It becomes clear through the initial readings, specifically Poetry as a Weapon for Peaceful Dissent by Regine Cabato, that many see poetry and the subtitle art of literature as a way of revolting and rebelling without attracting direct attention from the powers that be. In Cabato’s initial example it is rebellion against a literal dictator, but in Mia Couto’s An Obliging Robber it is rebellion against social norms or what is expected of people. Poetry, and other literature for that matter, has this way of making the reader think they are following the story of one thing when in reality they are being taught or presented something completely different. In Couto’s story, the reader begins with following the tale of an older man being robbed by a surprisingly polite thief. However, as the short story goes on it becomes obvious that the robber was only a young visitor and the old man was all but over-joyed to have someone come visit. There are moments when the literal seem to be obvious such as when the old man asks his robber to remove his mask, and it isn’t until later that the reader realizes it was a metaphor for the visitor being himself and not putting on a show for the old man. The whole story, such as the robber avoiding staying for too long, looking for things to “steal,” and asking the old man if he is ill, are all mentions that seem to be a robber trying to do his job and remain safe while he plunders. Yet, only moments later when the old man hugs him goodbye, and the robber says he’ll come back next week, is it plain to see this was all a cover for a visitor only coming out of necessity and kindness rather than to actually visit.  The literature slowly feeds the reader one story with a serious meaning, but does so under the guise of something completely different and by the time the reader realizes what they’ve just read, it is too late. This is how poetry acts in rebellion and as a weapon. Even if a viewer is so clear to keep what they read pure to one view, they can read stories and poetry thinking it supports their views until it is too late. Sometimes it takes several read-throughs to reveal the true meaning of the work. In this way literature can cause revolution to the unsuspecting.

With the coming of a global pandemic and a situation in which no one has experience, comes some very odd and unorthodox side-effects. Human rights is no exception in that it too is being affected in ways not planned for or expected. The first and most notable being the closing of borders for the safety of nations. It would go without saying that such an act is done for the benefit of the masses to keep a disease from spreading and yet it has a quite an immediate effect on refugees and immigration, as those who need to seek asylum are no longer able to get the protection they need. Another issue seen more in the U.S. than many other nations is the access to health care. As people find themselves in need of testing and possible care, it becomes apparent that not all of them have access to such. Testing has been pushed to be made more widely available but health care itself has seen no change to benefit the less fortunate. That mixed with the lack of open travel has led to decline in the helping of the impoverished and ill. Where once people were willing to travel to less wealthy nations and spend their own time and effort caring for others and building systems to give them elongated heath assistance, there is now instead no help to be offered. All of this of course falls into a place of debate. It stems from the desire to keep people safe and do what is believed to be best for the most amount of people by fighting against the pandemic itself. However, people are struggling even more now. Those less fortunate around the world need help and need to be able to travel sometimes, but the world is shut down and so their suffering must continue.