Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM DECEMBER 30, 2020 - JANUARY 5, 2021 UCW 13 COVER STORY In May, America was shocked to her soul as we watched a police officer restraining a man with his knee, and we watched George Floyd pass away. Within days, cities around the country were flooded with well- coordinated protests and riots with the precision of which Iran or ISIS could only have dreamed of. As racial issues boiled, the chain reaction moved to de- fund the police. Governors and mayors allowed police officers to be targeted for wearing a uniform. Community crime rates skyrocketed and again Americans went out and bought more firearms. Many gover- nors continued their enforce- ment with strict COVID measures as many busi- nesses went on life support and died in the name of public health. Protesting was considered a constitutional right, but political rallies were not. ere were plenty of peaceful protests across the county, but many turned violent. Monuments came tumbling down and even a call to tear down Mount Rushmore. Not one protest was reported to be a super-spreader event for COVID. South Dakota appeared on the map with the President using Mount Rushmore as a backdrop for the 4th of July. As the media continued its spread of fear, it was reported that Mount Rushmore would burn due to a planned firework show, and the Stur- gis motorcycle rally would be a super- spreader event, and everyone would die. If these fears had become true, the presidents on Mount Rushmore would have suffered smoke inhalation, and there would be hundreds of thousands of used motorcycles for sale across the country. Again, fear-based speculation. Colleges and universities dismissed classes, but teachers and school of- ficials helped hold marches across the country while trying to rewrite history books. en came the elections. ank God, because we all knew this was going to fix everything. is time America divided by the colors of blue and red. ousands showed up for Trump rallies while Biden con- ducted his campaign, for the most part, in his home. According to the FBI's website, during the month of Novem- ber, they conducted 3,626,335 background checks for firearm purchases. For 2020, it is believed that there are now 5 million new, first-time gun own- ers in the U.S. Per the Biden/Harris website, "Joe Biden knows that gun violence is a pub- lic health epidemic." Mr. Biden uses the Sandy Hook tragedy as his background on guns to save kid's lives, but the truth is that more kids die each year from drownings in their own backyards than from guns. I will leave you with a few things to think about. Last year, my decade in review article said that the five most influential letters in the alphabet was L.G.B.T. & Q. is year, no doubt CO- VID. We know more about 1.4 million people who identify as transgender than we do about the 14.6 mil- lion COVID survivors. Prob- ably most of them (like me), have the antibodies, but all the survivors are told to "wear a mask" so you don't get or spread it. Even for those of us that know we have the anti- bodies; we are told to wear a mask and "do it because it shows other people you care." For COVID survivors who have the antibodies and want to help others, please contact your local Red Cross or plas- ma center. You will do more to help your fellow man than wearing a mask will. Besides, you never know if a friend, family member or even a president will get sick with COVID and need antibodies to help them recover. My prediction this coming year will try your faith and fears. e "Haves" and the "Have Nots," the black vs. white, the red vs. blue will simply be the "We" vs. "ey." Colleges will start shutting down. Brick and mor- tar buildings will dry up. Crime will continue to rise. Unem- ployment will go up. e CO- VID vaccine will bring some new hell that we can't imagine. We will see if the new term of election increases or de- creases our free- doms and liber- ties, and if quiet rebellions lead to open wars. Least I forget - we will have more digital capabilities and tracking than ever with the roll out of 5G and the Internet of ings which will make sure we comply with what- ever we are told. If I had one New Year's wish, I would wish for a ride on a spaceship. I think that it will be safer up there than down here. Happy New Year and may God Bless you and your family. JIM JONES, Contributing Writer. Comments? Editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. 910- 484-6200.