March 15th, 2020
Federal, state and municipal states of emergency have been declared. I fear it is too little too late. We have closed down all businesses with more than 100 capacity. There is a month moratorium on eviction (which is halfway through already) and a small unemployment program. But the only people it truly helps are those with companies who have paid in sometime over the last few years. Many of the lower and middle-income people in The City are contractors, or self-employed.
There doesn’t seem to be much in the works to address this. If you think we have a public health crisis now — imagine if the landowners are allowed to control the situation and force thousands of people to uproot.
On the Federal level, the inability of the House to pass any type of comprehensive mandatory paid leave, or will to address the issues of the completely uninsured, combined with messaging from the White House meant to assure shareholders instead of communities, has created a climate of fear and mistrust.
Fertile ground for misinformation of all kinds.
The proposed Federal payroll cut is laughable. We all know what those funds will go to — stock buybacks. No wonder the market has rebounded over the last week — all messaging from government indicates a willingness to sacrifice human life for profits.
In The City, very few people, especially the young seem to be taking precautions, but we have yet to see swells of the sick. As of today, testing is still NOT available. My roommate has been feeling unwell for multiple days after working at a 300+ capacity bar as a bar back. They told him he had the flu. No exam, no test.
In South Korea if you have the urge, you can hit a drive thru.
It’s St. Patty’s day weekend. The bars are packed. You can feel the tension running through the people on the street. The larger public, in spite of insane messaging from the White House have gotten the idea that something is amiss, but they are not exactly sure what.
Store shelves are currently mostly empty of staple items. Sanitizer, alcohol, toilet paper, bread, eggs. I have no reason to think they will not be getting more, but it is strange and disconcerting to see. People do not know what to expect. Misinformation abounds, and people seem to fall either in the preparing and fearful category or wild abandon and outright denial.
I am trying my best to keep a level head, we as a country and as a people need to pull together to make it through this situation. As much as I want to believe things will be fine in a month, I know it is likely a pipe dream. I am trying to keep my point of view realistic — several months of disruption with a gradual return to normalcy. I hope for Americans as a whole to buckle down and stick together, regardless of what is happening at the top.
Which brings me to a larger point — objective truth. In our rush to abandon it over the last eight years, we seem to have forgotten WHY it is important. When everyone exists in their own cornucopia of ideas and realities with no common tether, when there is no veracity, information cannot be shared effectively to combat a threat. In the jungle, there is no question among villagers about the danger presented by the tiger. Our fragmented society seems slow to create the same sort of consensus.
The wonderful cult of me we’ve concocted falls short when the greater good requires sacrifice, banding together. I’ve had several younger people give me a haughty laugh when they see me in my gloves, mask and goggles. “What are you, old or something?” — No. I’m not, but I have friends that are, relatives that are, and people I care about from the very old to the very immune compromised.
This is the point that truly needs to be understood. Quarantine, distancing, masks, covering your cough, frequent washing — these measures may protect you from getting sick. What they will certainly do, is prevent you from passing it on. If your body has the good grace to be able to handle the virus without complaint, it is your duty to stop it there, even if it means temporary personal discomfort.
With no testing, we cannot know if we are creating a danger for those around us. I have just taken to assuming everyone is exposed. The sick roommate wears a mask and gloves in the common area. All items are disinfected. I am prepping food after much sanitation. Any visitors we have stay in the kitchen, scrub in like an OR, shoes at the door. I wear a mask to chat, then decontaminate the whole seating area.
Everyone in the house is tense as well. I will do my best to compromise and keep interpersonal things within our space open and even, it will be crucial to how this works out for us in the end. I tend to be the glue in our home scenario, and I intend to keep myself and my people as safe as possible, and to look out for others in need as we can spare.
I would like to leave you, dear reader — with a piece of history that we may find instructive in this hour of need.
Upon awakening to the news that the Maginot Line had broken, and France had fallen, Winston Churchill realized that he must get on the radio, and address the nation of England.
He could have pacified them, or inflamed, but instead he, inspired. His closing words were “It would be foolish not to acknowledge the threat we now face. It would be more foolish still, to give up Hope.”
Prayers to Seattle, Wuhan and all of America from San Francisco. May we come together in common cause and overcome the challenges that lie ahead.
