Domestic Violence and Metaphysics

Abstract

As of 9 March 2020, the 2019—20 Australian bushfire season known as the 'black summer' devastated an estimated 18.6 million hectares and killed one billion animals, driving several species to extinction. One month later, 900/0 of the world's human population found themselves in some form of lockdown in response to the global zoonotic novel coronavirus pandemic, provoking a marked statistical increase in domestic violence. 13 March, Breonna Taylor shot to death in her own apartment in Louisville in a home invasion by police. 25 May, the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis provokes mass protests against the killing of yet another black person by police, causing many to forego social distancing measures, leaving the safety of their homes and taking to the streets against systemic racism, particularly its institutionalization in what Blanchot, in one of his final writings, called l'intolérable répression policiére. On the side of the American Right, mask-wearing and distancing regulations became politicized by way of a newfound appreciation for 'bodily autonomy'.