The pandemic of racism in the United States
David Brooks. Observing from outside what we are now suffering in the United States -the protests, the destruction of statues and monuments, the violence against the police and above all the chaos of the coronavirus pandemic that continues to grow – it would be too easy to think that everything is crazy, that there are no echoes in other countries, and especially that “in my country”, whatever that might be, no such divisions exist because they have been overcome. And that would be a fantasy. A trap of false illusions. There isn’t a place in the world where cultural, social, economic, educational and political differences based on race don’t exist along with the resulting exercise of power by one racial group over another. (more…)
The blood of the innocent
Bernardo Pérez Andreo. Blood is a symbol of life in every culture, since it is the life-giving liquid that runs through our bodies, and without which the existence of most living beings on our planet would not be possible. Its composition gives it this marvellous ability to transport oxygen to our cells and remove CO2 from them, passing it into our lungs to be expelled. This sanguine interchange occurs because of the chemical composition of iron, which exhibits two valence states, which allows it to take on oxygen and deposit it, thus explaining how blood can transport oxygen, why it has its colour, and why it is always linked with life. (more…)
