When Nations Become Mentally Ill

False narratives and fake news detours abound on the information superhighway known as the Internet. What harm can a few "fibs" cause? Most people can tell a fabricated story from the real thing, but what if they can't? How can false narratives shape their thought processes? And what happens when these unhealthy thought processes become more common throughout a country? Our guest blogger dives into this topic, one that is more important than ever before as some try to portray the coronavirus pandemic as a hoax, putting millions at risk.

 

Possibly the most destructive false narrative ever perpetuated.

When Nations Become Mentally Ill        

by Vegematic (Deluxe)

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, approximately 1 in 5 people in the U.S. experiences mental illness in a given year. Approximately 1 in 5 youth aged 13–18 (21.4%) experiences a severe mental disorder at some point during their life. For children aged 8–15, the estimate is 13%. Among the 20.2 million adults in the U.S. who experienced a substance use disorder, 50.5% or 10.2 million adults had a co-occurring mental illness. Those numbers are staggering.

Mental illness may be triggered by any number of factors. Fear of climate catastrophe, the decline in living standards, or the perpetual state of terror that comes from barely existing on the margins of a dysfunctional society. It may be triggered by mass surveillance or perpetual war. It may show itself as post traumatic stress disorder, clinical depression, schizophrenia, or a myriad of other disorders all neatly categorized and classified.

Images like this convince conspiracy theorists.

Those with even a passing knowledge of the history of advertising will be aware of how Sigmund Freud's nephew, Edward Bernays, used Freud's theories of the unconscious to begin the modern advertising age. Although highly effective at the time, Bernays' efforts seem extremely primitive in comparison to the constant barrage of electronic propaganda and disinformation being spoon fed to us hundreds or thousands of times a day.

I have come to believe that today's increase in mental disabilities has been in large part created by the near constant exposure to electronic propaganda that becomes embedded in our subconscious from infancy. We are programmed to blindly accept the dominant false cultural narratives of the military industrial complex. We are told that above all, happiness may only be found in mindless materialism and slavish devotion to the corporate state. That honor and glory are to be found in military adventurism, that the police are always your friend, and that the poor deserve their lot in life.

Scare tactics to keep the public fearful and easily controlled?

These memes are sowing the seeds of future psychological disorders. The cognitive dissonance created when fiction is blindly accepted as truth does profound damage to the the human psyche. In order to cope with the mental discomfort, many build up worlds of fantasy and denial in a vain attempt to cope. It's easier to pretend to be a heroic freedom fighter than to accept the bloody facts about a war of aggression being fought for oil. This is why the suicide rates for returning veterans are off the charts. The veteran returns to the relative normality of civilian life, and despite the years of jingoism and programmed patriotism, he/she recognizes the horrible truth. Divorced from the military culture of the battlefield, he/she is forced to confront the inherently human belief that murder is always wrong.

Of course, such cognitive dissonance extends well beyond the military. There are countless examples of how dangerous, and psychologically damaging, belief in the dominant cultural narrative can be. Take the case of twenty-two year old Elliot Roger who, from all reports, lived a life of wealth and privilege. Roger was responsible for a series of killings in Isla Vista, California. The 2014 Isla Vista killings were by gunshot, stabbing and vehicle ramming. When it was over, he had killed six people and injured fourteen before killing himself. He had cultivated the belief that due to his wealth (and because he considered himself an "alpha male") he was entitled to have sex with women who had no interest in him. 

See how easy it is to create a false narrative?

Could it be that Roger had absorbed that twisted thinking by lifelong exposure to cultural and advertising memes? After all, advertisers for years have used our sexuality to sell us products. Buy this car and beautiful women will throw themselves at you. Be wealthy and you won't need to develop social skills. Of course it's simplistic to suggest that his hateful act was inspired entirely by cultural memes, but how much of a role did this narrative play?

We live in an age of increasing economic and social uncertainty. How do people react as they find out that contrary to the cultural narrative, hard work and playing by the rules does not equal success? That the culture they are living in is corrupt and sees their lives as completely expendable? I believe I know the sad answer to that question. Mental illness will continue to grow to epidemic levels.    

