Preface
Where does the title come from? Click HERE. The intent here is to document what's going on during this time of the coronavirus pandemic. As the more urban folks would say, "$hit got real". Maybe 10 years from now I'll look back, read this, and be inspired. Maybe I'll be amused. Maybe I'll simply be confused. Regardless, the intent is to be here 10 years from now to actually read this.
On to the posting.
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It's day 2 of the new normal, for as long as the new normal lasts. For those that noticed, my "Day 1" posting has disappeared. Illuminati? Bilderbergs? Nope...I accidentally over-wrote it.
What's in a Name?
In the news today, among other things, we had the President of the United States refer to the Covid-19 Virus as the "Chinese Virus", not once, but at least twice. Here's why that's a problem:
- By tagging this outbreak with a racial term, the President is giving the worst of our society, also known as racist swine, license to act against Asians in general, Chinese people in particular.
- The virus itself is not actually Chinese. The idea of race is a categorization we use for humans, not pathogens.
- The virus may have jumped species in China, but "from China" is different than "Chinese". For example, I read a defense of the President's name for Covid-19 that went along the lines of "yeah, well what about Lyme Disease...that's named after a place! Is that racist too?"...which is actually an incredibly stupid defense of an incredibly bad name. Why? Well yes, Lyme Disease is named after a real place, Lyme Connecticut. However, for the comparison/racist-excuse to work, the disease would have to be called something like "Connecticuter Disease". You see, "Lyme" is the name of a place. "Chinese" is the name of a group of people.
- Even if you buy some incredibly far-fetched 2am talk-radio inspired conspiracy about the origins of Covid-19, not every single person who is Chinese could possibly be in on it.
This, by the way, is what happens when I have time to think about things.
How Was YOUR Day?
Today was day 2 of working from home for me. As I mentioned in the day 1 posting...if it still existed...I really don't like working from home. That noted I'm making the best of it. What helped the day improve was the fact that we visited our favorite ice cream parlor (Ballyhoo) for some take-out after dinner. If you can, please make an extra effort to patronize local businesses during this crisis. The WalMarts of the world will weather this fine, but small businesses may not be so lucky.
A Final Thought
More so than any time in my life, it's clear to me that how we end up after this crisis has ended will have far more to do with how we have acted as individuals than any kind of government policy or edict. This literally could be something of a re-set button for us, a chance to take a step back and appreciate the value of kindness and helping each other. We desperately need that in this country.
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