Setting deep roots of compassion is the only way for the global family to grow, writes sociology professor Renu Persaud.
Curing the epidemic of hate and racism is our greatest challenge, says sociology professor Renu Persaud.
She uses the COVID-19 pandemic as a metaphor to explore the issue in an opinion piece published June 3 by Thrive Global.
“Unlike the biological virus that attacks the respiratory system, the infection of hate mangles the mind. It is steeped in suffocation,” Dr. Persaud writes. “Both diseases attack the sensation to simply inhale and exhale blocking air flow. Physically, ventilators enable the ill to artificially breathe and manage damage to the lungs, prolonging lives.
“But there is no artificial management for the breathlessness of hatred.”
She notes that nations banded together to fight COVID-19, combining efforts to search for preventative measures and treatments.
“Just imagine if all the stipulations we’ve put in place to be safe and remain healthy from the COVID-19 pandemic were directed to fight the hate epidemic all around us,” Persaud says. “What would the world look like in such a fight?”