BIO: Vegematic Deluxe is back in the saddle again, creating lively and thought-provoking progressive weekly video podcasts on his You Tube channel. Check his videos out and tell him the TRC blog sent you:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2vzbyWki1kWC6SAzeqw_Iw

Other articles for your consideration:

How to Manage Your Mental Health When Feeling Stressed During COVID-19
https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/2020/04/how-to-manage-your-mental-health-when-feeling-stressed-during-covid-19/

Cognitive Biases Tricking Your Brain
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-cognitive-biases-tricking-your-brain

UPDATE:  Why It's Important to Push Back on Plandemic and How to Do So
https://www.forbes.com/sites/tarahaelle/2020/05/08/why-its-important-to-push-back-on-plandemic-and-how-to-do-it/#fa873bf5fa35
The following meme outlines the viral video Plandemic, pointing out its origins and its false narrative. If you have friends who argue that COVID-19 is a "hoax created in a Chinese lab," share this and the following Google doc link. You might save a life (or lives) if you can convince them to follow the CDC's guidelines.

Debunking Plandemic (Google doc)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QwU4jcRw-qb77BLCLs99af05S1mL2E2vUz2x2M1396U/preview?pru=AAABciB83LI*tnjoZMM7PQYmqDJYD3Fqzw 

Top Ten Conspiracy Theories

https://www.livescience.com/11375-top-ten-conspiracy-theories.html

MAGA vs. COVID
https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/62821-focus-maga-vs-covid

***

More examples of national insanity...
From Color of Change:

Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was jogging near his neighborhood in Brunswick, GA when he was chased down, shot, and killed in cold blood.¹ 
 
His executioners were a father & son, Gregory and Travis McMichael, two white men, who told police they believed Ahmaud fit the profile of a suspect in a series of break-ins in the area.² The entire thing was filmed by a third person, Bryan Williams. But the truth is: Ahmaud’s murder was an act of hatred and white supremacy.

Worst of all, the two DAs who've recused themselves, District Attorney Jackie Johnson and District Attorney George Barnhill, played a key role in a blatant cover-up and delays in justice for Ahmaud and his family. DA Barnhill even defended Ahmaud’s murderers by making the outrageous claim that Travis McMichael acted in self-defense and his actions fell within Georgia’s citizen arrest laws.³

Instead of seeking justice, DA Johnson refused to bring charges against Ahmaud's killers and DA Barnhill abused his authority to exonerate the McMichaels in the media.⁴ Police are quick to arrest and throw our people in cages, but when we are killed, it's crickets for months from the legal system. For their complicity, both District Attorney Gregory Barnhill and District Attorney Jackie Johnson must immediately resign. 

Sign the petition. Demand DA George Barnhill & DA Jackie Johnson resign immediately.

Glynn County law enforcement is doing everything it can to ensure the McMichaels get away with Ahmaud's murder. Gregory McMichael is a retired police officer who worked with DA Barnhill's son in District Attorney Jackie Johnson's office.⁵ In the moments leading up to Ahmaud's death, the McMichaels stated they saw him stop by a house that was under construction and look through the window.⁶ But you actually have to be observing a crime or be in the immediate knowledge of a crime for self-defense or citizen laws to be applicable.⁷ Ahmaud was not committing a crime, he was jogging. Any effort to use citizen’s arrest or self-defense as an excuse for Ahmaud’s murder is a weak attempt to cover-up this injustice.

What’s clear is Gregory McMichael’s former affiliation with the local DAs office is allowing him to escape accountability. The McMichaels grabbed their shotgun and a pistol, chased Ahmaud in their truck, and when Ahmaud attempted to defend himself he was shot twice and killed. Nevertheless, Ahmaud's case has been tossed from one DA's office to the next. Every step along the way the police have been quick to shift the blame away from the McMichaels. Police even told Ahmaud’s mother that her son was involved in a burglary and there was a confrontation between Ahmaud and the homeowner and a struggle over a gun.⁸ THESE ARE LIES. Glynn County law enforcement has been quick to do nothing but ensure the McMichael’s are not held for this atrocity.

