Voicelessness and Emotional Survival > Voicelessness and Emotional Survival Message Board
Coronavirus
Twoapenny:
Just been announced that we have the highest death toll in Europe, currently standing at 32,000. Reports are going round on Twitter than there are an additional 15,000 deaths more than would be normal for this time of year that have not yet been linked to Covid, for a number of reasons. By my rough maths if our death rate were the same as New Zealand's we'd have lost less then 300.
Hopalong:
I hear you, Tupp.
The ignorance + aggression going on here is very difficult to stare at. Protestors exhibiting defiance (of what? an invisible virus?) are marching in cities with automatic weapons! Like that's going to get them their jobs back, or revitalize industry.
Oh good, you big brave macho person. You can shoot Covid-19 and be my hero!
My heart does break for those unemployed and desperate. I think we are headed for another Great Depression here. If we had a functioning government under a sane leader with a pollen fleck of ethics, the desperation would be reduced. I do understand how irrational people are when they think something is political or tribal when it's mostly not, and they know no other real word than "blame." We're one tribe now, as we all have the same risk, and the only answer is to help each other, as long as it lasts. Small ways, big ways, we just do what we can and endure.
It's tragic, the degree to which mistrust in politicians has become mistrust of all institutions, because that's not rational either, and there are so many scientists and doctors and public health experts --even some politicians like our good governors--trying their damndest to save more people. But you can't do what you can't do.
It's as though the ignoramuses are angry at bureaucrats for not knowing how to make a New Virus the Human Species Has No Immunity To, go away. Right now. It makes sense to be enraged when selfish power-grabbing politicians or profit-focused wealthy don't prepare or care who dies. That's true of our president and his evil party, imo.
But in general? The systems have failed most where people have poor educations, choose tribalism over knowledge and humanity, confuse financial success with righteousness, and are more entertained by finding blame and conspiracies than by finding solutions.
Back to the simplicity stuff. What we can control and what we can't. Dehydrating veggies and fruit to store. Buying rice and beans. Living minimally as we can. It's going to be a while, and all I can do is turn back to Silver Linings for hope and comfort. It does get harder while surges are still going on.
I'm expecting this greatly reduced way of being will last a year or more, and am already thinking about how to cope during winter. During spring-summer-fall, I can meet friends outdoors, and that's a sanity saver. But winter will be a new challenge.
hugs and comfort,
Hops
Twoapenny:
Nodding all the way through, Hopsie, particularly with regard to winter. I had a flash today of endless days of little daylight and even less sunshine and just shuddered. There are tough times coming, that's for sure.
I think part of the problem, here at least, is that we've been sold a lifestyle for so long. You can buy everything, literally, often for less than it would cost you to make it, and when you've finished with it you can just chuck it in the bin. We're used to thrift because we've been on a low income for so long but I know a lot of people who aren't and they are finding it very difficult to put together meals from what they can get and avoid not just popping to the shop whenever they want to or going out to eat when they don't want to cook. There's an expectation to look to the government to sort things out, understandably, and it's so bad here, they're not even quoting their own numbers accurately. Literally can't read off a sheet of paper. The Health Secretary a couple of days ago insisted a newspaper apologised for quoting inaccurate information about healthcare advice for older people. It's literally been quoted of the government's own website - and this is the guy that is responsible for putting that healthcare advice together. You really couldn't make it up. And yes, a lot of arguing is going on about who's fault it is, who should pay for it all, who should change the way they do things so that it can't happen again and so on. You don't stand in a burning building discussing the cause of the fire, you know? Sigh.
There are pockets of goodness. The nice man collected my son's meds again today and bought him some sweets, so kind. Lots of people are volunteering, making face masks, collecting toys for kids in temporary accommodation but yep, our economy was in bad shape anyway and this has just ripped the bottom of it out completely. And they're still going ahead with Brexit, despite every expert going telling them to delay and the EU themselves saying they're happy to extend the process so we can delay. We've already spent more leaving than we did while we were in it and we're still not out - there's still not even a plan in place. It's just madness all around and all for some sense of sovereignty or national pride, apparently. I have never felt less 'patriotic' in my life. They're not even taking the elderly in to hospital, they're all being left to die in the care homes, often without pain relief morphine stocks are low, apparently. It's honestly just terrifying and incredibly sad in equal measure.
But - the positives - son and I will work at being as self sufficient and self contained as we can and we'll keep connecting with good folk as often as possible. I'm not sure there's much else any of us can do at the minute? xx
Hopalong:
--- Quote ---You don't stand in a burning building discussing the cause of the fire, you know?
--- End quote ---
Yes, I know. So many do know (a silver thread)....
To me I think it's telling that folks who won't wear masks often express their righteous appeals to FREEDOMMMM!
It's true that most people can remain safe from the virus. It's also true that those who do wear masks and keep to social distancing, are more likely to save others' lives by doing so.
So, it's actually not just about my precious individual freedoms. It's about being part of the human community and caring what happens to us all. Not being okay with the suffering. Maybe the generation that once sacrificed for all, would be dismayed by the self-absorption of those who've never been asked (much less inspired) to be focused on ALL, than on MY PARTICULAR TRIBE.
It's hard to contemplate those ethical dividing lines, but the virus doesn't see them.
hugs
Hops
Twoapenny:
That's what I've been grumbling about Hopsie - life for us at the moment isn't that different to normal because for us, the Covid situation is quite similar to our normal life - ongoing, daily health issues, not being able to socialise, not being able to go out to work, having to avoid certain situations and people and so on. We are going out a bit less than usual now, but not an awful lot as we didn't go out much anyway, and when we did it was stressful - because son's health problems need to be managed all the time, every day. They're not potentially fatal like Covid is but they're very real, very present and very damaging if not addressed and properly managed. The way I see it is that the general population is being asked to live the way that millions of sick and disabled people already live, temporarily, and some are happily and willingly doing it, even though it's hard. But some are really not happy about it and yes, are talking about their freedoms with no regard for the freedoms of people with pre-existing conditions who, quite honestly, are looking at possibly a year, maybe longer, of having to shield. I'm adjusting my mindset to two years of living like this now. I think it unlikely they'll have a vaccine any time soon and if they do, I'd still want it to be in general use for a good while before son has it as it won't be tested on people with an atypical neurological set up, for obvious reasons. So I'd want more data and information on it before he has it in case there's any risk of it exacerbating his existing problems. It's going to be a very long haul for us and at the end of it - we'll just go back to being skint and staying in all the time, unless there is a big shift in society's attitudes to everything and the focus moves to quality of life for all people, not just those who are fit, healthy and wealthy. I'm trying to channel constructive attitudes and actions, I think - not Pollyanna positive because it annoys me, but useful things I can think, say or do to improve our situation and get us through this as best we can.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version