Last night, I sent out a tweet. Like most of my tweets, it probably wasn’t read by too many people, but it got me thinking, and I wanted to speak to this metaphor a bit more.
Since the pandemic started, I have heard and seen people stating that we’re all in the same boat. These comments seem to come from wealthy people who, aside from being asked not to socialize, aren’t being hit with the economic side effects of COVID-19.
Are we all in the same boat? Yes, but the boat is sinking, and some people are refusing to accept this fact because “The Titanic is unsinkable!”
Are we all in the same boat? Yes, but the 1% are safely life boats only filled to half capacity when we already don’t have the resources available to save everyone.
Are we all in the same boat? Yes, but some of us know we have a spot saved on the next life boat, and some know they will need to find some way to survive in the water and hope that help comes in time.
Are we all in the same boat? Yes, but for some it’s a moderate inconvenience, while for others it means death.
“We’re all in the same boat” doesn’t mean we are all going through the same crisis, and it shouldn’t be used to erase privilege or downplay what others are going through.