White supremacy and corruption are running rampant in Glynn County-- and both DA Barnhill and DA Johnson are perpetuating it. In his letter to the Glynn County police, Barnhill stated, "it appears {Travis and Gregory McMichael's} intent was to stop and hold this criminal suspect until law enforcement arrived. Under Georgia law, it is perfectly legal."⁹ Barnhill also went on to falsely claim that Ahmaud was prone to violence and that there was no need for arrest.¹⁰ It is because of Barnhill's suggestions to police that two months have gone by without an arrest or any form of accountability. Now, Tom Durden of Liberty County has finally decided to bring the case to a grand jury -- which doesn't convene until after June 2.¹¹ And even he is doing his part to delay justice. Durden could issue an arrest warrant right now on a complementary charge if he wanted to, he doesn't need an indictment.¹² Instead, he continues to protect the vigilantes' rights to utilize their weapons and their power to end Black lives. 

DA Jackie Johnson is known for letting corrupt officers off the hook. During her first six years in office, she had at least 16 cases where she's recused herself because of conflict of interest.¹³ In 2010 she protected an officer who later went on to murder his ex-wife and then himself.¹⁴ And earlier this year three former top officers and the police chief were indicted for ignoring evidence that an officer was working with drug dealers --  one was having sex with two confidential informants.¹⁵ The lack of police accountability in Glynn County has reached a fever pitch. Voters are even considering getting rid of the police department for good.¹⁶ And this year Johnson is vulnerable because she is up for re-election.¹⁷ Elected leaders must take the necessary steps to ensure our people are protected and free to live without fear of violence and destruction. That's why now more than ever, both DA Barnhill and Johnson must feel the pressure from us to resign. They need to know we are on to them -- we won't allow this corruption to continue in Glynn County. 

DA Barnhill and DA Johnson have got to go. Sign the petition. 

Every second Ahmaud’s executioners evade accountability shows just how little Glynn County law enforcement cares about Black lives. Under no circumstance should it be acceptable for these men to roam the streets and relax in their homes while Ahmaud’s family and community continue to mourn the premature loss of their son and loved one. Black communities deserve protection -- not to be preyed upon and hunted down in the street.

The most painful part of this injustice has been the fact that Ahmaud's murder took place almost eight years to the day after Trayvon Martin was slain by a racist vigilante. Time and time again, our communities face the highest rates of state-sanctioned violence -- whether it’s mass incarceration, police killings, ‘stop and frisk,’ or the all too familiar rhetoric of broken windows policing. Ahmaud's death is just another disturbing example of a violent society that marks Blackness as inherently dangerous -- where Black people are more likely to be seen as instigators rather than people in need of help in times of danger.

Demanding DA Barnhill and Johnson to resign is crucial to getting the justice Ahmaud deserves. Our leaders must stop treating Black lives as if we are disposable. We must stand up to this racist terror and that starts with holding local prosecutors accountable. Enough is enough. We are demanding justice for Ahmaud -- we refuse to lose any more of our loved ones to these reckless acts of violence.

Ahmaud deserves justice. Demand DA Barnhill & DA Johnson resign NOW. 

Until justice is real, 

--Scott, Rashad, Arisha, Clarise, Erika, Malachi, Marybeth, Madison, Leonard, Cheryl, and the rest of the Color of Change team

---

References:
 1. "A Georgia man was chased and killed while jogging, his mother says." CNN. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/245948?t=7&akid=42331%2E3399430%2EH3zyHj
2. Ibid.
3. George E. Barnhill Letter to Glynn County Police Department. NYT. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/245949?t=9&akid=42331%2E3399430%2EH3zyHj
4. #iRunwithMaud. Our Prism. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/245950?t=11&akid=42331%2E3399430%2EH3zyHj
5. George E. Barnhill Letter to Glynn County Police Department. NYT. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/245949?t=13&akid=42331%2E3399430%2EH3zyHj
6. "A Georgia man was chased and killed while jogging, his mother says." CNN. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/245948?t=15&akid=42331%2E3399430%2EH3zyHj
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. George E. Barnhill Letter to Glynn County Police Department. NYT. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/245949?t=17&akid=42331%2E3399430%2EH3zyHj
10. Ibid.
11. "Status of Liberty County Jury Trials." Liberty County Office of the Clerk of Courts. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/245954?t=19&akid=42331%2E3399430%2EH3zyHj
12.#iRunwithMaud. Our Prism. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/245950?t=21&akid=42331%2E3399430%2EH3zyHj
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid.
15. "Glynn County police chief, 3 ex-officers booked into jail." News 4 Jax. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/245952?t=23&akid=42331%2E3399430%2EH3zyHj16. "Legislation first step to abolishing county police department." The Brunswick News. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/245953?t=25&akid=42331%2E3399430%2EH3zyHj
17. #iRunwithMaud. Our Prism. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/245950?t=27&akid=42331%2E3399430%2EH3zyHj

