The world has gone crazy. First Covid-19 with president Donald Trump's inexplicable reactions to it and now the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. These events are just so hard to get your head around. How do you explain them to your kids? What has happened to leadership? What has happened to humanity? Where is Trump to lead from the front on the issue of racism in his country?
As brutal as they are the protests actually give me a little encouragement that humanity isn't completely lost. Watching so many throughout the world stand up against racial prejudice is heart warming. It is crazy that racism even exists in our modern world. It seems like a relic from another era and that is probably what makes it so difficult to understand.
I've had assignments in the US and have good friends who live there and this is not the norm. There are very good people throughout America. They're the ones holding "I Can't Breathe" banners and plaques. They're the ones championing change in a regime steeped in antiquated ideology. It's chaos, but have heart.
And then we are here: New Zealand. Active Covid-19 cases: 1, racism: probably, but we're actively working on it from all sides. We just came through Queen's Birthday Weekend (happy birthday, by the way, Your Highness) and in Dunedin we had calm days with two beautiful clean swells. Winter's bite was definitely acute, but other than that just dreamy days in a glassy ocean with those incredible colours of winter. Sunshine, warmth, waves, dusk glass offs and repeat. So far away from a troubled world. But more and more we're all in this together.
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS Need new surf gear? A board or a new wetsuit? Of course you do! Here's why you should buy local and why your hard-earned is so much better spent on New Zealand made products ...
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