Someone linked this on another site, in another life. It's oriented toward the US but since the virus doesn't care about borders and ethnicity (which is all I want to share with it) I figure it would be useful here.
My biggest concern about all this isn't so much catching it, though I certainly hope I don't (other than to get over it - assuming you do). It's the subsequent societal collapse: getting food. Panic buying isn't helping either and my freezer is unfortunately tiny!
When I was a child I remember looking up at the moon from the back garden. I remember it because Jean Michel Jarre's haunting synth bleepiness, Oxygene, was playing. Ever since that tune and the memory have become inextricably intertwined. I thought, then, by this time, the galactic space year of 2020, we'd be there. 2020 was such a distant, almost mystical, number. The future for sure: jetpacks, moon travel, solar power, abundance, hope.
Now look at us. Laid low by our own inability to see past markets and profits. The planet is on fire, the climate is fucked, and the only thing threatening to put it out might wipe out half our families! Politicians are testing positive. You know it's bad when they try to reassure us "I'm feeling fine!". If this was like the disaster movie that would be an inevitable precursor to their death! Jesus, it's come to this: we're living the Andromeda Strain.
Capitalists and capitalism has no answer to this. These problems cannot be traded on stock exchanges. They are only manufactured by them. We've allowed greed to breed reticence that can cost lives. Trump wavers because he wants some chum of his in Big Pharma to make the private healthcare antivirus, so he can profit from investing in it. Nero speculated while Rome burned.
And we're watching all this happen on social media. Like a video game. In fact there is a virus video game. It's called Plague Inc. Your avatar could easily be Trump Strain D, SARS faketanovirus or CoronaTory Wiff Waff 19. Your goal is to cause the world to sneeze itself to death. Big win, ten million points.
Fortunately there are people who care. A little too far from me, but so far the number of known infections is zero (likely above). Check this out, it may help.
Lsatly, since this blog is largely me whining about the DWP, I shall whine about the DWP. We still don't see clear unequivocal guidance. All it takes is the following: "everyone on benefits, over the next X months, gets their benefits paid. You don't need to turn up. You won't be asked to. Look after yourself. Treat yourself to something nice" (that last bit is admittedly optional)."
Why can't they do that? Simple: because capitalism breeds the belief that people be scroungers yo. Even in the midst of a viral outbreak, a pandemic, the worst health crisis for a generation ("a must see movie!"), they cannot let themselves evolve a better, more compassionate - life saving - ideology.
We will see how far this takes us. I suspect, dare I say hope, that, if anything good can ceom from this fundamental, indeed existential, chaos, we might see revolution. People can't take this. Not if these strained ramblings are indicator.
Till next time, sneeze safely and be well.
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