC
9
