Pandemic of Ignorance
2020
During the protest against the stay-at-home order at the Wisconsin State Capitol, you could hear the agitation in the voices of the speakers and the crowd’s responses. One woman detailed how a physician misdiagnosed her with Covid-19, causing her to be separated from her family. A preacher expressed frustration that the church was not considered essential. The owner of a tattoo shop aired his grievances that Wal-Mart was open for business but businesses whose livelihoods depended on community commerce were forced to remain closed. I could empathise with some of their sentiments. People were coming close to losing things that were important, and protest was the only way they could fight back against their perceived oppression. Citizens acting as makeshift security guards in full tactical gear brandished their guns in a show of their second amendment rights. American flags and Trump 2020 banners abounded as the people demanded that the state be reopened for business. But under the shadows that the flags cast, there was a sense of fear. Fear that this persecution was the first step in a total government takeover. Fear that there was some knowledge being hidden about this so-called virus that had suddenly swept across the world. And, most justifiably, a fear that things may never return to normal.
Kenechi Unachukwu is a freelance photographer currently based in Madison, Wisconsin.
As he develops his style, he aims both to tell stories that have not been told and to offer a fresh perspective on the things we see every day.
