When we want farmworkers to use sunscreen to prevent cancer, we can talk about their health individually, but this doesn't reach them.

https://autodefesasanitaria.substack.com/p/todos-estamos-en-riesgo

Because the reason skin cancer isn't prevented in workers who are constantly in the sun is because we belong to an oppressed class. And this is what we must expose. In this way, we not only point to the common oppressor (the bourgeoisie) but also give us the opportunity to act as a community (the oppressed). Capitalism individualizes workers, so it won't be individualism that frees us from its logic. The master's tools won't dismantle the master's house.

While communities and countries in the global majority are already facing the brunt of the effects of environmental degradation and climate change, the perception of personal risk is driving more people to action, as climate change is seen as a collective risk.

We are all, in some way, at risk, and when this risk is perceived collectively, joint action is needed. Moreover, when risk is seen as shared, people tend not to take as much responsibility for their own hardships.

But risk perceptions are not always accurate. More people are at risk of homelessness than one might think. A hurricane or other disaster exacerbated by capitalism could leave us homeless.

Propaganda from states, corporations, the media, and other key actors significantly influences how risk is perceived. It is useful to analyze what factors change people's perceptions of their own realities and what forces they perceive as responsible for protecting them from those risks.

Disaster is a factor that often transforms risk perceptions from individual to collective. In environmental disasters, the impacts are often seen as something that is not the fault of the individual. Therefore, the risk is collective and requires a collective response.

In the case of the COVID pandemic, we saw how capitalism tried to prolong individualism as much as possible; racism against the Chinese was used to divide us from what was happening; even today, there are still people who blame them.

Before March 2020, politicians around the world reinforced the idea that the virus “only” affected certain groups; they used the disabled to downplay its importance, and some added the elderly and the obese as part of this “vulnerable” group. Capitalism has spent years propagating the idea that anyone who cannot work is useless. With the COVID pandemic, we saw in real time how they exploited this sentiment to the fullest extent. And when did they finally act? When they had no other choice.

And even then, they spread misinformation about aerosols, telling lies such as that children couldn't get COVID, and, of course, the enormous fallacy they had been building for years: that infections don't make you “stronger.” It's no coincidence that “work will make you rich” and “infections will make you strong” are so similar: the meritocracy of work is being transferred to the meritocracy of health.

The view of risk as a collective is crucial for public communication strategies regarding COVID. It's not just about appealing to people's self-interest, but about reorienting our perspective on fragility and solidarity.

How many pandemics would we have if workers were the ones in power? Can you imagine what we could do if science were no longer hijacked by capitalism and were at our service?

If the working class produces everything, then everything belongs to us. Let's not allow the state to convince us which lives are less valuable.

#MaskUp #WearAMask #CovidRealist #CovidIsAirbone #LongCovid #YallMasking #DisabledLiberation #DisabilityJustice #HealthSelfDefense

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