I am not an individual who abides too much argument, an offshoot of becoming mostly content with my current life situation. I’ve created a nice niche for myself, as I’m currently thriving at my full-time customer service job, effortlessly learning the ropes at my part-time laboratory job, and presently earning more money than at any point in my previous forty-four years. The list of goals inscribed on a piece of paper and taped to my bedroom wall twelve years ago have all been checked off. And if you were to take the time to perform a google search of my name, you’ll discover that I’m a published author, a portion of a long gestating dream fulfilled.
I don’t want anything to disturb the balance that I’ve spent almost two decades bringing into fruition. So, I endeavor to keep my opinions on politics and current events to myself, except for when I spit knowledge about these topics on my Medium blog.
But with the introduction of the covid-19 vaccine and the spread of subsequent vaccine mandates across the country, discussions of current events have seeped into the workplace. This is especially true of my work area, the laboratory client services department, which is populated by five people of varying ages, races, genders, and experience levels. Three of us have been fully vaccinated, one is skeptical, and another is dead set against getting jabbed.
One afternoon, as the remaining three in our department made ready to leave the office, I made the mistake of mentioning the upcoming(probable) vaccine mandate for Colorado school children, a cohort of students ranging from twelve to seventeen years in age.
One of us is a single mother of a teenaged boy, answering to the name of Georgia. Georgia, a young black woman of considerable intelligence, made her displeasure with a vaccine mandate very clear: “They are going to have to go through me before they put any of that corrupt stuff inside of one of my kids.”
Corrupt stuff, I thought. That is kind of a harsh characterization for a vaccine that was created to save the lives of our fellow citizens.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Sounds like they just want the people to be safe.”
Georgia was disbelieving: “How do we know that kids who get the vaccine will be safe?”
“Well, millions of people have been jabbed with the needle, and only a tiny portion of the people who have received the vaccine have had any side effects.”
Sheila is one of the newest members of our client services department, but she is the most advanced in age. She had been hesitant to get the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, fearing their effects on her genetic material(MRNA). So, after spending time researching the available vaccines, she’d opted for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, thinking it the safest of the three available choices.
“But what about the breakthrough cases, Eze?” asked Sheila. “I’m not anti-vaccine since I’ve gotten since the jab, but there have been a lot of news about these breakthrough cases. You know, a lot of vaccinated people are making it more dangerous for the unvaccinated.”
Flummoxed by Sheila’s inverted reasoning, I shook my head and said, “How are the vaccinated making it more dangerous for the unvaccinated?”
“Because,” said Sheila, “They’re doing everything they want to do now, while bein unmasked. And I bet they’re not washing their hands the right way. They’re going to bars and ball games without masks, not thinking about the people who have not gotten the vaccine.”
My left temple was throbbing. I’d become more allergic to inverse reasoning over time, a common reference for theories offered MAGA (Make America Great Americans) supporters and anti-vaxxers. But I didn’t think Sheila was a part of the MAGA crew, as she was a fervent critic of Donald Trump, and she’d gotten a jab in the arm recently. So what was up with her?
While rubbing my left temple, I turned to Sheila and said, “Even if you believe that, your argument points to the very pressing need of the vaccine. People who get the vaccine are less likely to end up in the hospital. In fact, ninety-nine percent of Covid-19 hospital cases are unvaccinated. So, people should get vaccinated.”
Georgia screwed her mouth to the side and said, “That still doesn’t give anyone the right to mandate it.”
“Nope. The government does have a right to mandate a vaccine if public health is threatened. And in the case of Covid-19, public health is threatened. The Supreme Court has ruled on this.”
Georgia turned off her computer, wrapped her coat around her left forearm, and pushed her chair forward. “Why do you have to worry about my health? Let me worry about what’s going on with me. I mean, if I die then I die.”
