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As an ER doc in a #pandemic, I've been called an “essential” worker. Same for baggers at grocery stores, bus drivers & cleaning crews. But as the virus rages & many of us "essential workers" have died, the real question is:
Are we seen as essential, or merely “expendable?” 1/9
Are we seen as essential, or merely “expendable?” 1/9
As so many were (understandably) locking down, these folks were all coming to work, because they had no choice. They were told they had to, and they needed the paycheck to live. Now many are catching the virus, getting sick, and dying. What is the plan for keeping them safe? 2/9
I'll bet many of these workers felt expendable, way before #COVID19. Think about it: After inflation, real wages have barely budged in 4 decades for most workers. So we make these folks work in a pandemic... but pay many of them peanuts to do it. 3/9 https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/08/07/for-most-us-workers-real-wages-have-barely-budged-for-decades/
Some of these “expendables” have gone without healthcare while working multiple sub-standard wage jobs just to pay the bills. If they're sick, grown adults must come to the ER to get a “work note” so they don’t lose too many points & possibly lose their jobs. 4/9
They don’t get fillings and crowns like I do when they have a toothache. They work through it until they have a dental abscess that brings them to the ER. After taking their antibiotics, they wait in line at a dental clinic to have their tooth pulled for $150. 5/9
Now they've been recast as “essential,” as @realDonaldTrump pushes @DougDucey & @RonDesantis to recklessly re-open with disastrous effects. They're on the frontlines of the pandemic, and disproportionately suffering its deadly impact. 6/9 https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/07/25/florida-coronavirus-guatemalan-migrants/?arc404=true
Then there's school re-openings, the new political wedge in an election year. For the first time in their lives, @realDonaldTrump, @Mike_Pence & @BetsyDevosED are lauding public schools & teachers, branding them the essential frontier of #coronavirus this fall. How nice! 7/9
Regardless of the #COVID19 status of the community, and against @CDCgov guidance, this crew keeps repeating “Schools must re-open” -- with zero regard for how to do so safely. Teachers & support staff: Congrats! You have joined the list of "expendables." 8/9
As election looms for a President who's failed to protect us from a deadly virus, he'll keep pushing for some level of normalcy, so enough of us forget his ongoing failure. To boost the stock market or jobs numbers, he has just one answer:
Make us all #EXPENDABLE. /END
Make us all #EXPENDABLE. /END