*** 

          

From the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe:

As a further update, the hearing that was originally scheduled for May 7, 2020 for the preliminary injunction against the Department of the Interior (DOI) to halt its efforts to disestablish the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe's reservation, has been pushed to Wednesday, May 20, 2020.

The hearing will be held via video conference with public access available through the Court's public teleconference. Notably, for now, the DOI has agreed to extend the Tribe's Land in Trust status until June 5. 

Until that time, your efforts directed to Senator Hoeven, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, asking him to support the Tribe's pending legislation (HR312, the Mashpee Wampanoag Reservation Reaffirmation Act) will be especially helpful.  Here again is a script you can use:

My name is __________ and I reside at ____________ in [City], [State].  I am a proud supporter of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and am calling to voice my strong opposition to Secretary Bernhardt’s recent directive to disestablish the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation and to ask Congress to act quickly to enact HR 312 -- the Mashpee Wampanoag Reservation Reaffirmation Act.  

They are the first peoples of this land and extended their hands to the European settlers in peace and friendship. I am calling to urge Senator Hoeven to lead the effort to protect their Reservation from being disestablished on his watch.      

I urge Chairman Hoeven to take the steps needed to pass the bi-partisan legislation, HR 312, that already has been passed by the House and now awaits Senate action. 

I want to ensure that my message reaches the ears of Senator Hoeven and is shared with the rest of the Senate Committee for Indian Affairs. Thank you. 

To call: (202-224-2551)
To email:  send to both

1.  Mike_Andrews@indian.senate.gov 

2.  https://www.hoeven.senate.gov/contact/email-the-senator

With gratitude and hope for a positive outcome.

***

From Beyond the Bomb

In the midst of a global pandemic, we need stable leadership more than ever. President Trump’s handling of the crisis has been unsettling, to say the least. Now is not the time for him to be beefing with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Take Action: Don’t Fire Fauci!

Trump’s coronavirus task force certainly isn’t the most inspiring, but Dr. Fauci is an experienced health expert who knows what he’s talking about more than anyone else in the administration. His expertise in this time of national and global crisis cannot be taken for granted.

That’s why it’s especially concerning that Trump recently retweeted a post with the hashtag #FireFauci in it. As a result, we’ve joined a number of other organizations to endorse a Daily Kos petition urging Trump not to fire Dr. Fauci.

The COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated the inequalities already present in our country. Communities that have been exposed to radiation from nuclear weapons production and testing , like Navajo Nation, are already more susceptible to contracting coronavirus. Thus, unstable leadership on the coronavirus task force directly impacts the health of these communities. We’re ensuring that communities have the care they need during this time, and that’s why we’re calling on Trump to not fire Dr. Fauci. 

Please join us to demand that Trump not cut ties with Dr. Fauci, arguably the most competent member of the administration’s coronavirus task force. 
 
In solidarity,
Tristan and the Beyond the Bomb team

...And I Feel Fine

(It's the End of the World as We Know It)

...And I Feel Fine

by C.A. Matthews

Sometimes it just feels like everyone is on the same page. This is one of those times. Just about every podcast I listened to, every article I read, every Facebook discussion I stumbled upon this week shared the same topic. This has to be the universe telling me--all of us, really--that this is something important.  We're all on the same page, at the same time for a purpose, and we need to cooperate to bring about its fruition.

What is this purpose? Why, it's the end of the world as we know it.

Immediately, the chorus of the R.E.M. song starts playing in your head: "It's the end of the world as we know it...and I feel fine."

https://youtu.be/Z0GFRcFm-aY

You know what? I do.

