Putting it out there to #KanakaTwitter... What is #AlohaAina and #KapuAloha in a time of #COVID19? I have some mental wanderings as I ease off raising the alarm... reality appears to be kicking in for the dismissive. (a rambling thread) 1/n
#AlohaAina is remembering ʻāina and our people took care of each other in the past, through the most difficult of times, and also the present, including recently watching Kahoʻolawe burn with no human intervention because... of all the UXO. 2/n
We are survivors and we will survive still by sharing our aloha, which doesn't require exchange of hā literally, but life energy, effort, that which gives ea. In these times of #COVID19, that means *not* exchanging illness with those we care for, or care about... 3/n
When we don't care about/for others, including those we don't know, even those we dislike, we spread sickness. So social distancing is absolutely an expression of #aloha. 4/n
What gives life? A phone call, check in, an effort to bring groceries to someone who is home-bound and immunocompromised (if we or the delivery person is healthy). 5/n
What gives life? Not pushing someone who is already on the margins closer to it by enforcing unpaid sick leave. Not enforcing a system that encourages individuals to keep coming to work sick. Instead considering what is good for the individual is good for the whole. 6/n
What gives life? Remembering a student may be stressed, not have options to go home when the university closes down and may end up sick (even with cold/flu) and not know what to do and might be anxious and at worst spiraling into a panic attack. Compassion. 7/n
What gives life? Providing extra support for those saddled with double whammy situations: teachers shifting course materials from f2f to online, nurses and professional caregivers still working (more than ever)-- all while schools shut down and children now at home.
What gives life? Not charging for a test that could identify #COVID19 and spare x number of others. In my case, amplifying others' calls and efforts directed toward increasing testing capacity. Others are hopefully increasing capacity for intensive care. 8/n
What gives life? Making sure those who are un-/under-insured and undocumented donʻt need to think twice about taking care of themselves, getting themselves checked out for the safety of others.
What gives life? Thinking every day about those that care for others in medical and health fields who are bracing for what is to come, and considering my kuleana in it to #FlattenTheCurve statnews.com/2020/03/11/fla…
These times, like no other, require a kind of radical societal compassion and commitment, and overturning of individualistic values and exceptionalism (racism, arrogance, yes whiteness). Viruses are truly colorblind even if we are not.
This hulihia is revealing so much right now... about global and local societal values. Even the most resistant are beginning to face the realities that like it or not, we live in a global world, with both its benefits (like Twitter) and the not so goods (coronavirus).
We still have agency but how we take up this agency, our kuleana, will determine the trajectory from here. More than ever, we are learning about the variable of time, something a lot of us forget about in the snapshots of our lives.
Kapu aloha: same principle, new application. Commitment to the collective still structures my individual decision-making process. This does not mean I am rigidly committed to crappy institutions, but I push and pull the levers I can in working toward a better humanity.
I could probably also think about this in terms of disturbance ecology...
**Discouraging hugs** because research indicates virus shedding ~2 days before onset of symptoms. If we all act like we are potentially contagious and take precautions, we can #FlattenTheCurve
