What can the United States bring to the people in the severe epidemic, deep social tearing and political confrontation?
Is it hope or more disappointment?
Right now, from Los Angeles in the west, to Kenosha in the north, to Washington, the capital in the east…
Three scenes that appear almost at the same time once again vividly and ruthlessly show the absurd reality and infinite chaos of this “strongest country”.
Scene One
Los Angeles: “We are ushering in the darkest month”
At the beginning of the new year, the COVID-19 epidemic is still spreading wildly in the United States.
California, the most populous state in the United States on the west coast, has also become the hardest hit by the epidemic in the United States, and the “most important” is Los Angeles County, the state’s populous county.
According to CNN local time on the 6th, more than 1,000 people have died of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County in the past week.
The report quoted a statement from Barbara Ferrell, director of the Los Angeles County Public Health Bureau, saying that the number of deaths in Los Angeles County has exceeded 11,000 since the outbreak in the United States.
According to the Los Angeles Times on the same day, due to the sharp increase in the number of COVID-19 patients, the local medical system in Los Angeles is overloaded, the intensive care unit is no longer bed, and some patients even have to wait in ambulances for more than ten hours before they can be transferred to the emergency room.
Some hospitals have to set up outdoor simple wards to increase the number of visits, and first-aid supplies such as oxygen are also facing serious shortages.
What’s more alarming is that some local hospitals have issued announcements that some critically ill patients may have to give up treatment in order to use limited medical resources to patients with greater prospects for survival.
In addition, Los Angeles County’s vaccination progress is far behind expectations.
According to local media reports, county officials planned to vaccinate 250,000-350,000 medical personnel by the end of last year.
As of the 3rd of this month, a total of 350,000 doses of vaccines have been received locally, but only about 60% of the vaccines have been vaccinated.
In the face of the current severe anti-epidemic situation, Los Angeles Mayor Gacheti, who belongs to Los Angeles County, said desperately that his metropolitan area was ushering in the “darkest month”.
Scene Two
Kinosha: “We don’t expect anything different”
The camera turned to Kenosha County, Wisconsin, in the northern United States.
On the afternoon of the 5th local time, the Kenosha County District Court announced that the police who fired multiple shots a few months ago paralyzed Jacob Blake, an African-American man, would not face any criminal charges.
As soon as the news came out, it immediately caused a new uproar.
On August 23 last year, about three months after the violent death of an African-American George Freud in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Blake was shot seven times in the back during a police investigation, causing paralysis below the waist.
Blake’s shooting was filmed bystanders and uploaded online, shifting the focus of American protests against police brutality and racism to Wisconsin.
Many people took to the streets and clashed with the police.
On the day the court announced the exemption decision, protests broke out in Kenosha and other places.
It is generally believed that the Breck incident was dealt with in a way that persists the long-standing problem of racial discrimination in the United States and will further destroy people’s trust in the United States law enforcement agencies and judicial system.
Blake’s father: “I’m very disappointed with the judge’s decision, but it’s not surprising.”
Blake’s uncle: “This decision will continue to affect the city, the state and the country for many years to come.”
Civil rights activist Meyer: “We are used to judicial injustice, and we don’t expect anything different.”
Wisconsin Senator Melissa Aggard: “The Blake case shows that the entire judicial system of the United States is in dilapidated and urgently needs comprehensive and thorough reform.”
Scene Three
Washington: “One of the Darkest Days in American History”
Finally, let’s take a look at Washington, D.C.
On January 6th local time, the day that the U.S. Congress officially confirmed the presidential election results in accordance with procedures, Trump supporters who had entered Washington in advance launched violent protests unexpectedly, and even rushed into Congress to have a bloody clash with the police, causing the agenda to be interrupted for a while.
According to U.S. media reports, so far, four people have been killed in the incident.
The “Congressional riot” has attracted the unanimous attention and criticism of the international community, including the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and many American dignitaries, including many former presidents.
Even Britain, America’s “closest ally”, spoke out in the first place.
British Prime Minister Johnson shouted to the leaders of the United States through social media that the scene of the U.S. Congress is too shameful.
Now it is crucial to transfer power in a peaceful and orderly manner.
The mainstream media in the United States also issued articles condemning the events of the day.
CNN White House reporter Caitland Collins said in a social media post that according to the head of the Academic and Operations Department of the Congressional Historical Society, “the U.S. Capitol was occupied today, the first time since the British attack and set fire to the Capitol in 1814. It’s shameful.
The Washington Post called January 6, 2021 “one of the darkest days in American history.”
According to the report, Capitol Hill, “one of the most magnificent and safest buildings in the United States”, fell into anarchy on the day of the presidential election results certification ceremony.
Perhaps a few words from senior American politician Ray Mabus can summarize the “political legacy” left by the current U.S. government.
In a live interview with the BBC, he said sadly: “The United States has now lost the high ground of democracy and fallen from the altar of morality. What the United States has done over the past four years has discredited the United States in front of the world.