I feel fine that our world is experiencing a strong paradigm shift. It's about time. Sure, it's sad that hundreds of thousands (if not millions) are dying, have died and will die of a horrible virus during a pandemic, but perhaps these are the only conditions that can shake humankind up enough to admit the old ways have to die so that the entirety of humanity may live.

This harsh new reality is particularly necessary for Americans. We are experts in self-delusion. We love to fool ourselves into thinking that everything will be all right, that we can trust our leaders, that "We are the best country on Earth!" If recent events haven't exposed the man behind the curtain to be an immoral ignoramus of unspeakable proportions, then what will? Our fellow citizens drinking bleach because said ignoramus told the American public during a press conference that pouring U.V. light and disinfectant into your body may cure COVID-19? 

Oops! They already have. This false worship of "Our president, right or wrong!" has got to go before anyone else gets hurt.

But the major un-brainwashing task that Americans, and most Westerners, need to undergo is clinging to the silly notion that somehow capitalism is the superior economic model, and it will eventually save us from our self-destructive ways. If your neighbors hoarding toilet paper and Trump pedaling an ineffective (if not downright deadly) anti-malarial drug he owns stock in to cure the coronavirus doesn't convince you of the evils of capitalism, then nothing will. (But the following song could help.)

 
https://youtu.be/oMG7DW0iHEI

A system that rewards the rich with more material wealth at the expense (and oftentimes the death) of the poor isn't "superior" by a long shot. In fact, it's nothing but pure bullshit. 

It's time to break out of this abusive relationship with capitalism and finally admit it: Capitalism never really loved We the People in the first place. It doesn't care whether we live or die so long as we keep buying worthless crap and making the billionaires muchos buckolas forever. It has always been about protecting the select few, the elites of our society. It was never about us.

Sure, "a rising tide carries all boats," but when the tsunami of a pandemic hits, it becomes more than obvious that the "tide" of capitalism is capsizing and sinking the vast majority of us "boats." How else do you explain 17 million unemployed Americans, many with no way to afford medical treatment during a time of mass illness?

The rising tide of capitalism has always been about how the rich will float above the rest of us in their luxury yachts while we simply drown. It's time to blow the f*cking yachts of the elite out of the water so we can all enjoy a swim, free and open to all and not just the so-called privileged classes, don't you think?

Once the true ugliness of our corrupt economic system and the elitist-driven government whose immoral practices it upholds are exposed, the true healing of the Earth and all its people can begin. In fact, many environmental experts claim that it is impossible under capitalism to maintain and provide a healthy planet for human beings and other lifeforms. A system that allows Big Oil companies to continue to frack, drill, pollute and suck the life's blood from the planet (while the price of a barrel of crude oil crashes to less than $0)
demonstrates beyond a shadow of a doubt that capitalism is more about death and profiteering than life and building a future for all to thrive in.

It's time. Let's allow capitalism and fascism to die now so we can get on with truly living and not simply surviving. 

I'll feel fine watching the bonfire of MAGA caps go up in flames as we burn the whole sick and twisted motherf*cker to the ground. Pass the marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers... It's going to be one hell of a conflagration. And then we'll all feel fine.

 

Planet of the Humans is a great documentary that clearly shows how capitalism is killing our planet (and us along with it). It's now available free online at You Tube and is a must see. Clear a couple of hours from your schedule so you can watch it uninterrupted, and I promise it will open your eyes. (Be sure to have a tissue for the last scene. It'll have you in tears.) https://youtu.be/Zk11vI-7czE

Related links to check out:

How To Start A Successful Strike During Crisis
https://youtu.be/Y3UeVTxZHC8

Pandemic is Not Just a Crisis, It's a Gift
https://consortiumnews.com/2020/04/23/lee-camp-pandemic-is-not-just-a-crisis-its-also-a-gift/?mc_cid=05feff046f&mc_eid=f9a8f47491 

Trump Goes Peak Batshit Crazy Urging UV Irradiation and Chlorine Injections and Cable TV Greedily Broadcasts It
https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/62580-focus-trump-goes-peak-batshit-crazy-urging-uv-irradiation-and-chlorine-injections-and-cable-tv-greedily-broadcasts-it

