Thread by @TheTattooedProf

Several times a day, I stop short and remember that there's a (rapidly-worsening) pandemic and my state and national government's strategy for preventing large-scale sickness and death is basically "wear a mask if you want, but we're not gonna really stop doing stuff."

Like, Iowa's Covid numbers are exponentially worse than they were in March, our hospitals are full, a couple dozen people die every day, and most folks around here are like "yeah, but I got tired of quarantine, so..."

I can understand wanting to pretend things are normal; I guess that's a natural response. But when you say "everything is OK; our numbers still look good," I feel like I should point out that those "numbers" are actual sick and dead people. Any number > 0 is...not good!!

And those of us who are genuinely worried, and asking why we're hell-bent on business-as-usual keep getting gaslit. "You're exaggerating." "We have this under control." NO YOU DON'T. IT'S A FUCKING VIRUS WITH NO VACCINE THAT SPREADS THROUGH THE AIR. YOU HAVE NO CONTROL.

It's like an out-of-body experience. Or one of those dreams where something bad is happening, but you're frozen and can't speak. Collectively, we're acting like the teenagers in a horror movie who see a crocodile-filled lake and decide to skinny-dip.

I love sports, but I can't believe we're playing them right now. I love teaching, and I don't like doing it on Zoom. But I don't want to get my students sick, and I don't want them to get me sick. Online school is driving my own kids nuts. It sucks. BUT...this is where we are.

None of our institutions dealt adequately with this thing when it started, and we've gone backwards ever since. Our society is teetering. Every major institution we have has failed us. Our leaders have failed us. There are no good options right now--just the least-worst.

The one thing that gives me hope is that, even though we have been failed by our "leaders" and the system, many of us refuse to fail each other. That's not nothing.

Thanks for reading. Here are some peaceful dogs who want you to wear a mask and be well.