Thread by @1goodtern

Ok.
Confession time again.
I've been wrong on this, and I can't untweet all the things I've tweeted about it, but I can change what I say going forward.

For the last four years I've been campaigning for clean air in schools and hospitals, because Covid is airborne and Covid is dangerous.

I mean I think that we should have clean air *everywhere* public.
And I have said so.
But those are the places I have concentrated on.

Why?
Because schools are the places that drive covid waves.

It's evident just from observation, and studies have backed it up:

Packing 30 kids into an unventilated unfiltered room for six hours a day five days a week for 30 weeks a year.
That's a recipe for airborne transmission.

And hospitals?

The reason for advocating for measures to stop airborne transmission in hospitals is also obvious:

Hospitals are the place that the most vulnerable people *have to* go.

Someone can go and buy your shopping for you.

But they can't pop out to get your gallbladder removed.

Schools and hospitals.
I've mentioned other places too. Nurseries and shops and public transport and dentists and faith centres.

But here's where I've failed:

I've not been mentioning the other places that people have no choice about going.

Homeless shelters.
Jails.
Detention centres.
Foodbanks.
Refuges.
Hospices.
Police stations.

And I had been concentrating on schools and hospitals because I think those are the *drivers* of transmission in communities.

But I had been omitting jails and detention centres and shelters because of something middle class and comfortable about who I am.

I don't think I'm going to get arrested any time soon. I don't think I'm going to be made homeless and if I were, I could turn to family to help.
I'm not fleeing my country because of war.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I had just shelved the priorities of those places despite knowing full well of the dangers of transmission in them.

I've only done one prison visit since this all kicked off, and I found it deeply disturbing. I found it extremely dehumanising, and I was there only two hours and I could walk out when I wanted.

And I've spent the last two winters supporting a homeless shelter and have tried to do my bit to make it safer, but I've never mentioned a word about homeless shelters on here.

It's the time of year again now when we plan ahead for this winter's shelter. I'm doing risk assessments like I always do?

Why had I never spoken up for them?

And then I realise.

Somewhere on some level I've wanted to avoid talking about the messy stuff.

Schools? They're wholesome.
Full of innocent kids.

Jails?
They're full of criminals.

Hospitals?
They're full of vulnerable people.

Homeless shelters?
They're full of homeless people.

And I hate the fact that I've shied away from addressing it.

These *are* the most vulnerable people in society.

They've had their choices taken away from them.
They are totally reliant on others.

And they're being made more vulnerable by repeat covid infections that they can't avoid.

I'm indebted to Violet for starting me thinking about this, and @BeanieToddPS and @froglet80 for further comments.

https://x.com/1goodtern/status/1811097097569239257?t=j4QHOf3ZnnSur8iaII2qLw&s=19

@BeanieToddPS @froglet80 This is an equity issue.
It's a fairness issue.

I need to do better, and I'm going to try.

@BeanieToddPS @froglet80 The best day to learn something was years ago.

The next best day to learn something is today.