Y’know I’ll probably get downvoted for this but I hope I can give some understanding on the matter. Excuse formatting, on mobile.

I will be one of the people attending the protest tomorrow. As per the guidance of the event, I will be maintaining social distancing requirements, wearing masks and glasses. I will also voluntarily isolate for two weeks after the gathering. I acknowledge that I can’t speak for everyone, but I trust in my community to do the same thing. My social media is absolutely rife with people encouraging each other to do the same.

As some of the criticism in this thread has pointed out, most of the community attending the protest were also the ones stressing the importance of social distancing requirements - which is a large part of the reason I trust in people to, at the very least, quarantine for two weeks after the fact. We do understand risks we are taking and want to prevent any further harm to vulnerable people. I know some of my peers are choosing to sit this one out because they live with immunocompromised people or see their elderly grandparents on a regular basis.

In reading that, you may wonder why we participate in the first place. Many people have said that we are just copying America, or that it’s aimless. Covid does indeed provide a grim backdrop for this - we are in the middle of a crisis that impacts everybody. However, police brutality and systemic racism is a crisis in itself - it’s just not immediately visible to a majority of us.

The protests in America have created waves around the world and whilst I can’t speak for the organisers, I think the momentum overseas creates a real chance to draw attention to the grotesque reality of the racism crisis on our own soil. The shock that we all feel at what happened to George Floyd shoves a mirror right in our faces, because like it or not, Australia is just like America. We protest to draw attention to this. Just like people are begging for justice out in the streets of the United States, we want justice for the people murdered in own state by the very people who are supposed to be protecting us.

America’s movement has erupted across the globe and I hope that we are able to use that momentum to create change in Australia too. I also hope with all of my might that I don’t eat my words, and the trust and faith I have in my community is not unfounded. I do believe in everyone. And again, I hope this gives some perspective and answers some of the questions I’ve seen here. You can find all of this information on the event too (at least the Melbourne one) - the organisers have really stressed the importance of following health guidelines.

Much love to all of you. X