Trump Suggests Injecting Disinfectant as Coronavirus Cure (video)
https://youtu.be/zicGxU5MfwE

The End of An Empire (video)
https://youtu.be/-zfbrMPe63o 

UHM Coronavirus Update (video)
https://youtu.be/v7HIaqorIeE 

In-depth interview with Chris Hedges (from The Jimmy Dore Show)
https://youtu.be/zpa7GR-EyF0 

***

Make no mistake-- we are living in unprecedented times. Millions of Americans have filed for unemployment. Students and teachers are struggling to continue the school year online. Cities across the country are sheltering in place to slow the spread of Covid-19. Families are wondering where their next meal will come from. Some don’t have a place to call home. Many of you know someone who has been affected by Coronavirus and are concerned about your own health. 

The bottom line is: people are hurting. And the last thing we need to worry about is making rent.
 
That’s why we’re calling for a national rent strike. Covid-19 has made it clear that “business as usual” is far from what we need going forward. This pandemic has shed a light on this country’s many failings-- from racial disparities, to inadequate access to healthcare, wage inequality, unprotected rights for workers, and unaffordable housing. It’s time to be bold and fight for real, long-lasting change.

Take the pledge now

Whether you can afford your rent/mortgage payment this month or not, take the pledge to withhold your payment on May 1st. Many cities across the country have eviction moratoriums in place, but that is not enough. Families and individuals living paycheck to paycheck will not be able to afford months of owed rent when the moratoriums are lifted, which is why experts are predicting an even worse housing crisis post-pandemic. 

We need to act now. Housing and advocacy organizations including ACRE are coming together to help organize the biggest rent strike in recent history. Nearly a third of Americans didn’t pay rent on April 1st, and the numbers are only expected to climb once rent is due again in May. Take the pledge and join the next wave of rent strikers.
 

Join the rent strike

The time to take a stand is now. Over the next few days, we’ll be collecting stories from local rent strike leaders, zip codes from all who are striking or planning to strike, and resources from housing organizations and experts. It will all be compiled in a centralized location for easy access and to show our elected officials, corporate landlords, and big banks, that the strength in our collective struggle is greater than the sum of its parts. 

In solidarity always,

Maurice BP-Weeks and the ACRE team

PS - We rely on you to produce our ground-breaking reports that help inform movements on the ground. Want us to continue to hold Wall Street and big banks accountable? Please donate and join the fight! 

***

The United States is facing a massive public health crisis. As states respond to the shortages, strained budgets, and discordant responses in providing care to their constituents, national priorities demonstrate a lack of understanding of what Americans really need.

It’s time to rethink our national priorities and prepare for real threats like pandemics. One way to do this is divert the billions of dollars that are currently fueling the nuclear arms race.

Will you write a Letter to the Editor calling on the U.S. to shift its priorities?

Instead of building up our dangerous nuclear arsenal — which only puts the world more at risk — we need true leaders who will focus on healthcare, education, infrastructure, and other life-affirming services.

In 2019, the United States spent $35.1 billion on nuclear weapons. Imagine that money being redirected to the COVID-19 response or preparedness. According to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, one year of U.S. nuclear weapons spending would pay for 300,000 beds in intensive care units, 35,000 ventilators, and the salaries of 150,000 U.S. nurses and 75,000 U.S. doctors.

Write a Letter to the Editor

We cannot go back to business as usual after the pandemic. This crisis has proven what we’ve been saying all along — the system is unsustainable and we need to shift our priorities.

In solidarity,
Colleen and the Beyond the Bomb team

***

As an Iranian-American, I worry every day about my family and the people of Iran. Will you help call on Congress to pressure Trump? Already, there is a lot of momentum. Senators Feinstein, Sanders, and Warren, and Reps Ocasio-Cortez, Pressley, Omar and others have raised their voices. Now is the moment to escalate. Please act.

