When we were all in this together, sometime between 16 March and 24 March, there was hope. I had friends and colleagues who did not hesitate to start stitching masks. They were exchanging them for other goods, bartering instead of asking for money. The art teacher who was taking money (or wine or hand sanitizer) used the money to start a fund to help kids at her school. I went to four different stores looking for toilet paper for my inlaws, who had to quarantine. On Facebook there was a steady stream of trapped at home human beings doing the best they could by playing dumb acebook games like "Which Harry Potter Character Are You" and I wasn't annoyed, because they were doing what they needed to stay sane. To have a reason to get up in the morning.
To stave off depression.
Then in all just stopped. Dr. Fauci and Trump got sideways. Our government embarrassingly argued over helping us get through this financially. George Floyd was murdered. Suddenly, Facebook was flooded with opposing political screaming and nobody seemed to care about one another any more.
Quarantine was hard enough. This sucks for everyone, we've all been hit emotionally and financially. We were there for each other for ten minutes, taking photos of our gardens and talking to neighbors across the street, and then it was over.
Now, I don't dare click a news article and read the comments, it will send me into a tailspin. I read these nasty posts and I wonder if these people were always this horrible? How is it possible they have been this nasty for years and have anyone friending them on Facebook? The more likely answer is that they aren't handling this well. COVID has done one thing very succinctly: it has revealed who we are.
It's not OK to say "Teachers are lazy and just don't want to work" when reading an article about schools going online. I question your reading comprehension skills, honestly, as clearly every article has stated "Schools may go online". This means teachers are working. "Online" is not code for "Not Working". How dare you scream at those who are educating your child? And how dare you suggest that when we teachers draw a line and say "enough" that it's because we're cowards and should "just go back to work." Again, please re read the article: we are working. We would simply like our own health and the health of our families to be taken into consideration, for the first time ever. We didn't complain when we were told we are bullet shields between a shooter and your child. But you've forgotten all about that, haven't you? Because you lost your job or had to work through the quarantine because your company went out of business or furloughed you or is a greedy business who cares not a lick for your safety, so you are taking it out on us.
This isn't our fault. We did not cause COVID and we can't solve it.
There is the political hate that made me walk away from Facebook for a while.This country has decided its OK to be openly selfish and cruel, so calling someone a "Libtard" for wearing a mask in a state where it is mandated is fine. Writing "Open my gym faggot" on your truck window is perfectly acceptable during quarantine, because you have a homosexual Governor and you don't have access to email or a telephone to call and log your complaint. I suspect, dear, that you don't have a problem with your gym being closed, you have a problem with homosexuals. His sexuality has nothing to do with the closing of your gym, so why bring it up? Again, the governor did not cause COVID. He is doing his job and attempting to keep it from spreading. You're welcome.
Don't get me started on those who continue to gather and refuse to wear masks, or sending your kid to college on campus right now. I worry about all of this, and it makes me sick. Absolutely sick.See the previous paragraph "Not handling this well". This is how I'm handling it, by worrying myself sick and taking depression naps. I'd argue that is not handling it well.
You're welcome to support whomever you please politically, but you are not welcome to attack. I am so sorry you are in pain. I am too. None of our lives are going to be the same, and we're angry. And it's difficult to blame anyone, because as soon as you do it becomes political and other people yell at you. Stephen Sondheim wrote in Into the Woods "Of course all that matters is the blame, somebody to blame." Blame is irrelevant. Unless you've built a time machine during quarantine, and intend to return to stop this by identifying who is to blame, it's a waste of your time. It happened. We reacted. Here we are.
Now what?
You can't move forward if you're still screaming about something that's in the past. COVID is here. I know you're mad, so am I. But trashing friendships and alienating family members is not going to make this any better. Accept that you aren't handling it well, and move your focus to something you can control because you can't control this. OK?
And the next person who types that teachers are cowards or lazy will not impact me, because I'm not reading that crap.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
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