I wheeled around in my chair until I was facing Georgia. “I’m not worried about you. It’s really not all about you.” I inhaled a breath. “That’s what a lot of people are not understanding. It’s not about one single person, it is about the health of the general population. We need society to be healthy because it helps the economy get better, for one. And I want my mom, who is sixty-eight years old by the way, to be healthy, and to not have to worry about whether or not to go outside anymore.”
“I’m going to go,” said Georgia, as she made her way towards the doors. “To be continued tomorrow.”
Not too long after Georgia exited the premises, Sheila called my name, prompting a barely audible groan from me. I girded myself for what I was about to hear.
I turned to face her. “Yeah?”
“What about this?” asked Sheila. “You know they’re using the mandate to exclude people from restaurants, bars, and gyms. Don’t you think that it’s prejudicial and unconstitutional to do that?”
I sighed and said, “I wouldn’t say it’s prejudicial. And private businesses are allowed to exclude certain people if they are a danger to the business. They are following the law.”
“It’s just not right. I mean, just because it is the law doesn’t mean it is right. Slavery used to be the law and it wasn’t right either.”
I had the swallow the urge the scream at the top of my lungs, because I am a black man in a corporate office, standing six-feet two inches and weighing two hundred and fifty pounds. Still, I knew that I had to offer a rejoinder to Sheila’s unfortunate comparison of vaccine mandates and slavery, and I had to be firm when I spoke.
“Don’t compare a vaccine mandate to slavery,” I replied. “They are not the same. People still have a choice as to whether or not to take a vaccine. Slaves didn’t have choice. They were born black and born into bondage, and without the kind of agency that you and I currently enjoy.”
“But vaccine mandates are the same thing as slavery,” Sheila said, unbowed. Unvaccinated people are being oppressed and discriminated against by society, all because they don’t want to take a vaccine. These mandates get in the way of people having control over their bodies. They’re not being given a choice, and their freedoms are being taken away from them.”
“They are being given a simple choice. Either get the vaccine or be denied privileges. Once again, slaves were not afforded any choice, apart from submitting to their masters or opting for maiming and murder for disobedience. Nobody is going to slash your back with a whip or cut your feet off at the ankle if you decide not to get jabbed with a tiny needle injection. A needle is not a brand.”
“I’m sorry Eze, but I do not agree with you.”
I peeked at the circular clock situated above the entrance. It was 5:10 pm, well past time for me to begin my second shift. I abruptly stood up and shut down my computer. On my way to the door, I pushed out a ‘good-bye’ to Sheila.
***
The next morning Sheila approached my desk, and told me she had been unable to sleep the previous night. Her eyes were bloodshot and her skin sagged more than usual.
“I’m so sorry, Eze,” Sheila said. “I should have never done it. I should have never compared vaccines to slavery. That was stupid of me.”
“Thank you for listening,” I said.
“We’re still friends?”
“Of course we are,” I said, reaching toward her with both arms, prompting a vigorous embrace.
***
Sheila was lucky that she hadn’t broached the topic of slavery and vaccines with my sister, who said that I should have filed a complaint with the human resources department. Perhaps I should have heeded her advice, but I didn’t want to be a part of all that drama.
I am not the descendent of slaves. My father was born and raised in Amaigbo, Nigeria, and fought in the war for independence — the Biafra War — staged in his ancestral home. However, I’m still a black man, often hated and discriminated against in America, and so, I enjoy an unspoken kinship with my contemporary black American contemporaries, many of whom are the descendants of slaves. I’m pretty sure that the majority black Americans would feel the same way as I do about slavery and vaccine mandates.
In fact, I’m pretty sure that a lot of white people, a significant amount of whom are descendants of slave owners, would agree with me too.
It’s pretty simple. You should never compare the practice of slavery with a vaccine mandate. Vaccine mandates are instituted to protect the overall greater good of society, to ensure the safety and prosperity of all citizens, and protect the most vulnerable from sickness and death. Slavery’s implementation promoted the exact opposite response. The slave trade killed millions of Africans, mired generations of their progeny in abject poverty and misery, and robbed them of culture, agency, and self-determination.
They are not in any way comparable.