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I just really wish that instead of “reopening strategies” the mainstream narrative was about mutual support, creating healthy pods, and surviving the next year together with a minimum of fallout.
If we had done this from the get-go, so many more of us would be so much less desperate for “reopening,” because we would have understood that this is
- not a matter of weeks or even months
- absolutely going to devastate the economy and we will need to rework entire systems
- not a matter of weeks or even months
- absolutely going to devastate the economy and we will need to rework entire systems
Instead, we started talking about “getting back to normal” two weeks into the pandemic hitting the U.S., and our dip-ass leaders had people thirsty for “reopening” before some places had even taken shutdown measures.
Beyond being absolutely asinine, this approach was cruel.
Beyond being absolutely asinine, this approach was cruel.
It was and is cruel to suggest that “reopening” in weeks or months was responsible or possible. It was and is cruel to suggest that 120,000 dead are the price we pay for the necessity (not a necessity!) of reopening. It is cruel to suggest that “back to normal” is the only way.
Broadly speaking, the “reopening” approach is emotionally and intellectually manipulative, and it fucks with people.
It’s the fucking with people that makes a thing that is already hard — not seeing loved ones, not traveling, etc — go from hard to nigh intolerable.
It’s the fucking with people that makes a thing that is already hard — not seeing loved ones, not traveling, etc — go from hard to nigh intolerable.
When I was a kid, I was a flower girl in my cousin’s wedding. I could not WAIT to put on that floofy dress. It was the worst, not doing the thing! I nagged the shit out of my mom all the fucking time, and then the day came, and I nagged more.
Finally, my mom sat me in front of the TV and said I had to watch 8 episodes of She-Ra before I could ask her again about is it time to go. So I watched She-Ra and had my snacks and knew that there just wasn’t a fuckin thing I could do until She-Ra was done. I could handle that.
I think you see where the metaphor is going
Instead, what happened in the U.S. was, they told us WE DON’T KNOW WHAT TIME THE WEDDING STARTS, IT COULD BE NOW! OR TOMORROW??? YOU COULD PUT THAT FLOOFY DRESS ON AT ANY MINUTE!! WOW!!! GET READY TO WEAR THAT FLOOFY DRESS
People can’t fucking live like that! They take dangerous risks and act like assholes when you treat them like this!!! Because you’re fucking with them!!
And it’s worse when WE KNEW BETTER AND WE DID IT ANYWAY
And it’s worse when WE KNEW BETTER AND WE DID IT ANYWAY
We could have had leaders who said: This is going to be awfully difficult. You are going to be without your people for a long time. Many of us will lose jobs and savings. Here’s what we’re doing to mitigate that, and how you can pitch in in your communities to help each other.
Instead, they told us to hunker down for three months and let the grownups work, but instead of the grownups working, they sat around writing “reopening” press releases and flarfing around thinking of ways to protect wealth.
Just fucking with us.
Just fucking with us.
Anyway, beer.
I’m gonna do some googles but if y’all are already aware of guidance on setting up healthy pods and participating in long-term support/aid — @ me so I can share! (I don’t mean links to mutual aid groups, which are great, but looking for actual how-to, best practices stuff.)
