So, I think this is the week where it all falls apart in the United States. I mean, just completely. It was fucked up before, but now we are just done. A lot of states have opened up, back to business as usual ( or pretty much) I am somewhat surprised to hear from friends back in Oregon that the whole mask issue is a thing. And I have noticed this on other peoples facebook threads ( suddenly it’s no secret who supports Trump and who doesn’t) – Apparently in other parts of the country people that wear masks are “sheeple” and are just obeying what they are told and not standing up for freedom. In the news there are stories of store clerks being assaulted (and shot even!) over simply trying to enforce a mask policy in their store. People are full on getting up in arms over this, literally.
Oh my fucking god, people…. WHAT THE FUCK??? Why would you harass someone for wearing a mask right now? Seriously, what on earth do you have to gain from that?
Storming capitals with guns and shit because you want a god damn haircut?!! uuuuugggghh….. alright guys, carry on – it’s coming for you. It hit the big cities first, and I’m here to tell you that we are starting to RELAX right now, so watch out, it’s coming to a theater near you!!!
Here in NYC, the coronavirus capital, nobody says jack shit to one another about masks. We may all silently judge, but it’s kind of like riding on the subway. There is often some idiot doing something stupid or unsavory, and we all just give a blank stare and grit our teeth. Some people aren’t wearing masks. That sucks. But is it worth getting into a confrontation over? No. Most people are wearing them. I am actually shocked at how many people are, and how they all managed to find these masks.
I’ll also admit that I’m not the best mask wearer. I HATE them. When I am walking down the street, I often choose mask off and smoke a cigarette. But I make sure to distance myself from people, and I always wear the mask when in a place of business, or when approaching a group of people.
A LOT of people have died here, we have all seen the evidence and heard the sirens. and You just flat out aren’t allowed to give anyone shit for how they are reacting to the pandemic here. If that situation were to happen, a crowd would form to back the person defending the asshole attacker.
So that is how we are handling it here.
And yeah, we want stuff to open up and be normal again. Everyone is worried about rent and jobs and money, and, god – everything. But…it absolutely can’t happen if we just revert back to our behavior a few months ago. Am I going to ride the subway to work? No, are you fucking insane???!!
I do feel like NYC is holding strong though, we aren’t arguing about petty shit, we are trying to fucking survive this, and I can only hope that my favorite places don’t collapse under pressure. I am also never ordering anything from Amazon ever again.
That said, the weather has gotten nicer. What has really been on our side since this lockdown started was the weather was cold and shitty. But now the sun is coming out. Other states are opening. Restaurants are starting to figure out how to modify for take out and opening up. Here is the portion of this blog where I will come off as racist – The 99 cent store reopened!!! To me, this is big news, not only because I love the 99 cent store and consider them an essential business, but because they are Asian run. I am not trying to be racist by any means, I am just thinking back to this article I read, which pointed out the stark differences between how cultures in NYC responded to this threat:
I’m guessing that link won’t work, but anyways, it was a good read. If the link doesn’t work, it is about how two neighborhoods that border one another fared – one being predominantly Asian, the other Latino. (The Asians won in pandemic response)
So, I mean, that has to be promising, right?
Also, I broke my own quarantine rule today and had friends over for a bbq. Just two, who are quarantining together, so they count as one virus. I wasn’t sure if that was cool. But I have the air bnb apartment which is untouched if they wanted a sterile bathroom or kitchen, and we hung out outside in the courtyard. But still, I think we were all aware of the many germs that probably passed through contact. The barbecue lid, plates, napkins, etc…
But at some point you have to kind of go on to some normalcy. Okay, I hung out with two people, but when I go to the grocery store there are 20…
So yeah, I don’t know. it’s weird.
Also, I full on think there will be another wave of this, and I think New York is doing pretty well and is sufficiently scared, but the rural areas around this country I’m betting are going to be hard hit, and this is just an awful tragedy.
We also spent some time discussing how Presidential assassinations REALLY need to make a serious comeback.
The Quarantine Diaries 