"RAMBLINGS ABOUT C-V"

“RAMBLINGS ABOUT C-V”

            Wow, the numbers that Dr. Anthony Fauci shared on Sunday are staggering – 100,000-200,000 possibly dead in USA alone.  It makes c-v rival the Great Influenza of 1917-18, and it is difficult to imagine what such numbers would do to us as a country and as a society.  I have little ability to comprehend at this point, so I am just going to share some ramblings.  Before I begin those, I want to thank all the health care workers and first responders who have striven so hard to serve so many of us, striven so hard under such adverse conditions – may their model be our guide in the difficult days ahead, and may we serve them as well.

            First, I have read that some feel that c-v is God’s punishment for our acceptance of the humanity of people who are attracted to other people of the same gender.  I’ve also read that it is God’s judgment on our rampant consumerism.  I have no patience with the first interpretation, but I am considering the second.  I am certain that God will get many attributes in these days.  It may also be nature’s way of rebelling against our pummeling of the earth – pollution counts have dropped dramatically.

            Second, this looks to endure a lot longer than I thought that it would.  I was so hoping that Trump would be right (for a change), but I should have known better,  And speaking of Trump, I will be surprised if he does not move soon to consolidate national power.  I don’t know if he is smart enough to consider that, but I know that some of his advisers are.

            Third, it is eerie out there.  I went to the post office on Saturday to drop off a letter in the mail box (no contact with humans, gloves on to drop the letter in the box), and it felt like Christmas Day out there – nothing open; no one was out and about.  It wasn’t totally deserted, but it was weird.  And, on the whole, that weirdness is a good thing.   Most people in my area seem to be obeying the “shelter in place” order.

            Fourth, I talked with my friend Inez on Friday to see how she was doing.  She said that she was staying in place, but that she was noticing that people classified as “white” were freaking out.  She reminded me that people classified as “black” live in this kind of fear all the time, and that she hoped that some white folk would comprehend that.  She added a sobering reminder, though, that one of the ways black people dealt with such fear and oppression was to gather in community to uplift and celebrate one another.  Now, that survival mechanism has been taken away from them.  Wouldn’t that be a surprising outcome, that white folk would viscerally connect our current fear and anxiety with the power of racism?  Our white fear and dread for the future is what many black folks experience all the time in
American life.  Such connections rarely happen much in American history, but this seems to be an event with few parallels and with such great danger, that I am hoping for a little good news.

            Fifth, as the NYT put it in an article yesterday, it should be no surprise that the class divide exhibits itself in this pandemic.  Rich folks who could, fled NYC to second homes; middle class folk sheltered and are trying to survive;  lower class folks are doing the work to keep whatever is going; poor folk are consigned to the scrap heaps of life – no shelter from the storm.  Our huge prison population (the largest in the world) may be the next huge breakout place – no medical care, no separate shelter, no hiding place. 

            I’m hoping that some of the boundaries will hold – others may need to go.  That will be sorted out by the pandemic and by us.  For all those delivering food to those in need, for all those checking on the welfare of others, for all those staying in place except for “essentials,” thank you.  May we all help one another through this difficult journey.