Moment of the whirlwind
A moment of the whirlwind is a rupture with the normal workings of society resulting in a wave of new activist waters for a cause or movement. At such times, it is useful for a movement to have established a retention plan in order to absorb active supporters. Moments of the whirlwind constitute social crises that can be consciously perpetrated by social movements. -Mark and Paul Engler [1]
Examples of moment of the whirlwind
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Disposability discourse |
Much discussion around the severity of COVID was lessened by expressing how it mainly sickens and kills elderly, chronically ill, and disabled people. This discourse suggests these groups are seen disposable. |
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Loosened restrictions too early |
When governments loosened COVID restrictions in response to business demands, political pressure, and public impatience, rather than scientific evidence, high risk populations (the chronically ill, disabled and elderly) were subsequently told they are disposable yet again. |
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Working through illness |
Regulations around how many sick days should be required when someone falls ill with COVID also demonstrated ableism. In relation to these regulations, and in favour of profit above health, many politicians including US President Joe Biden, praised themselves for working through COVID, instead of encouraging people to rest and recover if they'd fallen ill. |
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Individualism |
Individuals have been encouraged to make 'personal' choices on vaccines (without legitimate health restrictions), masks and gatherings. "There is no individual safety without collective safety and collective safety requires that no one is safe unless everyone is safe." - Mia Mingus [2] |
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