O Say, Can You See

I'm tired of hearing, reading and interpreting the phrase:

during these unprecedented times.

It begs to sound accurate and seismic as, in many ways, I suppose it should be.

But capitalism sucks up a phrase to attach different meanings and weight to a word (insert every commercial ever made with variations of join the revolution and revolution, here)

and here we are with the prerecorded robot voice of business customer service lines making excuses for long hold times due to  

these unprecedented times.




I wish I could tell you what is said and unsaid.

I wish I could tell you of communication during crisis.

Communication during COVID, during the uprisings and protests, during job loss, during life loss, during benefits that never show up and during news being passed.

I wish I could tell you of what I see.

Of being a white interpreter conveying communication between a Black mother and her son. Of being the interpreter conveying last communications between family members. Of being the interpreter during a call contemplating suicide.

I can't tell you.

I can only allude to it.

But to these corporations:

Don't fucking tell me about

these unprecedented times.



k.

(image: Alek Wek photographed by Txema Yeste)