Between the sanctions and the pandemic, there is a medical catastrophe in Iran. As an Iranian-American, I worry every day about my family and the people of Iran. My two nieces are doctors in Iran and they tell me that many health workers in the Iranian hospitals lack personal protection equipment. Medicine is scarce, there is a shortage of disposable parts such as ventilator tubes, and the ventilators are overused and breaking down. Medical equipment cannot be replaced and ventilator parts and connectors cannot be bought due to the sanctions. There have been some international donations, but these donations are not nearly enough because Iran has a population of 83 million, and is the most affected country in the Middle East. 

That’s why we MUST call for an end to U.S. sanctions.

Before COVID-19, sanctions were already hurting the most vulnerable Iranians—the poor, the sick, the marginalized. Take cancer medication, for example. The chemo medicines that are available in hospitals are low quality and the side effects, like nausea, are extreme. I know this only too well because I lost my sister to cancer. Her children had to buy chemo meds on the black market and carry them in iceboxes to the hospital for their mother. These medicines are extremely expensive, which means that many people are not even able to buy them on the black market.

I think that my sister’s cancer, like thousands of Iranians, was also related to the sanctions. The rate of cancer in Iran has increased significantly, mainly because Iranians are breathing air that has ten to eight hundred times more toxins than the international standard. That is because the sanctions have prevented the Iranian state from sending crude oil to be refined outside. As a result, the state has created home-grown technologies that produce extremely poor quality gasoline. 

Now, the sanctions are killing the Iranian people even faster, because of the Corona pandemic. Tell your Senators and Representative in Congress to join the growing voices — including Dianne Feinstein, Bernie Sanders, AOC, Ayanna Pressley and Ilhan Omar — demanding U.S. sanctions on Iran be lifted. 

Even though the Trump administration claims that medicine and medical equipment are exempt from the sanctions, in reality most pharmaceutical companies, as well as banks, insurance companies, and shipping companies, do not do business with Iran because they fear penalization by the U.S. 

From the need for cleaner air and cancer medicines to the COVID-19 pandemic, sanctions on Iran MUST be lifted. Contact Congress right now and tell them to add their voices to this urgent call. 

The sanctions are not helping the Iranian people’s legitimate protests against austerity measures and the rise in gas prices. If anything, they hurt the social movements and set their achievements back. The sanctions are war by another name. During war, the state deploys the rhetoric of national security to accuse protesters of collusion with the U.S. The Iranian people are caught between the appropriation of the Iranian protests by the opportunistic U.S. hawks and opposition groups such as MEK, and the Iranian state’s crackdown of the protests in the name of national security. The U.S. claims that the sanctions help the Iranian people’s freedom is paradoxical at best. How can the U.S. promote rights and democratization in Iran while depriving the Iranian people of the basic right to food and life-saving medicine? And how can one advocate for human rights but be in favor of sanctions during a pandemic? 

Iran is certainly no model of democracy, but then neither is the United States. During this pandemic, we see more clearly than before how race and class determine who is most exposed to the virus and who has access to affordable healthcare. The level of houselessness, mass incarceration (the U.S. has 5% of the world population and 25% of world’s prisoner population), the ICE detention centers,  the historic and present-day violence against indigenous peoples, police violence against black communities, and lack of universal healthcare are all reasons why the U.S. is not in the position to impose sanctions on other states for the violation of human rights. Historically, the U.S. is the only country that has dropped nuclear bombs, and its ally Israel has never signed the non-proliferation treaty. Yet, the U.S. imposes sanctions on Iran based on the claim that the Iranian state is developing nuclear weapons. We saw that this claim was false in the case of Iraq. The sanctions in Iraq killed more than 500,000 Iraqis. Now the Iranian people (and not the state) are paying with their lives for the unjust U.S. sanctions. 

Right now, the moral issue is clear: Sanctions and the coronavirus are killing the Iranian people. We must urge Congress to speak out and pressure the Trump administration to lift the sanctions. Ending sanctions will not only help Iranians get jobs, open businesses, have access to food, clean water, clean air, and life-saving medicine, but it will open more space for civil society movements — women’s movement, student movement, labor movement, environmental justice movement — to push for the changes they want to see. You can help them achieve their goals by asking your representatives to lift the deadly sanctions on Iran.

Towards peace and health in Iran, Sima Shakhsari, Assistant Professor of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies, University of Minnesota